SYLVESTER JAMES

Let us begin at the end, which unfortunately arrived in 1988 due to a disease still little known in our region at the time: AIDS. However, 44 years earlier, he was born in Los Angeles and raised by his grandmother, Julia Morgan, who was an accomplished blues singer.

He began with gospel music and shortly thereafter joined a group of drag performers, the Cockettes. It was in 1978, following brief stints with the Hot Birds and Two Tons O’ Fun, that Sylvester achieved immortality with “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real),” which was immediately followed by “Dance (Disco Heat).” Exceptionally provocative, Sylvester was embraced by the prominent gay community of San Francisco. As disco declined, so did his career.