Sylvester - Over and Over (1977)

Long time no see, eh? Well, I'm back and full of new goodies to love and share.

To start off the new year with a bang, I got a tune that will definitely fit in with the festive NYE vibes that are still probably echoing somewhere in your heads. I'm talking about Sylvester's 'Over and Over'.

This fantastic upbeat disco joint comes from his/hers 1977 Fantasy Records debut album entitled: - surprise, surprise - 'Sylvester'. The song was originally composed by Ashford & Simpson, who gave it a more subtle touch with a lower tempo and a sweeter, ballad-ish feeling. Don't get me wrong, theirs is still a hell of a tune. But Sylvester's version...well, it just has that juice, that mojo!

Right, you might be wondering why the hell did I refer to Sylvester in both male and female terms. Well, did you ever see the guy...erm, woman? To keep things short, he was a gay singer and drag performer. His looks might seem confusing today, but back in the day Sylvester James blended seamlessly with the black and gay community that ran the disco scene. Nuff said.

'Over and Over', which was his first single, is a really joyful, upbeat, hands-in-the-air type of tune.  It's got a killer bassline, that's really the driving force of the song. Apart from that you get you're usual funky rhythm guitar, bunch of horns here and there and some strings to fortify the melody.

But there's really something special about this tune, something that makes it rather laid-back and so...sophisticatedly cool. It could be the instrumentation that leaves quite a lot of 'air' in the song making it different to your average in-your-face disco joints. It could be Sylvesters hazy, loose, nearly reluctant style of singing (try to distinguish the lyrics - you'll know what I mean). Or it could be the screams and shouts of the background singers (btw. 'Two Tons O'Fun' is the name of the duo of these rather hefty African-American singers that do the backing vocals on Sylvesters albums. Never heard of them? Well, it's the same girls that gave us the hit 'It's Raining Men')...all in all, put all these elements together, add a nice guitar solo in the middle (Tip Wirrick, who later wrote most of Sylvesters songs) and you got yourself a hit!

Also, if you're up for a more up-to-date rendition of the song, try John Julius Knight's 'Find a Friend' on Soulfuric Trax. It's a top, top house tune with a bunch of 'Over and Over' samples.

Last but not least, here's a little trivia for you. Sylvester was discovered by Harvey Fuqua who just departed from Motown and became a scout for Fantasy Records. Fuqua later became the producer of Sylvesters albums. Remember the guy? That's the same Fuqua who sang duets with Etta James and then broke her heart...or the other way round. (Here's Etta on Platinum Grooves)

(There might be better quality versions of the song on YouTube but this is one is really awesome in that it shows clips of the legendary Paradise Garage. See for yourself!)

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