The Fabulous Sylvester: The Legend the Music the Seventies in San Francisco

About this book

A journey back through the music madness and unparalleled freedom of an era of change-the 70s-as told through the life of ultra-fabulous superstar Sylvester Imagine a pied piper singing in a dazzling falsetto wearing glittering sequins and leading the young people of the nation to San Francisco and on to liberation where nothing was straight-laced or old-fashioned. And everyone finally was welcome-to come as themselves. This is not a fairy tale. This was real mighty real and disco sensation Sylvester was the piper. Joshua Gamson-a Yale-trained pop culture expert-uses him a boy who would be fabulous to lead us through the story of the 70s when a new era of change liberated us from conformity and boredom. Gamson captures the exuberant life feeling energy and fun of a generations wonderful magical waking up-from the parties to the dancing and music. The story begins with a little black boy who started with nothing but a really big voice. We follow him from the Gospel chorus to the glory days in the Castro where a generation shook off its shame as Sylvester sang and began his rise as part of a now-notorious theatrical troup called the Cockettes. Celebrity sociology and music history mingle and merge around this endlessly entertaining story of a singer who embodied the freedom spirit and flamboyance of a golden moment in American culture.