Community hub
Recent from talks
Contribute something to knowledge base
Content stats: 0 posts, 0 articles, 1 media, 0 notes
Members stats: 0 subscribers, 0 contributors, 0 moderators, 0 supporters
Subscribers
Supporters
Contributors
Moderators
Hub AI
The Sylvers AI simulator
(@The Sylvers_simulator)
Hub AI
The Sylvers AI simulator
(@The Sylvers_simulator)
The Sylvers
The Sylvers were an American R&B family vocal group from Watts, a neighborhood in Los Angeles. They recorded the singles "Fool's Paradise", "Boogie Fever", and "Hot Line" during the 1970s. Prior to becoming the Sylvers, the four eldest members (Olympia, Leon, Charmaine, and James) recorded as the Little Angels, appearing on shows including You Bet Your Life and Make Room for Daddy. They opened for acts like Johnny Mathis and Ray Charles. During that time, they released two singles: "Santa Claus Parade" b/w "I'll Be a Little Angel" on Warwick Records and "Says You" b/w "Olympia" on Capitol Records.
The Sylvers family consisted of ten siblings, nine of whom performed in the band at different times:
Christopher Joseph Sylvers (1966–1985), the youngest of the Sylvers siblings, never performed with the group.
Shirley Mae Wyble and Leon Frank "Sonny" Sylvers married after meeting at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans. They had ten children. They taught their children to play music, sing and dance. Olympia "Olan", Leon, and Charmaine performed as the Little Angels, choosing mainly Caribbean Calypso–styled soul music. The Sylvers appeared in several variety shows, charity shows, community events, and other public venues. One of the earliest events promoting the group was when the whole family appeared on the quiz game show "You Bet Your Life" with Groucho Marx. Soon after, Jonathan "James" joined the group, and the four of them continued to perform, gaining slight success. Appearing in several television shows, and media appearances. In the mid-1960s, they released recordings on Capitol Records.
In the late 1960s, they added Edmund and Joseph Richard "Ricky" to the group. After signing a recording contract with MGM, 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 Jerry Butler (of the Impressions) and Keg Johnson. Four singles from the self-titled albums entered the Billboard R&B charts. The song "Fool's Paradise" reached No. 14 on the R&B charts in the autumn of 1972. The single featured Charmaine, Edmund, and Ricky as lead singers, backed by the harmonies of Olympia, Leon, and James.
"Wish That I Could Talk to You" was the next single. During early 1973, it became the siblings' first top 10 song. The track features Leon, Edmund, and Ricky on lead. The two-sided hit "Stay Away From Me" (No. 33) and "I'll Never Be Ashamed", as well as "Through the Love in My Heart" (No. 50), followed; and album track "Cry of a Dreamer" received significant airplay at R&B radio outlets. In early 1973, Leon wrote an uptempo proto-disco song called "Misdemeanor" for the group's second album. However, the lead vocal, sung by Edmund, was later reassigned to younger brother Foster, who was not an official member of the Sylvers at this time. The song also featured younger Sylvers Angie and Pat, received airplay on R&B radio stations, and later became popular in the late 1980s and 1990s when it was sampled by rapper/producer Dr. Dre for a song by the D.O.C. entitled "It's Funky Enough".
After the success of "Misdemeanor", Foster, Angie, and Pat quickly joined their older brothers and sisters to the official Sylvers group, (upping the total members to nine), and signed an exclusive contract with Capitol Records, the same label they recorded for as the Little Angels. The label teamed the family with R&B producer Freddie Perren ( the Jackson 5). 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.
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 No. 63 in Billboard. "Take It to the Top" failed to chart, but both singles appear on the Solar Records retrospective box set.
The Sylvers
The Sylvers were an American R&B family vocal group from Watts, a neighborhood in Los Angeles. They recorded the singles "Fool's Paradise", "Boogie Fever", and "Hot Line" during the 1970s. Prior to becoming the Sylvers, the four eldest members (Olympia, Leon, Charmaine, and James) recorded as the Little Angels, appearing on shows including You Bet Your Life and Make Room for Daddy. They opened for acts like Johnny Mathis and Ray Charles. During that time, they released two singles: "Santa Claus Parade" b/w "I'll Be a Little Angel" on Warwick Records and "Says You" b/w "Olympia" on Capitol Records.
The Sylvers family consisted of ten siblings, nine of whom performed in the band at different times:
Christopher Joseph Sylvers (1966–1985), the youngest of the Sylvers siblings, never performed with the group.
Shirley Mae Wyble and Leon Frank "Sonny" Sylvers married after meeting at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans. They had ten children. They taught their children to play music, sing and dance. Olympia "Olan", Leon, and Charmaine performed as the Little Angels, choosing mainly Caribbean Calypso–styled soul music. The Sylvers appeared in several variety shows, charity shows, community events, and other public venues. One of the earliest events promoting the group was when the whole family appeared on the quiz game show "You Bet Your Life" with Groucho Marx. Soon after, Jonathan "James" joined the group, and the four of them continued to perform, gaining slight success. Appearing in several television shows, and media appearances. In the mid-1960s, they released recordings on Capitol Records.
In the late 1960s, they added Edmund and Joseph Richard "Ricky" to the group. After signing a recording contract with MGM, 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 Jerry Butler (of the Impressions) and Keg Johnson. Four singles from the self-titled albums entered the Billboard R&B charts. The song "Fool's Paradise" reached No. 14 on the R&B charts in the autumn of 1972. The single featured Charmaine, Edmund, and Ricky as lead singers, backed by the harmonies of Olympia, Leon, and James.
"Wish That I Could Talk to You" was the next single. During early 1973, it became the siblings' first top 10 song. The track features Leon, Edmund, and Ricky on lead. The two-sided hit "Stay Away From Me" (No. 33) and "I'll Never Be Ashamed", as well as "Through the Love in My Heart" (No. 50), followed; and album track "Cry of a Dreamer" received significant airplay at R&B radio outlets. In early 1973, Leon wrote an uptempo proto-disco song called "Misdemeanor" for the group's second album. However, the lead vocal, sung by Edmund, was later reassigned to younger brother Foster, who was not an official member of the Sylvers at this time. The song also featured younger Sylvers Angie and Pat, received airplay on R&B radio stations, and later became popular in the late 1980s and 1990s when it was sampled by rapper/producer Dr. Dre for a song by the D.O.C. entitled "It's Funky Enough".
After the success of "Misdemeanor", Foster, Angie, and Pat quickly joined their older brothers and sisters to the official Sylvers group, (upping the total members to nine), and signed an exclusive contract with Capitol Records, the same label they recorded for as the Little Angels. The label teamed the family with R&B producer Freddie Perren ( the Jackson 5). 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.
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 No. 63 in Billboard. "Take It to the Top" failed to chart, but both singles appear on the Solar Records retrospective box set.
Recent media
Recent media