The Fabulous Sylvester

The Legend, the Music, the Seventies in San Francisco

Joshua Gamson

Picador

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Imagine a pied piper singing in falsetto, wearing sequins, and leading the young people of the nation to San Francisco and on to a 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.

Yale-trained sociologist Joshua Gamson uses Sylvester's life to lead us through the story of the 1970s, when a generation took off its shame. Celebrity, sociology, and music history mingle in this endlessly entertaining story of a singer who embodied the freedom, spirit, and flamboyance of a golden moment in American culture.

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Praise for The Fabulous Sylvester

"The Fabulous Sylvester is a well written, touching, dignified biography of a gay, black diva who never really fit into any minority but managed to achieve his dreams of stardom. Now that's what I call a man."--John Waters

"[A] superbly written, wildly entertaining, frequently hilarious, and finally bittersweet saga."--Time Out New York

"Delightful . . . I'm not sure I've ever read an account of a life that has so much sheer joy, raffishness, and humor on each page. . . . As fables go, this is a good one."--Newsday

"[Gamson's] prose is playful and furious . . . putting the singer's story into sociological context [and capturing] the astonishing scope of AIDS with grace and indignation."--Entertainment Weekly

Reviews from Goodreads

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Edwin  rated it  
Aug 7, 2011
Awesome story about an awesome person. Sad stuff at the end with P. Cowley and lots of others dying. ...more
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Columbus  rated it  
Jun 16, 2009
Excellent biography on a performer who was well ahead of his time. Quote: "Don't conceptualize me, I am the concept" ...more
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Sharene  rated it  
Apr 26, 2009
I really liked this book a lot, its fascinating. If you enjoy pop culture of the 70's, live(d) in the Bay Area, are interested in the history of r&b and disco music of the 70's and 80's, and like reading about really interesting people, you should read this book! ...more
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About the Author

Joshua Gamson

Joshua Gamson teaches at the University of San Francisco. He is the author of Freaks Talk Back: Tabloid Talk Shows and Sexual Nonconformity and Claims to Fame: Celebrity in Contemporary America. He lives in Oakland, California.

Joshua Gamson

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The Fabulous Sylvester
The Legend, the Music, the Seventies in San Francisco
Joshua Gamson

Award

ALA Stonewall Book Award - Winner, Lambda Literary Award - Nominee

Trade Paperback

Trade Paperback
Picador
January 2006
Trade Paperback
ISBN: 9780312425692
ISBN10: 0312425694
5 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches, 336 pages, Includes 16 pages of black-and-white photographs
$18.00

Hardcover

Hardcover
Henry Holt and Co.
March 2005
Hardcover
ISBN: 9780805072501
ISBN10: 0805072500
6 1/8 x 9 1/4 inches, 320 pages, 8-pg insert
$26.00
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