The Sylvers
(Read all about the Sylvers after the video)
The Sylvers were an American R&B/Soul family vocal group from Watts, Los Angeles, California. The Sylvers were one of the most popular acts during the 1970s, recording the hit singles "Fool's Paradise", "Boogie Fever" and "Hot Line". Prior to becoming "The Sylvers", the four eldest members (Olympia, Leon, Charmaine, and James) recorded as The Little Angels, appearing on shows such as Make Room for Daddy and You Bet Your Life, and opening for such acts as Johnny Mathis and Ray Charles. During this time, two singles were released: "Santa Claus Parade" b/w "I'll Be a Little Angel" on Warwick Records (United States) and "Says You" b/w "Olympia" on Capitol Records.
Background
Members
The Sylvers consisted of ten siblings:
- Olympia Ann "Olan" Sylvers (born October 13, 1951) — vocals
- Leon Frank Sylvers III (born March 7, 1953) — bass, vocals
- Charmaine Elaine Sylvers (born March 9, 1954) — vocals
- James Jonathan Sylvers (born June 8, 1955) — keyboards, vocals
- Edmund Theodore Sylvers (January 25, 1957 – March 11, 2004) — vocals, percussion
- Joseph Richard "Ricky" Sylvers (born October 13, 1958) — guitar, vocals
- Angelia Marie "Angie" Sylvers (born April 11, 1960) — vocals
- Patricia Lynn "Pat" Sylvers (born March 25, 1961) — additional keyboards, vocals
- Foster Emerson Sylvers (born February 25, 1962) — additional bass, vocals
- Christopher Joseph Sylvers (August 10, 1966 – June 18, 1985) — never performed with The Sylvers
Success
In 1972
Edmund and Ricky joined the act. The sextet changed their name from The
Little Angels to The Sylvers and released three albums on the MGM/Pride
label, titled simply The Sylvers, The Sylvers 2, and The Sylvers 3. Released between 1972 and 1974, these LPs offered soulful numbers written by Leon and produced by R&B legends Jerry Butler (of The Impressions) and Keg Johnson. Four singles from these self-titled albums charted on the Billboard R&B charts.
"Fool's Paradise" was a thought-provoking song that reached 14 in the
autumn of 1972. The single featured Charmaine, Edmund, and Ricky as lead
singers, backed by the sumptuous harmonies of Olympia, Leon, and James.[peacock term]
"Wish That I Could Talk to You" was the next single and during early
1973 became the siblings' first top 10 song. The track, featuring Leon,
Edmund and Ricky on lead, is considered a classic by old-school R&B
fans. The two-sided hit "Stay Away From Me" (#33) and "I'll Never Be
Ashamed" as well as "Through the Love in My Heart" (#50) followed; and
the album track "Cry of a Dreamer" received significant airplay at
R&B radio outlets. In early 1973, Leon wrote "Misdemeanor" for
Foster, which featured Angie and Pat and received major airplay on many
R&B radio stations. (Though the song originally featured Edmund on
lead, it was passed to Foster due to Edmund's voice change.) This song
later regained popularity in the late 1980s and 1990s after it was
sampled by rapper/producer Dr. Dre for a song by The D.O.C.
entitled "It's Funky Enough". In 1975, Foster, Angie, and Pat joined
their older brothers and sisters and signed an exclusive contract with
Capitol Records, the same label they recorded for as The Little Angels.
Now nine members strong, the label teamed the family with legendary
R&B producer Freddie Perren (The Jackson 5). The marriage paid off immediately, as Perren, with co-writer Keni St. Lewis, produced the two-million seller "Boogie Fever" which topped the R&B and Billboard Hot 100 charts, along with the RPM national singles chart.[1]
Those two tracks were included on the first Capitol album with Perren. It was titled Showcase
and featured rotating lead singers on songs written by both Perren and
St. Lewis, as well as Leon Sylvers. Capitol followed up "Boogie Fever"
with the bubble-gum confection "Cotton Candy". The group began playing
their own instruments for certain live performances, with Ricky on guitar, James on piano, Edmund on drums, and Leon on bass guitar. In 1976, following the recording of their next album, Something Special, Charmaine, one of the original Little Angels, left the group. Something Special
was the family's biggest selling LP, reaching 13 on the Billboard album
charts. Produced by Perren, the LP spawned another smash
million-seller, "Hot Line" (#5 on Billboard Hot 100), as well as "High
School Dance" (#17 on Billboard Hot 100). These two singles firmly
entrenched the siblings in the bubble-gum, teeny-bopper demographic.
In an effort to reach a wider, more mature R&B audience, The
Sylvers (now seven in number following Olympia's retirement to have
children) opted not to re-team with Freddie Perren in the summer of 1977
and began writing and producing for themselves. Despite positive
reviews, the resulting album, New Horizons,
was a commercial disappointment, peaking at #43 on the Billboard album
charts and spawning two short-lived singles: "Any Way You Want Me" and
the title track. The family went right back into the studio and, with
Leon producing, recorded what would become their most critically
acclaimed album. Capitol did not like the new sound and rejected the
album. The Sylvers shopped the material elsewhere and by mid-1978 had
signed with Casablanca Records. At the same time Leon was recruited by
record executive Dick Griffey to become the in-house producer for a new label he had started with Soul Train impresario Don Cornelius.
With the family's new album already complete and his brothers and
sisters now signed with Casablanca, Leon left the group to write and
produce for such Solar Records artists as Shalamar, The Whispers, Lakeside, Carrie Lucas and Dynasty (of which he was a group member).
In the mean time Casablanca released the album Capitol had rejected. Forever Yours
included a song on which Leon shared lead with Edmund. James performed
Leon's parts in performances, while Foster replaced Leon as the bassist.
The album's title track and a cover of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles'
"Swept For You Baby" got significant airplay in late 1978. However, due
to management shake-ups at Casablanca, these two songs were never
released as singles (although "Forever Yours" was sent to pop and
R&B radio stations). With Leon under contract at Solar, and the
remaining six Sylvers still under contract to Casablanca, the label
teamed the group with the Oscar-winning disco composer Giorgio Moroder (Midnight Express, Donna Summer). The result, released in the summer of 1979, was the aptly titled album Disco Fever.
The first single, "Mahogany (Do You Know)", was a dance club smash and
disco radio favorite, but the two follow-up singles, "Dance Right Now"
and "Hoochie Coochie Dancin'", fizzled. "Have You Heard",
a solo effort from Edmund, who had sung lead on many of the family's
bigger hits, was released on Casablanca in the summer of 1980. "That
Burning Love" (#38) was the sole single to chart from the effort. "Have
You Heard the News" and "Time" were also released, but did not chart.
Also that year, Charmaine recorded a solo single of sorts, doing the
vocal work on Gene Page's disco classic "Love Starts After Dark". The Sylvers appeared in the 1979 film The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh.
Solo careers
As
the world's appetite for dance music waned in the early 1980s, so did
The Sylvers' popularity. In 1981, five members of the group, now without
Edmund, recorded a new album Concept
for Solar Records, with Leon producing and playing bass but not
performing vocally. The first single from that effort, "Come Back Lover,
Come Back" (featuring a now grown-up Foster on lead) was a minor hit,
reaching #63 in Billboard. "Take It to the Top" failed to chart; but
both singles appear on the Solar Records retrospective box set.
In 1984, after a three-year hiatus, the siblings (now six strong,
with Charmaine returning) regrouped with new management (Weisner–DeMann)
and a new label (Geffen Records). The result was an unsuccessful album entitled Bizarre.
The disc was not heavily promoted, but spawned two minor hits: "In One
Love and Out the Other" (#42) and "Falling For Your Love" (#76).
The Sylvers' youngest sibling, Christopher, died of hepatitis
on June 18, 1985 at age 18. He was never part of the performing family.
Following the disappointing sales performance of the Geffen LP, the
brothers and sisters officially disbanded in 1985. They would continue
to do studio work, playing and singing background vocals for artists
including Janet Jackson. Edmund recorded a solo album for Arista
in 1985, but it was never released in the United States, although a
single from the set, "I Love the Sex", was a minor hit in Japan. Foster
started his own group, Hy-Tech, in 1989, but two CDs went relatively
unnoticed, as did a solo MP3 CD in 1998 called "Foster Vs. Foster".
Lead singer Edmund, who played Marlon Jackson's voice on the 1971–1973 ABC-TV Saturday morning cartoon series The Jackson 5ive, died of lung cancer
in Richmond, Virginia on March 11, 2004 at age 47. In 2007, Pat shared
lead on the Larry O. Williams gospel duet, "Thank You". In the December
10, 2007 issue of Jet magazine
The Sylvers were featured in the "Where Are They Now?" segment. In
early 2008, a few siblings did an interview with Damien Maurice on his
show Just Chillin' with KPOO-FM in San Francisco. Both a Jet article and the radio interview hinted at the possibility of new Sylvers music in the near future.
During the summer of 2011, the Sylvers were featured on the TV One hit series, Unsung.
Leon, James, Charmaine, Angie and Pat—along with their mother
Shirley—all appeared on the show to discuss their career successes and
aftermath. It was mentioned that both Foster and Ricky had been
incarcerated for parole violations (at the time of taping). However,
after the release of Foster, he and his sisters Angie and Pat made an
television appearance on The Cindy Davis Show to discuss the
politics of the music industry, and more. Leon is in the process of
producing new material with a newer generation of the Sylvers family.
Olympia, who had hurdled major obstacles in her life is sustaining with
her daughter Tyava by her side. Foster, Angie and Pat are working on new
music as well. More recently they have gotten a resurgence via Facebook
with hundreds of fan, old and new, clamoring for new info regarding
what the Sylvers are up to today and when the next record is slated for
release. Leon, Ricky and Angelia as well often communicate with the fans
via Facebook.
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