KCOOLMUZIQ said:

They all seem to play down the tragedy they went through. I guess they have now excepted & moved on. I wonder did they ever look at The Jacksons & Mj's success & wonder if that could have been them. I would have liked to hear Foster's side of the story.

How you say - bittersweet, for Leon. He is crushed by his siblilngs and their short sided bullshit, but goes on to make a boatload of cash and has critical writing and prodcution successes.

scriptgirl said:

Are't people who become schizo later in life-aren't they already born that way? I mean, usually mental illness runs in families

As some orgers were observing, trauma at that level can trigger an illness. I really appreciated how they treated this subject and Olympia in general. Her daughter's ovservations about the treatment options available in the mid 70s was insightful and crucial - very evolved understanding. I think this is a smart family and loving family who tried to take care of each for the most part ('cept for when they cast out Leon)- but things don't always work out the way we want. But how a family treats its mentally ill members is an indicator of some integral, down and dirty, things about them. I always liked the Sylvers, but now I am over the moon.

Funny, about the Sylvers.

I had no idea that anyone connected to the sugary, lightweight (in a good way) disco pop

of "Hotline" was also involved in more aggressive disco funk ("I Don't Wanna Be A Freak")

and electrofunk/boogie funk period (Dynasty, Shalamar, Evelyn King, The Whispers, The Brothers Johnson, etc.) A very talented family of performers and producers.

"Hotline" was one of the first songs that I really wanted to purchase, at the age of 7 years old.

I saw the Sylvers on Soul Train for sure and maybe American Bandstand and/or Wonderama.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErU8Lo2WcO4

It must of been the sexy females that sealed the deal for me.

I am grateful for their contributions to the R&B music categories.

It is interesting how little visibility Leon Sylvers has received compared to his influence on early and mid 80s R&B. These are songs, particularly those by Shalamar & the Whispers, that were quite popular on the radio in Europe as well as the U.S.

Great mix of Sylvers classics from two different periods.

There needs to be proper remastering and reissuing of all of the Sylvers work!