Foster Sylvers, the bassist and vocalist who shared vocals with his brother Edmund on The Sylvers’ 1976 chart-topper “Boogie Fever,” died on Saturday, May 30, 2026, after fighting metastatic prostate cancer. He was 64. Diagnosed three and a half years earlier and given six months to live, he far outlived that prognosis. His brother Leon Sylvers III confirmed the death the following day.
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Foster Sylvers became a star at 11 years old. His 1973 self-titled debut album featured “Misdemeanor,” written by Leon Sylvers III. The single reached No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 7 on the Billboard R&B chart, launching the Memphis native to immediate fame on “American Bandstand” and “Soul Train,” the two most influential music programs of the era.
The Sylvers and “Boogie Fever”
A second album came in 1974. Then he joined his siblings.
The Sylvers had originally formed under the name The Little Angels, featuring siblings Olympia, Leon, Charmaine and James, and had been gaining momentum for years before Foster’s arrival. He joined The Sylvers in 1975, right as the group reached its commercial peak with the album “Showcase.”
The family act 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.
Decades as a Session Musician
After The Sylvers disbanded, Foster 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.
Tributes From Family and Friends
His daughter, Erin Sylvers, paid tribute on social media with a photograph of her father, expressing her love and saying she would miss him.
Kevin H. Donan, a Hollywood record store owner who had known Foster for nearly five decades, recalled their long friendship and early demo sessions with members of the family before the group’s records reached commercial release.
Donan expressed his condolences to the Sylvers family, and 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.
A Criminal Record
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.
The Third Brother Lost
Foster’s death is the latest blow to a family that has buried two brothers already.
Edmund Sylvers, who sang with Foster on “Boogie Fever,” died of lung cancer in 2004. Christopher Sylvers, the youngest sibling, died in 1985 at age 18. A family photograph has circulated widely since the news broke, showing Foster, Edmund and Christopher together—three brothers who have now all died.