Foster Sylvers, who performed bass and co-lead vocals on the 1976 No. 1 hit “Boogie Fever” with his family group The Sylvers, died on Saturday, May 30, 2026, his brother Leon Sylvers III confirmed. He was 64.
Sylvers had been battling stage four pancreatic cancer. His sister Pat Sylvers is expected to provide additional details.
The death marks the third sibling lost from the family band. Edmund Sylvers, who sang co-lead vocals alongside Foster on “Boogie Fever,” died of lung cancer in 2004. Christopher Sylvers, the youngest sibling, died in 1985 at age 18. A group photograph that has circulated widely since the news broke shows James, Foster, Edmund, Ricky and Angie — three of the five now gone.
A Solo Career That Started at 11
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Sylvers released his self-titled debut album in 1973 at age 11. The album featured “Misdemeanor,” written by Leon Sylvers III, which climbed to No. 7 on the Billboard R&B chart and No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Memphis native became an immediate star on American Bandstand and Soul Train, the two most influential music programs of the era. A second album followed in 1974 before he joined his siblings in the family group.
Joining The Sylvers at Their Peak
Foster Sylvers joined The Sylvers in 1975, arriving just as the group reached its commercial peak with the album “Showcase.” The family act had originally formed under the name The Little Angels, featuring siblings Olympia, Leon, Charmaine and James, and had been gaining momentum for years.
“Boogie Fever” topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot Soul Singles chart in 1976. Foster played bass on the track and shared co-lead vocals with his brother Edmund on what became the family’s defining hit.
The group released a string of hits including “Fool’s Paradise” and “Hot Line,” along with albums titled “The Sylvers,” “The Sylvers 2” and “The Sylvers 3,” becoming one of the defining groups of the disco era. The group disbanded in 1985.
Session Work and Later Projects
Following the group’s breakup, Sylvers continued working as a multi-instrumentalist and accomplished bassist based in Los Angeles, California. He lent his talents to Dynasty and Evelyn “Champagne” King, earning a reputation as a respected session musician while also pursuing solo work.
He co-wrote and performed on “Shake Down,” which became an R&B hit in 1984. In 1989, he formed the band Hy-Tech and released music as Foster Sylvers and Hy-Tech through EMI America and A&M Records, maintaining work as a songwriter, producer and studio collaborator long after the group’s heyday ended. His death marks the end of a career spanning more than four decades, from his breakthrough as an 11-year-old solo artist in 1973 to session work that continued into the 2000s.
A 1994 Conviction
In 1994, Foster Sylvers was convicted of a sex offense for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman. He served a prison sentence and was required to register as a sex offender in California, remaining on the registry for the rest of his life.
The conviction became a permanent part of his public record, sitting uneasily alongside his chart triumphs. His family has never tried to erase that duality, which resurfaced in obituaries announcing his death over the weekend.
Tributes From Family and Friends
His daughter, Erin Sylvers, paid tribute on social media with a photograph of her father, saying “Rest well, Daddy. I love you so much.”
Kevin H. Donan, a Hollywood record store owner who had known Foster for nearly five decades, recalled meeting him as a teenager. Donan said he met Foster Sylvers at the Sylvers family Bel-Air home when he first arrived in 1978 from Flint, Michigan, and recalled early demo sessions with members of the family before the group’s records reached commercial release.
Donan added that his heart goes out to the entire Sylvers family in prayer, and to rest in music Heaven. Musician Lawrence “LAW” Worrell shared his own remembrance, saying he had watched Foster fight the cancer in their final visits but preferred to remember the years of working together.