Sylvester part 2

Sylvester's fame increased following the release of his solo album. He became a friend of Harvey Milk and appeared in The Rose, starring Bette Midler. He was on the verge of mainstream success...

... Which came with his next album, 1978's Step II. With this album, Sylvester fully embraced the then prevalent Disco sound, although he was initially unsure that it was a suitable genre for him to work in. During production of the album, Sylvester invited the musician Patrick Cowley to join his studio band, being impressed by Cowley's innovative techniques using synthesizers. The album landed Cowley a job as a back-up musician on Sylvester's subsequent world-wide tours, and the two started a close friendship and collaboration.

The album, contained two big hit singles: firstly, there was Dance (Disco Heat). It became Sylvester first US Hot 100 hit peaking at #19. It also made #4 in the R&B chart, #1 in the US Dance chart and #29 in the UK. A great song.

Then there was You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real). The song was written by James Wirrick and Sylvester, produced by Harvey Fuqua and Sylvester, and mixed by Patrick Cowley. It made #8 in the UK, #36 in the US Hot 100 and #1 in the US Dance chart. More than these numbers suggest, the song would become one of the biggest Disco hits ever, a classic moment of the era. Here's the single version:

... and here's the extended mix:

Also in 1978, he entered into a relationship with a young white model named John Maley; Sylvester later devoted the song "Can't Forget the Love" from his Too Hot to Sleep album to his young lover. Maley ended the relationship to move to Los Angeles, later recollecting that Sylvester "was a lovely man, and I owe him a lot."

His next album, Stars, came out in 1979. It contained a version of the classic Leiber-Stoller song I (Who Have Nothing). It was to be his last US Hot 100 hit, peaking at #40. It was, however, one of many US Dance chart hits, this one peaking at #4.

Body Strong was also a dance hit:

... so was Stars:

Can't Stop Dancing was an non-album release, making #2 in the US Dance chart.

You Are My Friend, the Patti Labelle hit, was recorded for the live album Living Proof and made #30 in the US R&B chart.

From 1980's Sell My Soul, here's I Need You, a #6 in the US Dance chart.

From 1981's Too Hot to Sleep, here's a different, more sensitive and soulful side of Sylvester: the song dedicated to his lover John Maley, Can't Forget the Love.

Also in 1981, Sylvester entered into a relationship with a slim brunette from named Michael Rayner, but unlike his predecessors, he did not move into Sylvester's house; their partnership ended when Rayner admitted that he had not fallen completely in love with Sylvester. Sylvester's next major relationship was with Tom Daniels, a hairdresser whom he met in 1982, but their romance ended after six months when Daniels discovered that Sylvester had been having sex with other men while on tour. The singer's final partner, the architect Rick Cranmer, was a six-foot two blonde, and the duo moved into a house together in the hills. Cranmer died of AIDS-related complications in 1987, the year before Sylvester succumbed to the virus.

Meanwhile, Sylvester was still making  music. In 1981 he collaborated with Herbie Hancock and the end result was Magic Number:

Both the Two Tons O' Fun and Sylvester came to suspect that Fantasy Records had failed to pay them all of the money that they were owed from the sale of their records. Sylvester left Fantasy and in November 1982 he filed a lawsuit against them; it ultimately proved successful in establishing that the company had been withholding money from him totaling $218,112.50. Nevertheless, Fuqua proved unable to pay anything more than $20,000, meaning that Sylvester never saw the majority of the money that was legally owed to him. Sylvester grew to despise Fuqua, and forbade his friends from ever mentioning his name.

Closely associated with the now unpopular disco and having had no hit singles in the preceding few years, after leaving Fantasy Sylvester was not a particular draw for major record labels. Recognizing this state of affairs, in 1982 Sylvester commented that "there's nothing worse than a fallen star" who still has "illusions" of their continuing fame. Rather than chasing major chart success, Sylvester wanted to focus on retaining creative control over his music. Hiring his former tour manager and longstanding friend Tim McKenna as his new manager, Sylvester decided to produce his next album with Megatone Records, a small San Francisco company that had been founded in 1981 by Patrick Cowley and Marty Blecman and which catered largely to the gay club scene. The result was All I Need (1982), on which James Wirrick had written most of the songs, which were dance-orientated and influenced by the New Wave. Sylvester insisted that he include several ballads on the album. Do Ya Wanna Funk was the first hit of the album, peaking at #4 in the US Dance chart and also becoming a minor hit in Europe.

Don't Stop peaked at #3 in the US Dance chart:

All I Need was also a #3 Dance hit:

His next album, 1983's Call Me, included a remake of Band Of Gold:

... As well as the song Too Late:

His album M-1015 (1985), included Take Me to Heaven:

... And Sex:

Sylvester's final album, Mutual Attraction (1986), was produced by Megatone but licensed and released by Warner Bros. It was a bigger hit than the previous two and included a cover of Stevie Wonder's Living for the City, a #2 Dance hit.

Also in this album, Someone like You was to be his last #1 Dance hit. It also made the R&B chart at #19.

Mutual Attraction, the title track, was to be his last Dance Top 10 hit (at #10).

In 1985, Sylvester's boyfriend, Rick Cranmer, became aware that he had become infected with HIV; with no known medical cure, his health deteriorated rapidly and he died in September 1987. Sylvester was devastated, and although recognizing that he too was probably infected, he refused to have his blood tested, only noticing the virus' first symptoms when he developed a persistent cough. Beginning work on an album that would remain unfinished, he moved into a new apartment on Collingwood Street in the Castro, and tried his best to continue performing in the Bay Area, even though he became too sick to undertake a full tour. Eventually diagnosed with AIDS, he was hospitalized for sinus surgery in late 1987, and upon returning to his apartment he began to be cared for by his mother and his former backing singer Jeanie Tracy, before being hospitalized again in May 1988, this time with pneumonocystis pneumonia. Returning to his flat, he gave away many of his treasured possessions and wrote his will.

Having lost a lot of weight and unable to walk easily, he attended the Castro's 1988 Gay Freedom Parade in a wheelchair, being pushed along in front of the People with AIDS banner; along Market Street, assembled crowds shouted out his name as he passed. The subsequent 1988 Castro Street Fair was named "A Tribute to Sylvester," and although he was too ill to attend, crowds chanted his name to such an extent that he was able to hear them from his bedroom. He continued to give interviews to the media, being open about the fact that he was dying of AIDS, and sought in particular to highlight the impact that the disease was having in the African-American community. In an interview with the NME, he stated, "I don't believe that AIDS is the wrath of God. People have a tendency to blame everything on God."

For Thanksgiving 1988, his family spent the holiday with him, although he had developed neuropathy and was increasingly bed-ridden and reliant on morphine; he died in his bed on December 16, 1988 at the age of 41. Sylvester had planned his own funeral, insisting that he be dressed in a red kimono and placed in an open-top coffin for the mourners to see, with his friend Yvette Flunder doing his corpse's makeup. He wanted Tracy to sing at his funeral, accompanied by choirs and many flowers. The whole affair took place in his church, the Love Center, with a sermon being provided by Reverend Walter Hawkins. The event was packed, with standing room only, and the coffin was subsequently taken and buried at his family's plot in Inglewood Park Cemetary. Sylvester bequeathed all future royalties from his work to San Francisco-based HIV/AIDS charities.