Patrick Cowley (October 19, 1950 - November 12, 1982) was a disco and Hi-NRG dance music composer and recording artist. He recorded in a style that has drawn comparisons to that of Giorgio Moroder and is often credited with pioneering electronic dance music , and acid house.Cowley's hits included "Menergy" in 1981, and "Megatron Man", which hit #1 and #2 respectively on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 1982. He also wrote and produced the dance single "Right on Target" for San Francisco artist Paul Parker, which also reached #1 on the Billboard dance chart in 1982.
Sylvester James (September 6, 1947 – December 16, 1988) better known as Sylvester, was an American disco and soul singer, and a gay drag performer. Sylvester was sometimes known as the "Queen of Disco," although this moniker has also been bestowed on some of the women of the disco era (i.e. Gloria Gaynor, Donna Summer). His most significant works are the songs "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" 1978,"Dance (Disco Heat)" and "Do You Wanna Funk" 1982.
Sylvester signed a solo deal with Fantasy Records in 1977, working with the production talents of legendary Motown producer Harvey Fuqua, who produced his album Stars in 1979. Sylvester later alleged that Fuqua cheated him out of millions of dollars. Sylvester soon met his frequent collaborator Patrick Cowley. Cowley's synthesizer and Sylvester's voice proved to be a magical combination, and pushed Sylvester's sound in an increasingly dance-oriented direction; his second solo album, Step II (1978), unleashed two disco classics: "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)," and "Dance (Disco Heat)". These two songs charted together on the American dance chart, and spent six weeks at #1 on this chart in August and September 1978. By this time both his live shows and recordings also recognizably featured the back-up vocals of Two Tons O' Fun: future Weather Girls Martha Wash and Izora Rhodes. 1979 brought three Billboard awards and an appearance in the movie, The Rose, starring Bette Midler. He sang "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" live for The Castro Street Fair, thanks to future first openly gay supervisor Harvey Milk.
Moving to Megatone Records in 1982, Sylvester quickly landed a Hi-NRG classic with "Do You Wanna Funk", which was featured in the 1983 film Trading Places.
Sylvester died of complications from AIDS in San Francisco on December 16, 1988.
video link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKstAXq2hh8
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