So I have done goth-disco, dark-disco, indie disco... and today I am going for disco... disco. Yes, just disco!

I had to go for: .

You Make Me Feel by Sylvester

Sylvester was a trailblazing, unapologetic force who brought a gospel-trained, soaring falsetto to the heart of San Francisco's underground scene long before the mainstream caught up. For me, this song is the sonic equivalent of a disco ball, it mentally turns any room into Studio 54 at 3 AM.

The track actually began life as a slow gospel ballad. But when producer Patrick Cowley ran Sylvester’s vocals through a wall of synthesizers, it transformed into a disco juggernaut.

Playing synths on the record was Cowley himself, a synth wizard whose relentless, syncopated sequencers practically invented Hi-NRG and laid the foundation for decades of electronic music. Utilizing a custom modular synthesizer setup and heavy tape delays, Cowley gave the track its hypnotic, driving mechanical pulse. (I'll explore more of his genius on the upcoming Donna Summer entry, but what he pulled off here is legendary).

Sylvester broke barriers as an openly gay Black artist who proudly embraced his individuality. Beyond his massive influence on dance music, he spent his final years as a dedicated activist before passing away from AIDS-related complications in 1988, leaving behind an immortal legacy of unapologetic self-expression.

For me, this absolutely belongs in the 1000 songs archive. It’s an unstoppable upbeat anthem that remains technically mind-blowing, standing proudly on its own all these years later.