Sylvester James (1947–1988) was deemed ‘Bigger than Disco” and his music as “A Celebration Of Self”, was an American singer-songwriter. Primarily active in the genres of disco, rhythm and blues, and soul, he was known for his flamboyant and androgynous appearance, falsetto singing voice, and hit disco singles in the late 1970s and 1980s. Sylvester grew up singing in a Pentecostal church in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. His mother was a devout member of the church and couldn’t accept the early signs of her son’s sexuality. By 15, Sylvester had left the church and home. He lived with friends and his grandmother, who accepted him as he was. He found friendship among a group of black cross-dressers and transgender women who called themselves The Disquotays. Moving to San Francisco in 1970 at the age of 22, Sylvester embraced the counterculture and joined the avant-garde drag troupe The Cockettes, producing solo segments of their shows which were heavily influenced by female blues and jazz singers like Billie Holiday and Josephine Baker. During the Cockettes’ tour of New York City, Sylvester left them to pursue his career elsewhere. He came to front Sylvester and his Hot Band, a rock act that released two commercially unsuccessful albums on Blue Thumb Records in 1973 before disbanding. Of his most popular singles are “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)”, “Dance (Disco Heat)”, “Can’t Stop Dancing”, “In My Fantasy (I Want You, I Need You”, “Living for the City”, and “Someone Like You”. SF Bay Times Article
Find her plaque on Castro St between 18th and 19th Sts