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Sylvester
Private Recordings | August 1970
Dark Entries - Cat No: DE-315
- updated:2026-05-22
Early recordings by the great disco icon Sylvester, released by 〈Dark Entries〉. A fantastic collection of tracks, starting with a cover of Billie Holiday’s “God Bless the Child,” featuring a falsetto voice accompanied only by piano. I’ve added it to my collection. (Saito)
Track List
This essential release documents the earliest known recordings from one of disco’s greatest talents.
While Sylvester is best known for his chart-topping collaborations with producer Patrick Cowley, such as “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real),” this release reveals his passion for the sounds of the 30s and 40s. In 1970 a 22-year-old Sylvester had moved to San Francisco and found himself involved with the Cockettes, the infamous psychedelic performance art troupe. Among this milieu was Peter Mintun, a pianist and record collector living in a commune devoted to retro culture. According to Mintun, “We were like hippies who lived in the twenties. We lived in a house that didn’t have anything modern in it. Nothing in it was made after World War II.” Mintun and Sylvester bonded over their love of Black singers of yore and were allotted a slot during Cockettes performances reviving the music of the Prohibition Era. One afternoon, Sylvester and Mintun recorded a number of their shared favorites using a high-end microphone a friend had acquired. Private Recordings features 9 songs from this session, including standards like “Stormy Weather,” “Happy Days Are Here Again,” and “God Bless the Child.” Sylvester’s unmistakable falsetto brings depth and a dash of camp to these familiar tunes. The recordings are casual and intimate, even capturing banter between Sylvester and Mintun; their brief rendition of “When My Dreamboat Comes Home” has the duo working out a melody in real time. In addition to their sonic explorations of decades past, Sylvester and Mintun also staged photographic shoots in vintage couture. Private Recordings comes with a 16-page booklet on firm cardstock featuring images from these never-before-seen shoots as well as liner notes from Mintun detailing his friendship with Sylvester and their experiences recording. All this is housed in a metallic silver sleeve designed by Eloise Leigh featuring a 1920’s Art Deco aesthetic. The record will be released on September 6th which would have been Sylvester’s 76th birthday, and all proceeds from Private Recordings will go to the two charities that Sylvester left his royalties after his death: Project Open Hand and PRC (formerly AIDS Emergency Fund).
While Sylvester is best known for his chart-topping collaborations with producer Patrick Cowley, such as “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real),” this release reveals his passion for the sounds of the 30s and 40s. In 1970 a 22-year-old Sylvester had moved to San Francisco and found himself involved with the Cockettes, the infamous psychedelic performance art troupe. Among this milieu was Peter Mintun, a pianist and record collector living in a commune devoted to retro culture. According to Mintun, “We were like hippies who lived in the twenties. We lived in a house that didn’t have anything modern in it. Nothing in it was made after World War II.” Mintun and Sylvester bonded over their love of Black singers of yore and were allotted a slot during Cockettes performances reviving the music of the Prohibition Era. One afternoon, Sylvester and Mintun recorded a number of their shared favorites using a high-end microphone a friend had acquired. Private Recordings features 9 songs from this session, including standards like “Stormy Weather,” “Happy Days Are Here Again,” and “God Bless the Child.” Sylvester’s unmistakable falsetto brings depth and a dash of camp to these familiar tunes. The recordings are casual and intimate, even capturing banter between Sylvester and Mintun; their brief rendition of “When My Dreamboat Comes Home” has the duo working out a melody in real time. In addition to their sonic explorations of decades past, Sylvester and Mintun also staged photographic shoots in vintage couture. Private Recordings comes with a 16-page booklet on firm cardstock featuring images from these never-before-seen shoots as well as liner notes from Mintun detailing his friendship with Sylvester and their experiences recording. All this is housed in a metallic silver sleeve designed by Eloise Leigh featuring a 1920’s Art Deco aesthetic. The record will be released on September 6th which would have been Sylvester’s 76th birthday, and all proceeds from Private Recordings will go to the two charities that Sylvester left his royalties after his death: Project Open Hand and PRC (formerly AIDS Emergency Fund).
"This is an important release documenting one of the greatest talents in disco and his earliest known recordings. While Sylvester is best known for his chart-topping collaborations with producer Patrick Cowley, such as “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real),” this release reveals his passion for the sounds of the ’30s and ’40s. In 1970, at the age of 22, Sylvester moved to San Francisco and became involved with the infamous psychedelic performance art collective, the Rocket Gang. Among his peers was pianist and record collector Peter Mintun, who lived in a commune devoted to retro culture. According to Mintun, “We were like hippies living in the 1920s. We lived in a house with nothing modern. There was nothing made after World War II.” Bound by their love for the black singers of yesteryear, Mintun and Sylvester ended up performing in Rocket Gang shows that revived Prohibition-era music. One afternoon, Sylvester and Mintun used a high-end microphone a friend had acquired to record a number of their shared favorites. *Private Recordings* features nine tracks from this session, including standards such as “Stormy Weather,” “Happy Days Are Here Again,” and “God Bless the Child.” Sylvester’s unmistakable falsetto lends depth and a touch of camp to these familiar songs. The recordings are casual and intimate, capturing conversations between Sylvester and Minton. In a brief rendition of “When My Dreamboat Comes Home,” the duo crafts the melody in real time. In addition to exploring the sounds of decades past, Sylvester and Minton also posed for a photo shoot in vintage couture. *Private Recordings* comes with a sturdy 16-page cardstock booklet featuring images from this unreleased photo shoot and liner notes by Minton detailing his friendship with Sylvester and the recording experience. All of this is housed in a metallic silver sleeve designed by Eloise Lee, incorporating the Art Deco aesthetic of the 1920s. The record was released on September 6, Sylvester’s 76th birthday, and all proceeds from *Private Recordings* will be donated to the two charities to which Sylvester bequeathed his royalties after his death: Project Open Hand and PRC (formerly the AIDS Emergency Fund). (From the press release)