1977 The Sylvers – High School Dance
Nine members of the Sylvers family were born between 1951 and 1962 and were members of the family’s band at one time or another. They had a younger brother who was born in 1966 that never sang with the group.
Their father taught all of them music and had them practice singing harmony. The four oldest kids performed as The Little Angels and recorded a few records and appeared on several television shows. They even appeared as an opening act for Johnny Mathis and Ray Charles.
Two more kids joined the group in the early seventies and the act signed with MGM Records and became The Sylvers. While the group did not initially reach the Hot 100 with their early singles, by 1972 they already had a top ten hit on the R&B chart.
In 1975, three more younger siblings joined the group, and they signed with Capitol Records. Capitol assigned producer Freddie Perren to work with the group. He had previously produced records for the Jackson 5 and co-wrote and produced the Sylvers’ biggest single, Boogie Fever. The record topped both the Hot 100 and the R&B chart in 1976 and sold over two million copies.
They followed up that success with a single that missed the top forty. The group then had another million-selling single (Hot Line). Three more younger family members joined the Sylvers, bringing the total of members to nine.
The group wrote their next single themselves, and Freddie again produced their recording, High School Dance.
The single reached #17 on the Hot 100 and #6 on the R&B chart. It was the last top forty single the group scored on the Hot 100.
The group began writing and producing their own records without Freddie’s help and had less successful results. Leon left the group and became a producer and songwriter for Solar Records.
After two more two forty singles on the R&B chart in 1978, the group never again reached the top forty on any chart. They completely disbanded in 1985.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sylvers
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