Gives me chills watching this and seeing that Huge Talent that gave us all so much Pure Joy on the dancefloor back in those years....I miss those times with all my heart. ❤
Sylvester broke many barriers, ethnicity, gender, an artist by all design, un-inihibited freedom to be who she want to be. That era of the 70's was a good memorable time for me. Love and miss you Sylvester
His backing singers were affectionately known as The 2 Tonnes of fun, But went on to have a massive hit in their own right after Sylvester lost his battle with aids. They became The Weather Girls,and released Its Raining Men.
The Weather Girls were making it by 1982..The had their biggest hit It's raining men which was released that year.. Sylvester was still alive by then..
This energy is on 🔥🔥🔥. I didn’t watch alot of American Bandstand growing up but occasionally I would on Saturday afternoons . Normally Soul Train but for Mr Clark to have Sylvester and Martha Wash and Izdora Armstead later the Weather Girls on his show said a lot . Love this performance
Sylvester had a lof fans. He was bigger to his underground fanbase than the popular media fans. I'm a straight man, but I appreciate anyone who loves and gives music to the fullest. RIP Sylvester. GTS!
This shows you that good music is good music. I could feel the energy of that crowd. Dick Clark was not afraid to let anybody perform on American Bandstand.
Met him on the streets of NYC and Sylvester was warm, kind & genuine is a huge long fur coat (could not miss him!) Got to tell him we were going to see him that same night at The Garage!..oh them memories ; )
them big girls was getting it! I know they had so much fun back then! No body taking pics for Ig, no weirdos going live on fb in the middle of the concert. it look like they just lived in the moment!
Pure Joy is the only way to describe this performance and artist! You have to be soulless not to feel the electricity pulsing from these three rays of light, Sylvester, Izora Armstead & Martha Walsh..
I remember that exactly part was used years later in a dance club song but I can't find it. Please, what are the exact words she is singing in this part? English is not my main language and can't understand what she said so I can Google it. Thanks in advance.
OMG...I SAW THIS BACK THEN!!!! LOL I liked the song but didn't quite understand his "look" until much later. This is one of my favorite songs by him...it always made me laugh and crack up on the dance floor for some reason.
Martha Wash was very talented. I loved Syuvester the way he wasn't afraid to show his artistry through fashion and music . JUST LISTEN TO THAT 3:12 CROWD !!! 4 REAL
Even fuzzy, this video captures the pure delight the crowd has in watching these dynamic performers. the arrangment is simple but driving and the black church influences are obvious. That, with Sylvesters geat ear and inimitable style made he and Martha and Isadora a force to be reckoned with.
i love it!! this is one of my favorite performances of SYLVESTER to watch. MARTHA WASH and IZORA ARMSTEAD (RHODES) added a very special element to this song that made it such a classic!!! their voices are amazing. i absolutely love it.
The two acts were fantastic by themselves. Together they take it to another level. I can remember when The Weather Girls were called "Two tons of Fun" . Not necessarily fat shaming but a huge talent. I remember these days with such fondness. What I wouldn't give to re-live one of those
My mom is a huge Sylvester fan. After seeing "Unsung", their were some songs he sang that my mom played when I was a kid. I couldn't believe it was a man singing those songs all along. This one is my fav. All I want to do is dance.
LOVE THIS! Found an old CD of disco hits-and I can't stop playing this song!!! I remember the good ol' disco days! Tried to explain to the younger generation how fun the discos were-they just don't get it. Oh well, dance on!
God bless Sylvester the Original and ONLY diva. Even you must step aside Ms. RuPaul for this legendary disco icon. And godbless Martha Wash to she really was having a great time being part of his group as a back up singer. Just fantastic.....!!! I really miss those days......
If you were a Gay boy in the 70's this music was playing everywhere in the clubs, on the radio you could not escape it. Finally after years of hard work the talented African American artist and the LGBT community have put together a new musical bound for Broadway. You owe to yourself, and to the loving sole of Sylvester to get out and see this Musical. You will dance, & you will cry to the lost loves one to AIDS. But looking back it was a time like no other because we were "Mighty Real."
+John Black - Thank you for posting this. I was not a gay boy or gay in the 70s, but a teeny-bopper who listened to the radio, and to be honest, too young to know the big impact this music had on the gay community. But, it was music that I loved and I remember seeing this on AB and dancing to it. It was a great tune , for 'everybody', and Sylvester? One of the greats in dance music, I remember the Mighty Real video and wanted to 'fan' just like Sylvester, I thought it was cool! No boundaries, just music and as a hetero, I am dying to see this play just to celebrate Sylvester's life and contribution!
It’s 2023 and still love ❤️ love 💕 Sylvester it brings me to tears too see this over 45 years he was dynamic and awesome so beautiful love his look style music 🎶 I wish he was still was with us he was a trailblazer he was special I use to love ❤️ band stand and dick Clark he had all the talent on his show he brought out a lot of stars ⭐️ the good good good old days for music 🎶 fashion .
Blessed to see the Phenomenal Sylvester twice, once at a club called Tracks in Denver and again at the Bourse Building in Philadelphia a couple weeks later.....He made me feel MIGHTY REAL! December 2021
u know they turned the joint out...i remember watching the show live--it was the talk for months....what a performance and what a cut/jam that was the song in the day!!!
The disco era was the best era ever. Van McCoy-Do the Hustle, Donna Summers-Love to Love You Baby etc, and my favorite, with perfect pitch Sylvester, he left a legacy of music. RIP in heavenly peace Sylvester.
I remember when this actual episode of American Bandstand aired, it was a Saturday afternoon on ABC tv network. I was young, may 9 or 10...I actually thought Sylvester was a woman, I didn't really know about the gay life at that age. Watching this clip made that hair stand up on my arms...those were good times. It's sad how AIDS has effected the world.
I was born in the late 60's and raised through the disco era and listening to this song again brings back memories thank you Sylvester and Martha, and Izora.,.RIP. Sylvester and Izora...
Saw him at the Red Parrot in NYC 57st. West side 1979' ...Amazing show. That was the 1st time I had seen & heard him and what a show...you wanted it to go on & on... Good times... Those were the dayz... Peace
he was the first gay person i ever saw besides when i used to look in the mirror ..and realized there were others like me and i was 16 ..i used to watch bandstand in 1978-79 on saturdays every week
I loved Sylvester and Two Tons of fun so much back then. I got to meet Izora Rhodes when she came to the First Interstate Bank to have lunch with her son Orlando when we both worked there. I will never forget that.
I didn't know "two tons o'fun" aka "the weather girls" were Sylvester's back up singers. Man, they all had some good singing voices. Cream of the crop.
Sylvester was the BOMB! A true pioneer. He caused excitement wherever he went. Disco Heat was one one of my favorite disco jams in the 70s. I was 28 when he passed away. So sad. There will never be another like him. I'm glad that TV One is telling his incredible story of courage, truth and great talent. He is missed.
I remember Sylvester so well! I saw him perform at Catch One in L.A. One word to say, "FIERCE"! I love how Sylvester was way beyond his years & Dick Clark was open minded enough to have him on his show & perform along with Izora Armstead & Martha Walsh. Where did we go wrong, look at today!
bet these people weren't even nominated for grammies! listen to that crowd! nightclubbers loved them. dance music had always been a dirty word by music snobs. this song is brilliant. martha, we love you too!
I was only 14 when that song came out; that and "Mighty Real" but I knew how special that music was, how special that scene was. I hear those songs and I feel them just like I felt them back then. It was a happy feeling, a happy thing during hard times...
This was one of the few times on American Bandstand that I remembered it not being so Wholesome, loved this clip! I was on High school at the time and my friends were the ones hustling in the background. Great memories, will never be repeated!
This is so great right here! I didn't know Sylvester was on American Bandstand. Him and the girls tore the place DOWN! This is incredible right here and I LOVE this song! They don't make hot songs like this anymore and its a damn shame. God Bless Sylvester.
I meet them at the Fun House more than 30 years ago . Sylvester James, Izora Armstead and Martha Wash the remaining member. Great people and lots of fine talent.
danced all night to Sylvester and the tons of fun - at the old Stud in sf ... holy beloved memories of a happy time... sadly , most of the friends i went dancing with died of aids long ago - this scene was our religion - the feeling of love and freedom on the dance floor so wonderful - i will always revere Sylvester !
Oh my, I remember "The Old Stud," good times, I hung out at the old broadway Power and Light, that place was crazy, but what wasn't in the City back in '78. Halloween on Polk Street was way better than the chaos on Castro nowadays
I also thought that when I first heard this song, I thought it was Elvis. Elvis had went Disco! That tells you the Sylvester (like him or not) had good talents! Sylvester could sound and sing like Elvis!
