The Fabulous Sylvester: The Legend, the Music, the Seventies in San Francisco

I enjoyed this book so much that I read it twice,then a year later, read it again!!---FANTASTIC!!It captures the times, the people, places and things thatmade Sylvester, San Francisco, that music and that erasuch a golden & magical time!I love the stories of the young Sylvester growing up inSouth Central L.A. in the 50's and 60's, FLAMING THE CHILDREN!!Giving them fabulousness and outrageousness at every turn,from his soul-stirring falsetto rendition of the black gospelclassic "Never Grow Old", to the rawkus "DISQUOTAYS", a rag-taggang of young black drag queens that he hung out with, to theoff-the-charts outfits that must've stopped traffic inthe hood big time! (LOL!!)It was evident to all who knew him even then, that thispretty black child with the high voice was way differentand way way special!! (-:Some didn't know how to take Sylvester or even know what todo with him, yet he pressed on!---Carving out his own spacewithin the harsh realities of ghetto life as best he could.Sylvester was a true pioneer in every way!He didn't see race, gender, the expectations of others,the taunts of hateful & ignorant people, etc.,as obstacles or boundaries he needed to respect.He was a true original!--Uncut, undiluted, young, black,gay, gifted, stylish, full of charm and ambition,with the soul of a torch singer or a blues shouterinfused by a rock-n-roll rebel spirit and soul singer's chops!What a combination!I myself can attest to Sylvester's impact, as both a fanand as young gay black kid who was coming of age and intoself-awareness at the very time that his star was reaching it's zenith!I had just started partying and experimenting sexually bythe age of 14 in 1978 when "Dance (Disco Heat)" and"You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real!)" burst onto the music charts,in the clubs and in house parties across the countryand eventually, the world!I couldn't yet get into the disco clubs, but oh boy!--I could sure get into house parties!I was hanging out with people who were 5 to 10 yrs olderthan me and I was learning MANY INTERESTING THINGS!! <G>Of course, back then you had "FAIRY GODMUTHAZ", older gayswho would take us young "up & comings" under their chiffon wingsand school us on the do's and don't's of gay life, sex & survivalin the late 70's and early 80's!!PRE-AIDS and in the last writhing throws of the SEXUAL REVOLUTION,it was a great time to be alive!I grew up in the south during this time, which already hadit's issues with race and sexuality, so the gay world of that time,on that end of the country, was still very underground,hypocritcal and always hush-hush!!There were a lot of secret stares, codes, slangs, etc.to let those who needed to know, what you wanted them to know.But though it was very repressed and subterfuge,MAN, DID WE HAVE SOME FUN TIMES IN OUR LITTLE NETHERWORLD!!And yes, as is now, back then, straight men did ventureinto our world quite frequently!!Anywayz, enter THE FABULOUS SYLVESTER from the legendaryand exotically far reaches of a city they called"the gay shangri-la"...aka SAN FRANCISCO!!It was the summer of 1978, and here was this strong,proud, black, beautiful, talented, androgynous gay mantelling us, by the very nature of his exsistence,that it was not only alright to be what you were outin full view of the world, but it was also our dutyto be FABULOUS & JOYOUS!! (-:Sylvester was more than just a disco diva,HE WAS A WHOLE MOVEMENT!!--Every time he would perform,it was part church revival, part circus, part drag pageantand part gay pride celebration!!TRUE STORY!!---Picture It!!--Greenville, SC in May of 1979...I had just turned 15 yrs old, and me and two young gay freindsof mine, one 16 and one 18, hear through the grapevinethat none other than THE FABULOUS SYLVESTER would be appearingat a club called SAN SOUCCI's in Atlanta, GA(which was 200+ miles way, and well on it's way to becomingthe southern San Francisco!) and we go absolutely nuts!It becomes our mission, our sole purpose for exsisting!!Our quest, to somehow, obtain fake ID's, fabulous disco-eraoutfits replete with lots of glitter, dripping foxtailsoff the lapels & double belts, shoes called "crayons"that had a clear amber heel that had lights in them thatblinked in rhythm as you danced your booty off on the dancefloor, either Sassoon or Jordache jeans which had a littlestretch fabric blended in with the denim to hug your firmperky teen-aged azz and tiny waist to perfection,outlining your package in the front, and makingthe local guys salivate with lust over a hot pieceof TENDERONI like you! (LOL!!--we were too much!)We pooled our allowances, our summer jobs, etc. toobtain tickets through an older bisexual cousin of minewho lived down in Atlanta at the time, who also arrangedthe fake ID's as well.Keep in mind, I had just turned 15, one freind was 16and the other was 18...none of our parents even knewwe were gay, and there was no way in the hellthat they would've sanctioned us (under-aged)going all that way to Atlanta...and to see thisgender-inspecific weirdo named SYLVESTER!!(Boy George and Ru Paul were still a ways off yet!)So me and my freinds, being rife with teenaged angst,secretiveness and resourcefulness, concoct the half-bakedscheme to hitchhike from Greenville to Atlanta with dufflebags in tow filled with our outfits, toiletries, etc.,use our fake ID's to get into the club and party withSylvester & Two Tons O' Fun into the wee hours,get my older bi cousin to rent us a hotel room in Atlanta,have us a slam bang good time with some local fellazovernight and then hitch it back to Greenville by Sundayevening before 5 pm!! (LMAO!!)Anywayz, long story short, as is with all half-cockedand scantily thought out teenaged schemes, we did pull it off,got in the club and got down with Sylvester, got high,got the boys, got the hotel room, etc.But what we didn't bargain on was our mothers not being bornyesterday and the loose lips of the jealous young queenswho wished they had the balls to pull off what we did!(We got ratted out big time!)We also had a hell of a time trying to hitch it backfrom Atlanta to Greenville on a Sunday morning, and afterour mothers up in SC found out what we had done,they got in a car and headed for us like heat-seeking/search & destroy SCUD missles with fire in their eyes!Man, did we get our teenage closeted gay behinds handed to us!My older cousin caught it too from my uncle in Atlantafor his hand in our scheme, and we didn't even havetime to put concealer on over the many "hickies" on ournecks and chests from our Atlanta frollick in the hotelfrom the night before! Boy, it was a mess!We wound up being forced out of the closet to our mothers(which was then a horror to them!)We were all immediately grounded for a month to our respectiveresidences, were banned from socializing with each other,(which we still would sneak and hang out!)and we all gotthe butt whippings of our young lives!(Yes, parents still whipped butt back in those days!)BUT OH MAN!--We didn't care!It was well worth it, because we got to see THE GODDESS,THE DISCO DIVA...SYLVESTER, live and upclose!! (LOL!!)Now, here I sit...a 44 yr old, well-traveled, successful,proud and fortunate gay black man who has had my fun,relished the memories of those far away magical days,and if there is any bittersweetness to the story,it's that I have outlived not only my two freinds fromthat teenaged excursion, but Sylvester and about 30 morefreinds and acquaintances from the late 70'sto the mid 90's...all lost to the scourge of AIDS.As we grow older, we reflect and long for things thatwere familiar to our particular generation as things arebeing torn down, people die or move, and the world ofour past is erased. This wonderful book, along withSylvester's music playing in the background as I wasreading it, brought all the magic back for awhile!This book would make an excellent movie and I hope someonewill make it happen someday in the near future.In the meantime, enjoy the book folks!R.I.P. To Sylvester, Izora Rhodes, Patrick Cowley,and to all my freinds and acquaintances who have madetheir transitions in the prime of their lives!--I'll see you again one day!!LOVE & PEACE 2 ALL!!

Magic happens where reality and fantasy overlap. It's a space that dance music star Sylvester effortlessly occupied during the outrageous and flamboyant club scene of the mid-70s to early 80s, when those lines were happily blurred on a nightly basis.Gamson does an excellent job of showing Sylvester's `six-degrees of separation' influence - he worked with emerging stars like Bette Midler, Patti LaBelle, The Weather Girls ("It's Raining Men"), American Idol judge Randy Jackson and Patrick Cowley (Megatone Records).By focusing mainly on Sylvester, Gamson gives the reader an inside look and feel of the gay club scene that was a mix of Broadway and Bowery Row. Sylvester epitomized that drama and contrast with his falsetto voice but powerful vocals and androgynous but commanding stage presence. He created a propulsive musical genre ("Do Ya Wanna Funk?" "You Make Me Feel") that defined the era's manic, raw and pulsating energy.AIDS turned the party lethal, killing off both his audience and the mood for high energy music. Soon, Sylvester, along with hundreds of others in the arts and entertainment community, was dead. There are lots of devil-may-care musicians whose audiences escape through their lives and music, but there will probably never again be a time when the audience and the artist were so intimately in synch, both feeling and living the beat.

From the Bay Area our paths crossed many times he had a amazing spirit with a heavenly voice much loved and after all these years still missed. Book is a nice read

I am pleased to once again take this opportunity too tell the world, how wonderful Sylvester was. We attended the same church, in Oakland California and I met and spoke with him on more than one occasion, I own all of his music and a few pictures of him and Me together. I always thought he was a grand diva; he was before Rupaul, and Sylvester laid the foundation, very talented, brave, with lots of courage. The Fabulous Sylvester, The legend, The music, is a great read and lets the reader in on many unknown secrets about the diva's life. It's funny, sad at times and spell bounding it will keep you wanting more. From his first breath to his last its all there, with lots of passion for the world of entertainment. Long live the Queen, "The Fabulous Sylvester, The Legend, The Music".

A well researched and compassionate look at a true original and a time when life was innocently naughty. Tells his beginnings, then the Cockettes and the riser to stardom and his ending with Aids.Thank you to the author for the story.

I love The Fabulous Sylvester! The book arrived ahead of schedule and in perfect condition. This is a book for anyone interested in the glittering disco era and the book encompasses all of the feeling of that era.It is a bittersweet look at a magnificent singer who infused disco with gospel and hot buttered soul. It is sad that he died so young.I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to relive the exciting disco era and who just loves good music.

I had read this book about two years ago, then I had the opportunity to meet Sylvester's sister BJ who is mentioned throughout the book. It re-opened my interest is such an amazing life. What I enjoyed most and related to was a message that Sylvester tried to send tot he gay community. STOP HATING inside your own world. The INTRA-Discriminantion of hyper masculine gays versus feminine gays was rampant in San Francisco and is still very rampant today.There are enough straight people hating on gays, stop doing it to ourselves. We are different. Embrace each other for that uniqueness. If I wanna wear a skirt & make-up on Monday and a suit & beard on Tuesday, ...Ain't Nobody Business if I do!

I got the book immediately I have been looking for a biography about this phenomenal singer.the book is in great condition I am looking so forward to reading it I will continue to do business with the company.

A really excellent read, offering a detailed, intelligent and fascinating account of Sylvester’s life and career. Thoroughly absorbing and entertaining, highly recommended.

I have been a Huge Fan of Sylvester since hearing songs like "Mighty Real , Stars , Disco Heat , I Who Have Nothing" .Finding this book is like a Holy Grail - to people who what made Sylvester a STAR...!!Superbly covering his Youth right the way through to his sad Demise , due to Aids , with some amazing Pics I had never seen before........wouldn't be without my copy now....

Fabulous indeed- a journey through post war LA Pentecostal church life via trans street gangs, SF flower children and the Cockettes , gay lives disco hedonism and triumph, before the desperately sad onslaught of AIDS. What a life - I would have loved some accompanying images is all

This is a joy to read.The biography clearly loved the subject and had a hoot a writing it.I've been recommending it to everyone who'll listen

a must have for discolovers from the 70íes and sylvester fans