Living Proof is an album by American singer Sylvester, released in 1979 on the Fantasy label. Living Proof was a double-record set featuring three sides of live material recorded at War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, California. The fourth side of the album included three new studio recordings.
| Living Proof | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | 1979 | |||
| Recorded | March 11, 1979 | |||
| Venue | War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, California | |||
| Genre | Disco, pop | |||
| Label | Fantasy | |||
| Producer | Harvey Fuqua, Sylvester | |||
| Sylvester chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B−[2] |
| Record Mirror |  [3] |
Commercial performance
editThe album peaked at No. 45 on the R&B albums chart. It also reached No. 123 on the Billboard 200. The album features the singles "Can't Stop Dancing", which peaked at No. 43 on the Hot Soul Singles chart, and a cover version of Patti LaBelle's "You Are My Friend", which charted at No. 30 on the Hot Soul Singles chart. "Can't Stop Dancing", along with the track "In My Fantasy (I Want You, I Need You)", both reached No. 2 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart.
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Overture" ("Grateful" / "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" / "Dance (Disco Heat)") | Michael Finden, Sylvester / Sylvester, James "Tip" Wirrick / Eric Robinson, Victor Orsborn | 3:25 |
| 2. | "Body Strong" | Michael Finden, Sylvester | 3:21 |
| 3. | "Blackbird" | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | 4:52 |
| 4. | "Medley" ("Could It Be Magic" / "A Song for You") | Barry Manilow, Adrienne Anderson / Leon Russell | 5:58 |
| 5. | "Happiness" | Allen Toussaint | 5:59 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be)" | Jimmy Davis, James Sherman, Ram Ramirez | 6:10 |
| 7. | "Sharing Something Perfect Between Ourselves" | Harold Johnson, Andrew Porter | 6:57 |
| 8. | "You Are My Friend" | Patti LaBelle, James Ellison, Armstead Edwards | 8:16 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9. | "Dance (Disco Heat)" | Eric Robinson, Victor Orsborn | 11:09 |
| 10. | "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" | Sylvester, James "Tip" Wirrick | 10:38 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Can't Stop Dancing" | Sylvester | 6:22 |
| 12. | "In My Fantasy (I Want You, I Need You)" | Sylvester | 6:30 |
| 13. | "Can't Stop Dancing (Reprise)" | Sylvester | 2:56 |
Personnel
edit- Sylvester - lead vocal
- Martha Wash - backing vocal
- Izora Rhodes - backing vocal
- Jeanie Tracey - backing vocal
- Patrick Cowley - synthesizers and sequencer
- James "Tip" Wirrick - electric guitar
- Eric Robinson, Michael Finden - electric piano, organ and clavinet
- Bob Kingson - bass
- Kelvin Dixon - drums
- David Frazier, Richard Kvistad, Gus Anthony Flores - percussions
- Jay Stolmac, Marc Baum - saxophone and flute
- Dan Reagan - trombone
- Ross Wilson - trombone and trumpet
- Dean Boysen - trumpet
- Randall Pratt - harp
Charts
editAlbum
| Chart (1979) | Peaks [4] |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top LPs | 123 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Soul LPs | 45 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peaks | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US R&B [4] |
US Dan [4] | ||
| 1979 | "Can't Stop Dancing" | 43 | 2 |
| "In My Fantasy (I Want You, I Need You)" | — | ||
| 1980 | "You Are My Friend" | 30 | — |
External links
edit- Living Proof at Discogs (list of releases)
References
edit- ^ Alex, Henderson. Living Proof review at AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved November 24, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ Sexton, Paul (26 January 1980). "Fat Larry's Band: Bright City Lights / Sylvester: Living Proof". Record Mirror. p. 12.
- ^ a b c "US Charts > Sylvester". Billboard. Retrieved 24 November 2019.