Foster Sylvers, the R&B singer and musician who found fame as part of the family group the Sylvers and as a solo star in the 1970s, has died at age 64.
This was confirmed by his brother Leon Sylvers III TMZ that Foster died of pancreatic cancer while in hospice.
He was born in Memphis, Tennessee on February 25, 1962.
Sylvers began his career remarkably early, releasing a self-titled solo album in 1973, aged just 11.
The record produced the notable hit Misdemeanorand established him as a true child star in the R&B world. He went on to join the Sylvers, a soul group made up largely of his own siblings, where he played bass and became part of one of the decade’s most commercially successful acts.
The group’s 1975 album Showdown gave the epoch-making disco hit Boogie feverwhich became the track most closely associated with the Sylvers name.
As the commercial landscape shifted in the 1980s, the group’s fortunes waned, and Sylvers began collaborating with artists including Dynasty and Evelyn “Champagne” King, alongside his own solo projects.
His later life was marked by serious legal problems.
In 1994, Sylvers was convicted of a felony count of assault on an unconscious woman and was required to register as a sex offender in California.
He is survived by his family, including his brother Leon, who confirmed the news of his passing.
