Foster Sylvers, the R&B singer and musician who found fame as part of the family group the Sylvers and as a child solo star in the 1970s, has died at the age of 64.
His brother Leon Sylvers III confirmed to TMZ that Foster died from pancreatic cancer while in hospice.
He was born in Memphis, Tennessee on 25 February 1962.
Sylvers began his career remarkably early, releasing a self-titled solo album in 1973 at just 11 years old.
The record produced the notable hit Misdemeanor, establishing him as a genuine 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 yielded the era-defining disco hit Boogie Fever, which became the track most closely associated with the Sylvers name.
As the commercial landscape shifted in the 1980s, the group’s fortunes faded, and Sylvers moved into collaborative work with artists including Dynasty and Evelyn “Champagne” King, alongside his own solo projects.
His later life was marked by serious legal trouble.
In 1994, Sylvers was convicted of a offence for assaulting 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.
