b. Foster Emerson Sylvers, 25th February 1962, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.A.
Foster Sylvers was born in 1962 in Memphis, Tennessee.
He comes from a large and successful family and is remembered by Soul fans for his 'rare groove' release 'Misdemeanor', which was a top ten hit.
The song was written by his brother Leon Sylvers III and produced by Jerry Peters.
Foster was later to sing the lead vocals on the family group's songs 'Boogie Fever' and 'Cotton Candy'.
He also co-wrote and produced Janet Jackson's song 'Come Give Your Love to Me'.
That song reached number 17 on the R & B charts in early 1983.
The Sylvers were originally known as the Little Angels, supervised by their mother, Shirley Sylvers.
Under that banner, thegroup had appeared on televison alongside celebrities such as Groucho Marx, Dinah Shore, Mike Douglas, Spike Jones, and Danny Thomas.
The group had also toured with Johnny Mathis and the late Ray Charles.
After moving to New York and later Los Angeles, the Sylvers were signed to MGM Records subsidiary Pride Records.
Their first hits were produced by Jerry Butler.
Fosters ' Misdemeanor' was followed-up by a cover of Dee Clark's 1959 hit 'Hey Little Girl.'
That song reached number 63 on the R & B charts late in 1973.
Foster also modelled at the time appearing in issues of Right On! and Black Stars.
The drummer Harvey Mason appears on Fosters first album.
The follow up album, 'Foster Sylvers Featuring Pat & Angie', was released the following year.
The album included a cover of the McCoys' 'Hang on Sloopy' b/w 'Na Na Goodbye'.
Larkin Arnold, vice president of Capitol Records, suggested that Freddie Perren (Tavares etc.) worked with the family group.
Freddie produced the two successful singles in 'Boogie Fever' (number one R & B) and 'Hot Line' (number three R & B in 1976).
This was followed by 'High School Dance' (number six R & B).
In 1978, Foster recorded another solo outing entitled 'Foster Sylvers' for the Capitol imprint.
The album included versions of Elvis Presley's 'Don't Be Cruel' and a cover of Frankie Lyman's 'Goody, Goody'.
A single entitled 'I'll See You in My Dreams' was also released.
Foster then moved from performing and took on a more songwriting, production and instrumentalist role regarding various projects.
These included Dynasty's album 'Your Piece of the Rock' and Evelyn 'Champagne' King's 'Shake Down'.
He also co-wrote the Sylvers 'Don't Stop Get Off' from their Casablanca Records LP 'Forever Yours'.
Foster then recorded two albums under the group name Foster Sylvers & Hy-Tech.
These were 1987's 'Plain & Simple' for EMI America and 1990's 'Prime Time' for A & M.
'Misdemeanor' has been sampled by several hip hop acts such as the D.O.C.'s, 'It's Funky Enough'.
foster sylvers 1973
http://www.fostersgallery.bravehost.com
Albums:
Foster Sylvers (Pride Records 1973)
Foster Sylvers Featuring Pat & Angie (Pride/MGM Records 1974)
Foster Sylvers (Capitol Records 1978)
as Foster Sylvers and Hi Tech: Plain & Simple (EMI America Records 1987)
Prime Time (EMI America Records 1990)
