New Year James
Sylvester James (born September 6, 1947 , in Los Angeles , California , † December 16, 1988 in Oakland , Calif.) Was an American soul and disco singer , band leader , songwriter and producer who appeared under his first name Sylvester ; his biggest hit was You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) .
biography
James became enthusiastic about music early on from his grandmother Julia Morgan, a jazz singer . As a teenager he sang in various gospel groups and was inspired by the music of Bessie Smith , Billie Holiday and others. In the late 1960s, James moved to San Francisco and appeared in the musical Women of the Blues . In the early 1970s he became the star of the transvestite singing group The Cockettes, which he left in 1973 to sign a recording deal with his new formation, which was called "Sylvester and the Hot Band" . In the same year two albums with danceable music from the fields of R&B , soul and funk were released .
In the mid-1970s, the style of music changed towards disco sound. New Year's Eve, now performing as a soloist, was known for its extravagant and exaggerated stage shows. He had his big hits in the time of disco music from 1977 to 1982. As background singers he mostly accompanied "Two Tons o 'Fun", Izora Rhodes and Martha Wash , who later became known as The Weather Girls . The best-known titles on New Year's Eve are You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) (1978), Dance (Disco Heat) (1978) and Do You Wanna Funk (1982), all performed with striking falsetto . In 1979, he received three Billboard Awards and an award from the Disco International Magazine as "Best Male Discoact", and he also played alongside Bette Midler a small role as a drag queen in the movie The Rose , which in the life of Janis Joplin oriented .
In the 1980s, the success of disco music subsided. While New Year's Eve only had small hits until 1987, mainly in the US dance charts, his former background singers, who now appeared as The Weather Girls, achieved a worldwide hit with It's Raining Men .
In addition to his musical activities, Sylvester was mainly known for his unusual clothing style: the graduation photo of high school is said to have shown him in a dress with a pearl necklace. His overall appearance earned him the semi-ironic, popular honorary title "Queen of Disco", which he shares with Donna Summer and Gloria Gaynor .
Sylvester died in 1988 of complications from AIDS . In 2002 Tim Smyth's 11-minute documentary Sylvester: Mighty Real was devoted to the singer's life. In 2005 he was posthumously inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame .
In 2007, Dannii Minogue and Jason Nevins produced the song Touch Me Like That , which contains a sample of Sylvester's hit You Make Me Feel .
Trivia
The song You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) was again a hit in 1990 in the version of Jimmy Somerville .
Discography
Albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 UK
|
 US
|
R&B
|
|||
| 1978 | Step II | - |
US28  (42 weeks)US |
R&B7 (40 weeks) R&B |
Producer: Harvey Fuqua , Sylvester
|
| 1979 | Stars | - |
US63 (15 weeks) US |
R&B27 (13 weeks) R&B |
Producer: Harvey Fuqua, Sylvester
|
| Living proof | - |
US123 (12 weeks) US |
R&B45 (26 weeks) R&B |
Live album, recorded March 11, 1979 in San Francisco.
Producers: Harvey Fuqua, Sylvester |
|
| 1980 | Sell my soul | - |
US147 (8 weeks) US |
R&B44 (7 weeks) R&B |
Producer: Harvey Fuqua, Sylvester
|
| 1981 | Too hot to sleep | - |
US156 (4 weeks) US |
R&B51 (5 weeks) R&B |
Producer: Harvey Fuqua, Sylvester
|
| 1983 | All I need | - |
US168 (5 weeks) US |
R&B35 (17 weeks) R&B |
Producers: James Wirrick, Patrick Cowley
|
| 1987 | Mutual Attraction | - |
US164 (5 weeks) US |
R&B46 (8 weeks) R&B |
Producers: Ken Kessie, Morey Goldstein, Sylvester
Fluitsma & Van Tijn , James "Tip" Wirrick, Jeff Mehl, Maurice Cridlin |
More albums
- 1973: Sylvester & the Hot Band (with The Hot Band)
- 1973: Bazaar (with The Hot Band)
- 1977: New Years Eve
- 1983: Call Me
- 1984: M-1015
Compilations
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
UK
|
US
|
R&B
|
|||
| 1979 | Mighty Real |
UK62 (3 weeks) UK |
- | - |
Producer: Harvey Fuqua, Sylvester
|
More compilations
- 1983: Sylvester's Greatest Hits: Nonstop Dance Party
- 1988: The 12 × 12 Collection
- 1989: Star - The Best of Sylvester
- 1989: The Original Hits
- 1989: Immortal
- 1994: The Collection
- 2009: The Blue Thumb Collection (with The Hot Band)
- 2013: Mighty Real - Greatest Dance Hits
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | [↑]: treated together with the previous entry; [←]: placed in both charts |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 AT
|
 CH
|
UK
|
US
|
R&B
|
Dance
|
||||
| 1977 | Down, Down, Down / Over and Over New Year's Eve |
- | - | - | - | - | - |
Dance18 (13 weeks) Dance |
Author (A-Side): Sylvester
Authors and Original (B-Side): Ashford & Simpson , 1977 |
|
| 1978 | You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) Step II |
DE35 (14 weeks) DE |
AT14 (8 weeks) AT |
CH6 (8 weeks) CH |
UK8th  (15 weeks)UK |
US36 (10 weeks) US |
R&B20 (13 weeks) R&B |
Dance1 (20 weeks) Dance |
Authors: James Wirrick, Sylvester
|
|
| Dance (Disco Heat) Step II |
- | - | - |
UK29 (12 weeks) UK |
US19 (18 weeks) US |
R&B4 (20 weeks) R&B[Dance: ↑] |
Authors: Eric Robinson, Victor Orsborn
|
|||
| 1979 | I (Who Have Nothing) Stars |
- | - | - |
UK46 (5 weeks) UK |
US40 (7 weeks) US |
R&B27 (11 weeks) R&B |
Dance4 (20 weeks) Dance |
Backing Vocals: Martha Wash
engl. Text: Leiber / Stoller ; Music: Carlo Donida , Mogol Original: Joe Sentieri - Uno dei tanti , 1961 |
|
| Stars Stars |
- | - | - |
UK47 (3 weeks) UK |
- | -[Dance: ↑] |
Backing Vocals: Hodges, James and Smith
Writer: Patrick Cowley |
|||
| Body Strong Stars |
- | - | - | - | - | -[Dance: ↑] |
Authors: Michael Find, Sylvester James
|
|||
| 1980 | Can't Stop Dancing Living Proof |
- | - | - | - | - |
R&B43 (9 weeks) R&B |
Dance2 (20 weeks) Dance |
Author: Sylvester
|
|
| In My Fantasy (I Want You, I Need You) Living Proof |
- | - | - | - | - | -[Dance: ↑] |
Author: Sylvester
|
|||
| You Are My Friend Living Proof |
- | - | - | - | - |
R&B30 (14 weeks) R&B |
- |
Authors: Patti LaBelle , James Ellison, Armstead Edwards
Original: Patti LaBelle, 1977 |
||
| I Need You / Sell My Soul Sell My Soul |
- | - | - | - | - | - |
Dance6 (18 weeks) Dance |
Authors: Eric Robinson, Victor Orsborn / Lionel Azulay
Original (B-side): Teri DeSario , 1979 |
||
| 1981 | Here Is My Love Too Hot to Sleep |
- | - | - | - | - |
R&B44 (11 weeks) R&B |
Dance20 (14 weeks) Dance |
Author: Sylvester
|
|
| Give It Up (Don't Make Me Wait) Too Hot to Sleep |
- | - | - | - | - |
R&B44 (11 weeks) R&B[Dance: ↑] |
Author: Sylvester
|
|||
| 1982 | Do Ya Wanna Funk All I Need |
DE30 (17 weeks) DE |
- |
CH12 (5 weeks) CH |
UK32 (10 weeks) UK |
- | - |
Dance4 (19 weeks) Dance |
Patrick Cowley feat. Sylvester
Authors: Patrick Cowley, Sylvester |
|
| 1983 | All I need, All I need |
- | - | - | - | - |
R&B67 (7 weeks) R&B |
Dance3 (20 weeks) Dance |
Authors: James Wirrick, Jeff Mehl
|
|
| Don't Stop All I Need |
- | - | - |
UK77 (3 weeks) UK |
- | -[Dance: ↑] |
Authors: James Wirrick, Jeff Mehl
|
|||
| Tell Me All I Need |
- | - | - | - | - | - |
Dance49 (4 weeks) Dance |
Author: James Wirrick
|
||
| Band of Gold Call Me |
- | - | - |
UK67 (4 weeks) UK |
- | - |
Dance18 (13 weeks) Dance |
Authors: Ronald Dunbar, Edyth Wayne
Original: Freda Payne, 1970 |
||
| Too Late Call Me |
- | - |
CH30 (1 week) CH |
- | - |
R&B68 (6 weeks) R&B |
Dance16 (16 weeks) Dance |
Authors: James Wirrick, Jeff Mehl
|
||
| Trouble in Paradise Call Me |
- | - | - | - | - | -[Dance: ↑] |
Authors: James Wirrick, Jeff Mehl, Sylvester
|
|||
| 1984 | Rock the Box M-1015 |
- | - | - |
UK88 (4 weeks) UK |
- | - |
Dance25 (12 weeks) Dance |
Authors: Ken Kessie, Morey Goldstein
|
|
| 1985 | Take Me to Heaven / Sex M – 1015 |
- | - | - |
UK100 (1 week) UK |
- | - |
Dance6 (13 weeks) Dance |
Authors: Ken Kessie, Morey Goldstein /
James Wirrick, Jeff Mehl |
|
| 1986 | Living for the City Mutual Attraction |
- | - | - | - | - | - |
Dance2 (10 weeks) Dance |
Author and Original: Stevie Wonder , 1973
|
|
| Someone Like You Mutual Attraction |
- | - | - | - | - |
R&B19 (17 weeks) R&B |
Dance1 (12 weeks) Dance |
Authors: Len Barry , McKinley Horton
|
||
| 1987 | Mutual Attraction (Remix) Mutual Attraction |
- | - | - | - | - | - |
Dance10 (8 weeks) Dance |
Authors: Fluitsma & Van Tijn
Remix: Steve Thompson, Michael Barbiero |
|
| Sooner or Later (Remix) Mutual Attraction |
- | - | - | - | - | - |
Dance32 (4 weeks) Dance |
Author: James Wirrick
Remix: Joseph Watt, Razormaid |
||
More singles
- 1973: Southern Man (with The Hot Band)
- 1974: Down on Your Knees / Friendship (with The Hot Band)
- 1977: Spring Rain
- 1979: Can't Stop Dancing
- 1984: Menergy
- 1984: Call Me
swell
- ↑ biography
- ↑ Masciotra, David: Queen of Disco. The Legend of Sylvester on popmatters.com, last accessed December 22, 2013
- ↑ a b c Chart sources: Singles Albums UK US1 US2
- ^ The Billboard Albums by Joel Whitburn , 6th Edition, Record Research 2006, ISBN 0-89820-166-7 .
- ↑ a b c gold / platinum databases: UK US
- ^ Joel Whitburn : Top R&B Albums 1965–1998, ISBN 0-89820-134-9 .
- ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot R&B Songs 1942–2010: 6th Edition, ISBN 978-0898201864 .
- ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot Dance / Disco 1974-2003, ISBN 978-0-89820-156-7 .
Web links
- New Year's Eve at Allmusic (English)
- Sylvester at Discogs (English)
- Sylvester in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Sylvester and the Hot Band at Discogs (English)
- Sylvester in the database of Find a Grave (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | James, New Years Eve |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 6, 1947 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Los Angeles , California , USA |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 16, 1988 |
| Place of death | Oakland , California , USA |