Leon Sylvers III: Hitmaker Extraordinaire Shares his Story on Music & Medicine

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Moshe Lewis, Dr Moshe Lewis, Music And Medicine, Music, Medicine Leon Frank Sylvers III is an American singer, songwriter, disc-jockey, record producer and multi-instrumentalist. He was a member of the family group The Sylvers and became one of the most successful producers in black music in the late 1970s to the mid-1980s through his association with Dick Griffey's SOLAR Records.Artists such as J Dilla,[3] Dr. Dre, and Madlib have sampled songs written and produced by him. His HITS include, #misdemeanor #Andthebeatgoeson His Gene Page single "Love Starts After Dark" and 7th Wonder's song "The Tilt". Shalamar would chart with their Three for Love album at number eight on the US Top Soul Albums. The album would be certified Gold. The Whispers' "It's a Love Thing" was another R&B smash which helped propel the Imagination album to number three on the Top Soul Albums charts. Noting his success, Billboard magazine described him as, "the man of the hour in R & B. In 1982, Leon produced Shalamar's album Friends. The album topped the US Top R&B Albums chart, propelled by the single "A Night to Remember", which reached number eight on the US R&B charts. The album would be certified Platinum. Leon spent the next couple of years producing hit songs for The Whispers ("In the Raw", "Tonight"), Gladys Knight & The Pips ("Save the Overtime (For Me)"), Tavares ("Ten to One") among others. In that same year, he served as mentor to the production team Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.Dick Griffey said of Leon at the time, "Aside from Quincy Jones, I think Leon is the hottest producer around. He's grown with SOLAR and has been exposed to other creative forces in putting together different kinds of songs and sounds. He's gotten a different kind of polish and sophistication." In the '90s Leon would work with R&B New Jack Producer Teddy Riley on his group Blackstreet's debut album Blackstreet. Leon helped co-write Blackstreet's US Top 10 hit "Before I Let You Go". Leon would also work with Riley again this time helping write two songs on New Kids on the Block's Face the Music as well as the song "Love Online" on Guy's reunion album Guy III. Riley credited Leon for his ability to make lyrics work with a given melody, saying he was "probably the number one best." #Leonsylvers #thesylvers #soulmusic #randb #teddyriley #thewhispers #gladysknight #jimmyjam #shalamar #solar