Leon Sylvers is a genius. WOW as a teen he wrote "Fools Paradise". Then he parlayed that into a lead songwriter and musician for Solar Records and the great artists on their label. He's still active in the industry to this day. I love the great Sylvers to this day.
He wrote "Misdemeanorf! That song remains a timeless classic. Mostly bass and drums, some guitar and a few bells. That's it. Leon had the main parts of the song down in 1971.
I grew up in an all white small midwestern town, and motown, Elvis, and Classic Rock boomed throughout our house. One of my first 45s was Boogie Fever, and I stood in front of my floor to ceiling mirror day after day perfecting my dance routine, playing that 45 over and over until I felt comfortable enough to play it at recess for the rest of the class and do my dance routine. I got bullied a lot because I listened to "Black" music. It didn't bother me, though, nor did it stop me from dancing. I mean, after all, we had the same last name, even though mine last name was spelled a little different. The Sylvers, as well as many other Motown hits formed me as I grew up, and I am so thankful for that......
@@PetePeterkin No, the mirror wasn't on the ceiling, just from the floor to the ceiling on one wall. I would have loved mirrors on the ceiling, though..
I have never seen the Sylvers like this. I saw them live in 1978 when filming The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh. Foster was so young and not all of them were there.
The legendary Sylvers. I love learning about the history of a talented family group that should have gotten the same exposure like the Jacksons. The music industry picked one group like gold and completely tossed the Sylvers aside. My family was huge fans that loved their voices and how cute they were. This talented group should be honored and given their flowers for being one of the most well respected talented groups from the era of professional musicians. 🎶 🕺 💃 Cry Of A Dreamer is my favorite song.
Wow!! Absolute superbness! I’m a woman and fan in my late 50”s now, but the Sylvers were the baddest, most beautiful, exciting to watch, musically gifted by God, and magnificently talented family I had ever seen. They are a forever gem in R & B music history, although not receiving nearly as much recognition as they should’ve had. I come from a family of 11, and we all danced and clubbed to the Sylvers. Those Afros were 🔥🔥🔥🔥. Beautiful family; love the chemistry, strength, and love among them through all they’ve been through. Hey, is Leon available…… Lol! All them brothers are gorgeous, but I had mad love for that particular one back in the day……… Lol!! Thank you Sylvers for bringing so much groove and joy to millions and millions of lives you influenced and impacted throughout the decades! God bless you all today! Thank you for this production! What a treat 🤗🤗🤗!
Thank you for posting this. The Sylvers are friends of mine. I have learned so much knowing them. The stories I have heard from them are priceless. I wish one of them would write a book. All of their recollections are not pretty. They need a Biopic for real.
I appreciate the shout out to James Jonathan. He contributed some real gems. "I'll Never Be Ashamed Again" is one of my favorite songs from the first LP. Also "Could Be You" and "Wish You Were Here (Next To Me)" from The Sylvers III, the latter of which is one of my favorite songs from that album. I can never listen to that one just once.
Omg, this was so wonderful. You did such a great job putting it together and I learned so much about the Sylvers that I was not aware of. They, like the Stairsteps, were so talented. I really hope you do more of these and thank you so much.
30 minuets of pure greatness. You did the damn thing with this one. The Sylvers have been slept on for sooooooo long . Its about time people wake up and give them their flowers because they truly deserve and worked hard for it💐💐💐 . Hopefully we'll get another short movie on The Sylvers -Into The Disco because that was their most underrated era in my opinion.
Love it ., Yes Edmund had the dance steps I just don’t see anymore and that split with no hands ., not to mention when he swings that mic around., so sad he’s not with us anymore on earth ., but he is in our hearts & mind., I play the Sylvers everyday just to hear Edmund voice” forever yours, Love won’t let me go & time are my favorite ., I love all The Sylvers and the other songs., but Edmund has always been my heart & Ricky💜
The Sylvers are Friends of mine. You made me recall something Angie told me years ago. She said one time on stage Edmund flung the Mic. It hit Pat right in the nose. Lol...
I love the 70s , we wore the best clothes, best hair style, I got a chance to see so .... many great groups at Madison Square garden, I never got a chance to see the sylvers in person , but bought there album , watch them on so many varieties show soul train, midnight special, American bandstand I love there mannerism so polite and she like the Jackson family. I always thought they were all great singers and had great harmony. , this family was really great, record companies did them wrong. the sisters were gorgeous and the brothers were fine, this was the good old day's, girl didn't have to show a certain body part I love the way they dress. All the groups , bands and solo artists ,
What an excellent! Brilliant video. Well done!!!! As a fan of the Sylvers I really enjoyed your video presentation. The ending was a beautiful tribute as well.
Fantastic group of young people who could sing and dance their butts off l had the pleasure of seeing them in person and they put on a heck of a show l have never seen a group so fine in my life the whole family fine no cap 👍🏼l wish those days never end ❤
Yes NO auto tune. No bringing in session singers to fill in the harmony. No reliance on staff songwriters during this period This was pure magic. Share it with friends. Peace ✌️
They are amazing,loved them since i was a kid.I bought two of their albums.My mom was sick of hearing tgem cause I played them all the time.Thank you for tribute
I loved this walk down memory lane. I am glad that you focused on the magic and the talent of the family group, and not the down times. This was good, clean entertainment back then. Foster always amazed me how he could keep up with his older siblings. lol. 💙❤💜
The first 3 albums are no doubt my favorite albums from the Sylvers. They can seriously write. They are just criminally underrated as their recognition goes, but I am certainly glad to see their footprint is still in the sand with some of the newer music artists of today.
Thank you for sharing the Sylvers with us. My favorite songs were “Misdemeanor” & of course that beautiful rendition of “Yesterday!” What a talented family they are!!!
"Wish That I Could Talk To You" (written by Leon Sylvers) was the cut back in the day. I just wish they had better management/representation because Leon would have taken them to the next level with his songwriting and producing. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about just look at their Unsung documentary.
i remember first hearing cry of a dreamer, i was going through a strange time and it literally felt like they were talking to/about me, still resonates with me to this day, maybe the most beautiful song I've ever heard
Great Job! I never noticed it before you brought it out.. I can definitely see where Prince was probably influenced by Edmond's movements to say the least..
Está hermosa realización dió vueltas por todo el mundo,me atrevo a decir que fue el mejor grupo esas canciones realmente insuperable cuánto me encanta este grupo hoy por si siempre lo escucho 2022insuperable!!!!!💯💯🌟
It's been researched that the lion with the biggest mane usually maintains the pride. That's why bros with the biggest 'fros (and rastas with the biggest dreads) are the most powerful leaders of their group.
Those chord progressions are amazing. I had Boogie Fever on 45 as a kid, but I never caught on to the brilliant song writing until much later. Their music was accessible but never dumbed down. I don't think they ever got their due. Nice tribute.
My favorite group of all time their harmonies were off the chain and all the family was so talented and beautiful very underrated they should have been up there with the Jackson’s God bless them all 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
I ALWAYS did and will they are the most underrated family of all time in my opinion. J5 had the industry on lock . So they weren't popularized. But it had nothing to do with their awe striking talent.
Oh lord.... FINALLY!! I grew up with my older sister exposing me to the Sylvers in the early 70's, when everyone was being bedazzled by the Jackson 5, the Stairsteps, etc.
Yes I feel your comment. I should’ve been more clear that Edmund was but one of many of Princes influences. Things were quite different before Prince got his deal There was a look and a way of dancing that put The Sylvers at the top of the food chain. Even Michael Jackson told Edmund backstage after his moonwalk performance at Motown 25 that him and his family used to scare the hell out of him I find it difficult to believe Prince was totally oblivious to what Edmund was doing upfront. Bringing back the mighty SPLITS in his dance routines a few years BEFORE the move became a Prince trademark . Yes Sly Stone / Mick Jagger / James Brown & Jimi Hendrix were his main influences but for a year or 2 early Prince sure as hell LOOKED and danced more like Edmund on his first album /// ( Albums ...wow .. remember those ? lol )
Yeah I think that not only Edmund but the other Sylvers also influenced Prince. They were great n I still love them just as regular people, aside from entertaining. Still RU-vid their music n performances n pray that they’re all doing as well as can be expected.
Prince is my favorite artist but I have to admit some of his and Michael’s moves remind me of what Edmund was doing before they were. I humbly give credit where it is due. This group just did not get the credit they deserve. I am so glad that people are discovering their unmatched talent and beauty.
Ladies and gentlemen and low life LET ME TELL YOU DAT MY FATHER TOOK ME AND MY COUSIN TO SEE THE SYLVERS AND JIMMY CASTOR AND THE FUNKY BUNCH AT MADISON SQURE GARDEN DAT WAS A MAGICAL MOMENT FOR ME TO SEE THE NXT JACKSON FIVE OK AND WHEN I WAS 7 YR OLD MY MOTHER TOOK ME TO APOLLO AND I SAW THE JACKSON FIVE AT THE APOLLO DAT BLEW MY MIND COMPLETELY IMA DUDE BUT MICHEAL JACKSON WHEN HE WAS A LITTLE BOY HE WAS DAT DUDE AND FOSTER SYLVER REMIND ME OF LITTLE MICHEAL JACKSON WHEN FOSTER SYLVER SING COTTON CANDY U WOULD SWARE DAT MICHEAL JACKSON I GIVE MUCH AND MUCH TO A GROUP I GREW UP TO LOVE OK THE SYLVERS IS ONE OF THE BEST GROUP DAT EVER CAME OUT BESIDE THE JACKSON FIVE THE BEATLE THE BEACH BOYS THE BEE GEES THE DOOBIE BROTHERS HALL AND OATS THOSE GROUP I NAME THE SYLVERS GAVE THOSE GROUP A RUN FOR THERE MONEY MUCH RESPECT TO MY CHILDHOOD GROUP THE SYLVERS I SALUE YOU FOREVER
Here is a question no one answers: although leon was a premiere writer and producer for Griffey's label, why wasn't he allowed to give his family better songs and push their careers successfully to at least the minto latter 80s? Come Back lover wasn't a bonafide hit and should've been pushed. Foster had the look. Or was the problem within the family? Many times people don't respect and trust the family member/person they are familiar with. Maybe it was too hard for leon to work with and get along with the family/ too many who wanted to be the chef in the kitchen
Loved the Sylvers! I think their problem was that they used too many different lead singers! They should've just had Foster be lead singer for one group and had a second girl group for the sisters!
I think you had to grow up doing the 70s to fully appreciate them. I mean growing up in the context of music at that time. Their demise regrettably was bad management, lackluster marketing, and sheer exploitation. Imagine if they did just one of those songs Leon wrote for the Whispers or Salimar.
@@PetePeterkin although disco was indeed a black genre hijacked by others (which I also loved), jb was fonky among all others. Edmund was more disco while prince was more fonky I guess we see things differently, and that is okay. Perhaps it was the coke and women that limited edmund, but he seemingly more disco which limited him from transitioning out of it. He did disco pretty well but not funk as a solo artist. Prince was so fonky that he got kicked off of rick james' tour due to jealousy. And rick was fonkay, honey
