Hard Up

With his most commercial record in years, Sylvester signs with a major label, becomes the face of a movement, plants a flag for Black musical excellence with an iconic performance, and is honored by his chosen hometown. In the season finale, Sylvester’s fabulousness transcends his own life, and lights the way for generations of intersectional artists to come. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sylvester goes broke, makes history on MTV and returns to his Pentecostal  roots as AIDS ravages his community. But at the same time, Sylvester discovers the greatest love of his life – and makes some of the most meaningful music of his career. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sylvester loses some of his closest creative collaborators — some to success, others to a mysterious disease that doesn’t have a name yet — and he starts a new chapter with a small label run by old friends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Between the racist backlash to disco, the late ‘70s record industry collapse, and a bizarre case of mistaken identity, superstardom is a mixed blessing for Sylvester. His follow-up album is an expensive commercial disappointment, and he’s got to scramble to keep up with the changing times. This episode features never-before aired audio from his legendary 1979 concert at the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sylvester always thought disco was tacky, but he really wants a hit record. So he finally embraces the popular sound – and rockets to superstardom. He’s the toast of Europe. His songs win Grammys. But at the same time, mistrust and shady dealings with management are pushing his band to the breaking point. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A legendary Motown producer signs Sylvester to a record deal, and a new band helps him build a passionate local fanbase. Now he’s just gotta break through to the pop charts. But for an intersectional artist who’s too Black for mainstream radio, and too queer for Black radio, crossing over is a mighty challenge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sylvester tries to make it as a glam rock star, but ends up self-sabotaging on an epic scale: spending his advance on clothes, not paying his band, and fleeing to Paris when he can’t stand the heat. This episode includes a lost demo from his early days that hasn’t been heard in 50 years, and tells the complex story of Sylvester’s initiation into adult sexuality in a manner that may not be suitable for all audiences. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sylvester moves from South Central LA to join a performance-art commune in San Francisco that’s mostly made up of white hippies in drag. But for Sylvester, being fabulous isn’t an outrageous game of dress-up. It’s for real — and so ultimately, he throws them under the bus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you know Sylvester at all, you know him as the gender-bending Queen of Disco whose hit song “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) has lit up many a dance floor. But he was so much more than that. As a queer person of color – way before “gender-fluid” was even a term – Sylvester broke all kinds of barriers. And he refused to compromise his authentic self as he paved the way for generations of intersectional artists to come. In this first season of Sound Barrier, we take you into the backstage battles, the glamorous European discos, the San Fransisco neighborhood that was ground zero for the Gay Rights Movement: the fabulous world of Sylvester. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices