Sylvester – You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) – 1978

Since it’s Pride Month…
I thought this would be the perfect time to shine a light on some of the LGBTQ+ artists who helped shape The Soundtrack of My Life. 

And honestly, I can’t think of many artists more deserving than Sylvester.
🌈✨🪩🎤❤️🎶

Before Lil Nas X.
Before Adam Lambert.
Before George Michael publicly embraced his truth.
There was Sylvester.

Being an out Black gay artist in the late 1970s and 1980s wasn’t just uncommon. 
It was courageous.💯

Born Sylvester James Jr. in Los Angeles, Sylvester grew up singing gospel music before eventually finding his home in San Francisco. 
Long before the world embraced authenticity and self-expression, he was already living it.

Makeup, sequins, high heels, falsetto vocals, none of it was hidden. 
He wasn’t trying to fit into somebody else’s idea of what a star should look like. 
He was simply being himself.
And that wasn’t easy.

Those of us who came of age in the 1980s remember just how difficult those years could be for LGBTQ+ people. 
Yes Lawd!
Acceptance wasn’t common.
Representation was almost nonexistent.

Many artists stayed quiet because they feared losing their careers. 
Some never got the opportunity to live openly at all.
Sylvester chose a different road.

He walked onto stages with confidence, joy, and unapologetically being himself. 
Looking back, it’s easy to see why so many people consider him a pioneer.
Me Included!🌈

In 1978, Sylvester released You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real), from his album Step II. 
The song was written by Sylvester and legendary producer Patrick Cowley. 
Interestingly, the original version was much slower. 
Cowley had the idea of injecting a futuristic electronic pulse into the track…
Creating one of the most influential dance records ever recorded.
That combination of Sylvester’s soaring vocals and Patrick Cowley’s synthesizers changed everything.

The record reached number one on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs Charts.
It became an anthem inside clubs around the world. 
Nearly fifty years later, you can still hear it from time to time in regular and gay clubs.
Especially during Pride months.
🌈✨🪩

Another fun piece of trivia is that Sylvester’s powerhouse backup singers were Martha Wash and Izora Rhodes.
They would later become famous as Two Tons O’ Fun and eventually achieve worldwide success as The Weather Girls with It’s Raining Men.

But Mighty Real was more than just another disco hit.
For many people, especially members of the LGBTQ+ community, it represented freedom. 
It represented joy. 
It represented being comfortable in your own skin.
That’s probably why the song still hits the way it does.

When I play or hear You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real), I don’t just hear disco.🪩
I hear someone refusing to shrink themselves to make others comfortable. 
I hear a man who stood proudly in his truth years before the world was ready to celebrate it.
And maybe that’s why this song still matters.

Because being Mighty Real never goes out of style.
Thank you, Sylvester, for never being afraid to be YOU!
🌈✨🪩🎤❤️🎶
djz7

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