mambo, cha-cha, twist, watusi

Will you please be my valentine and go to the dance with me?

Sylvester

Surround yourself with folks who make you feel mighty real.
Sylvester performs on The Merv Griffin Show with Two Tons O' Fun (Martha Wash and Izora Armstead) before they became The Weather Girls. Learn about the unfortunate mistreatment of Martha.


Do Ya Wanna Funk?, Patrick Cowley and Sylvester, 1982

3(a+b)–2(c+d)=

As a teenager, my mom would ask me "why don't you know your math like you know your music?" I recently met Bob and Gary on vacation and we blabbed nonstop Beatles and 60s music and the fun lasted hours. Gee mom, I don't ever recall talking algebra with vacationers during my travels. But then again, I don't need calculus to paint pictures. Nevermind. Keep up with your math, kids. 😀

picture day

I'm fascinated with school pics and how styles change. Say cheese.

Let me describe it

Dorothy Dandridge and her walking rainbow have outfits made while singing about Zoot Suits and reet pleats. I want a brown gown with a zop top with a hip slip, a lace waist in the sharpest taste. Yowzaa!

Learn about Zoot Suits and the violent, racist riots that followed.

Pata Pata

Miriam Makeba and her girls perform on The Ed Sullivan Show.

The bee's knees

I'm in love with the Charleston. Cut a rug and be the cat's meow.

• A Charleston competition • Check out this dame
• These fellas were big in the 1930s • footage from 1925
• this guy's a living museum • the Gatsby Girls • Josephine Baker

take your pick

Here are three versions of Gordon Lightfoot's 1965 song (That's What You Get) For Lovin' Me by Lightfoot, Waylon Jennings and Peter, Paul and Mary. Gordon looks back at his HOF induction.