Peter Brown is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. Brown was a popular performer in the late 1970s and early 1980s. His biggest success was the release of the LP in 1977 called A Fantasy Love Affair which produced the disco hits "Do Ya Wanna Get Funky with Me" and "Dance With Me". He wrote, with Robert Rans, Madonna's hit "Material Girl".
Sylvester James Jr., known mononymously as Sylvester, 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.
The Weather Girls are an American female duo whose best-known line-up comprised Martha Wash and Izora Armstead. Formed in 1976 in San Francisco, California, Wash and Armstead began their musical careers as Two Tons O' Fun, the female backup duo for disco singer Sylvester. After several years of singing background for Sylvester, the duo was signed in 1979 to Fantasy Records as Two Tons O' Fun. The duo changed their name to The Weather Girls and were launched into somewhat more mainstream recognition following the release of the single, "It's Raining Men" (1982), which became their first number-one song on the US Dance Chart and their biggest hit. Despite having several hit songs on the Dance Chart as Two Tons O' Fun and The Weather Girls, the duo never achieved a top 40 hit on the main US Hot 100 and ultimately disbanded in 1988 after the release of their self-titled fifth album The Weather Girls.
Izora Margaret Rhodes-Armstead was an American singer-songwriter. Known for her distinctive alto voice, Armstead first achieved success as one half of the duo Two Tons O' Fun, along with Martha Wash, as they sang backup for American disco singer Sylvester. The duo obtained their own record deal as Two Tons O'Fun in 1979. They released three consecutive songs that were hits on the Dance Chart. The duo was renamed The Weather Girls in 1982 after the release of their single "It's Raining Men", their most successful single. As a duo, The Weather Girls released five albums and were also featured on Sylvester's albums.
Patrick Joseph Cowley was an American disco and hi-NRG dance music composer and recording artist, best known for his collaborations with disco singer Sylvester. Along with Giorgio Moroder, he has been credited as a pioneer of electronic dance music.
"I Wanna Be Your Lover" is a song by American recording artist Prince. It was released on August 24, 1979, as the lead single from his second album, Prince. The song was Prince's first major hit single in the United States, reaching number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 on January 26, 1980, holding the number 11 position for two weeks, and peaking at number one on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart for two weeks.
Paul Parker is an American Hi-NRG and dance singer.
Martha Elaine Wash is an American singer-songwriter, actress, and producer. Known for her distinctive and powerful voice, Wash first achieved fame as half of the Two Tons O' Fun, who sang backing vocals for the disco singer Sylvester including on his signature hit "You Make Me Feel ". After gaining their own record deal, they released three consecutive commercially successful songs which all peaked at number two in the dance charts. The duo was renamed The Weather Girls in 1982 after they released the top-selling single "It's Raining Men", which brought them to mainstream pop attention. The Weather Girls released five albums and were heavily featured on Sylvester's albums.
Jeanie Tracy is an American singer-songwriter, actress, and record producer. She rose to fame in the late 1970s as a background singer of Sylvester, an American disco singer. Her first album, Me and You (1982), featured post-disco hits "I'm Your Jeanie","Sing Your Own Song" and the overlooked 1983 smash R&B and Funk hit,"Can I Come Over And Play With You Tonight". From late 1984 to early 1985, she performed on television Show Star Search where she was the winner in the Female Vocalist category for six weeks. In 1995, Tracy released her second album It's My Time.
"I Feel Love" is a song by the American singer Donna Summer. Produced and co-written by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, it was recorded for Summer's fifth studio album, I Remember Yesterday (1977). The album concept was to have each track evoke a different musical decade; for "I Feel Love", the team aimed to create a futuristic mood, employing a Moog synthesizer.
The Heat Is On is the thirteenth studio album by American soul and funk group the Isley Brothers, released June 7, 1975, on T-Neck Records and Epic Records. Written and produced entirely by the group, the album was recorded in 1975 at Kendum Recorders in Burbank, California. The Heat Is On features musical elements of rock, and is divided between uptempo funk songs and soul ballads.
"Touch Me Like That" is a dance-pop song performed by Dannii Minogue and Jason Nevins. The song was written by Jason Nevins, Lisa Molina, Sylvester James and James Wirrick. It samples the melody of the disco song "You Make Me Feel ", originally performed by Sylvester. The song is the sixth and final single from Minogue's fifth album Club Disco (2007).
"You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" is a 1978 song by American disco/R&B singer Sylvester. It was written by James Wirrick and Sylvester, and released by Fantasy Records as the second single from the singer's fourth album, Step II (1978). The song was already a largely popular dance club hit in late 1978, as the B-side of his previous single "Dance (Disco Heat)", before it was officially being released in December. It rose to the number one position on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. Music critic Robert Christgau has said the song is "one of those surges of sustained, stylized energy that is disco's great gift to pop music".
The Gap Band III is the fifth studio album by American R&B band the Gap Band, released in 1980 on Mercury Records. It was produced by Lonnie Simmons. It was their first album to achieve platinum status. The album was remastered by PTG Records in 2009 including the radio edit of "Burn Rubber On Me ".
Megatone Records was an independent music label specializing in disco and created in San Francisco in 1981 by Patrick Cowley and Marty Blecman. The label name was derived from Cowley's 1981 high energy disco song, "Megatron Man". In 1983, musician Sylvester became a partner of Megatone Records. Some of the artists involved include: Patrick Cowley, Jeanie Tracy, Sylvester, Modern Rocketry, Sarah Dash, Patti LaBelle, and Paul Parker.
"Do Ya Wanna Funk" is a 1982 dance song recorded by American recording artists Sylvester and Patrick Cowley. It was produced by Cowley, who incidentally died the same year. The song was mostly successful in Europe, especially in Belgium, Finland and Norway, where it became a top-10 hit. It also reached the top 20 in the Netherlands and Switzerland, and made it to the top 30 in West Germany and Australia, and the top 40 in the United Kingdom. The song was inspired by "I'm Your Jeanie", a single by Jeanie Tracy, who was a background vocalist for Sylvester. It was also featured in the film Trading Places (1983). In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked "Do Ya Wanna Funk" number 179 in their list of 200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time.
Sylvester is the third studio album by Sylvester. Previously Sylvester had released two albums on the Blue Thumb Records credited to Sylvester and the Hot Band. It was his first disco album in the series of three that were recorded and released by Fantasy Records in the late 1970s. The album was issued with the alternative title Over and Over in France.
"I Wanna Thank Ya" is a song by American recording artist Angie Stone. It was produced by Jazze Pha for her third studio album Stone Love (2004) and features guest vocals from rapper Snoop Dogg. An uptempo R&B and neo soul track with heavy funk and disco elements, it samples from Deodato's song "Skatin'" (1980), Joyce Sims's "Come into My Life" (1987), DeBarge's "All This Love" (1982) and The S.O.S. Band's "Take Your Time " (1980). Released as the album's lead single, it became a top ten hit on the UK R&B chart, while it reached number-one on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.
Step II is the fourth studio album by American singer Sylvester, released in 1978 on the Fantasy label.
Living Proof is an album by American singer Sylvester, released in 1979 on the Fantasy label. Living Proof was a double-record set featuring three sides of live material recorded at War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, California. The fourth side of the album included three new studio recordings.
