Patrick Cowley
Encyclopedia
Patrick Joseph Cowley was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...

 and Hi-NRG
Hi-NRG
Hi-NRG describes a form of high-tempo disco music as well as a genre of electronic dance music originating in the United States during the late 1970s...

 dance music composer and recording artist. He recorded in a style that has drawn comparisons to that of Giorgio Moroder
Giorgio Moroder
Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...

 and is often credited with pioneering electronic dance music.

Early life

Patrick Cowley was born in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

 to Ellen and Kenneth Cowley. Cowley's family originated in the Horseheads
Horseheads (village), New York
Horseheads is a village in Chemung County, New York, USA. The population was 6,461 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from the number of bleached skulls of pack horses left behind by the Sullivan Expedition....

 and Corning
Corning (town), New York
Corning is a town in Steuben County, New York, USA. The town is in the eastern part of the county and borders the city of Corning. The town population was 6,426 at the 2000 census...

 areas of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 and lived in Rochester
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...

. During his teenage years, Cowley became a successful drummer with local amateur bands before attending Niagara University
Niagara University
Niagara University is a Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition, located in the Town of Lewiston in Niagara County, New York. Originally founded by the Congregation of the Mission in 1856 as Our Lady of Angels Seminary, it became Niagara University in 1883. The University is still run by...

 and later the University at Buffalo to study English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...

. In 1971, at the age of 21, Cowley moved to San Francisco to attend the City College of San Francisco
City College of San Francisco
City College of San Francisco, or CCSF, is a two-year community college in San Francisco, California. The Ocean Avenue campus, in the Ingleside neighborhood, is the college's primary location...

 where he studied music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

, specifically the use of synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...

s.

Musical career

Cowley met San Francisco-based musician Sylvester in the late 1970s. Sylvester had asked Cowley to join his studio band after hearing some of his early synthesizer recordings.

Cowley's own hits included "Menergy
Menergy (song)
"Menergy" is a 1981 dance single by producer Patrick Cowley. Along with the track "I Want to Take You Home", "Menergy" spent two weeks atop the Billboard Dance/Disco chart in October and November 1981. It was Cowley's most successful single of four Top 10 dance chart hits, all of which occurred...

" in 1981, a frank celebration of the gay club scene, and "Megatron Man", which hit #1 and #2 respectively on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 1982. That same year, Patrick Cowley became the DJ at the "Menergy" parties at The EndUp
The EndUp
The EndUp was founded in November 1973 and is a dance club in San Francisco, California. It is located on the corner of 6th and Harrison, in the SoMa district. The EndUp has two bars, a lounge with fireplace, a dance floor with mirrored columns, and a large open-air deck with a waterfall, plants...

 in San Francisco. He also wrote and produced the dance single "Right on Target" for San Francisco artist Paul Parker
Paul Parker (singer)
Paul Parker is a Hi-NRG and dance singer born in San Francisco, California. His biggest success came in the eighties, when he reached #1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart twice: "Right on Target" in 1982, which was written and produced by Patrick Cowley, who also produced Parker's 1983 debut...

, which also reached #1 on the Billboard dance chart in 1982. A collaboration with Sylvester, "Do Ya Wanna Funk
Do Ya Wanna Funk
"Do Ya Wanna Funk" is a dance song recorded by American recording artist Sylvester. The song was released in 1982 and it was produced by Patrick Cowley, who incidentally died the same year...

", made #4 on the Billboard dance chart that same year. Cowley also did a 15'45" long remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....

 of Donna Summer
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...

's "I Feel Love
I Feel Love
"I Feel Love" is a song by Donna Summer, taken from her 1977 concept album I Remember Yesterday.The song constituted the "future" segment of the album, which represented a stylistic progress through time...

", which is now a collector's item. His final album, Mind Warp
Mind Warp
-Track listing:# "Tech-No-Logical World" - 7:43# "Invasion" - 6:44# "They Came At Night" - 6:12# "Mind Warp" - 6:36# "Primitive World" - 3:01# "Mutant Man" - 5:23# "Goin' Home" - 5:36# "Invasion " - 6:21# "Mind Warp " - 7:57...

, was composed as he felt the increasing effects of HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...

 infection, and its songs reflect his increasing detachment from conventional reality as the disease progressed. Cowley only released three solo albums, but groups including the Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....

 and New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...

 cite Cowley's style as a major influence.

Cowley wrote and produced songs for several San Francisco musicians including friends Paul Parker and Frank Loverde
Frank Loverde
Frank Loverde was an American disco singer and musician active during the 1980s. Based in San Francisco, Loverde worked with record producer Patrick Cowley on his greatest success; Die Hard Lover, released in 1982....

. He was associated with many other musicians such as Kat Mandu, Maurice Tani and Linda Imperial.

In 2009 a previously unreleased album by Cowley and Indoor Life vocalist Jorge Socarras, recorded 1976, appeared and proved the continued interest in his music.

Death

During a world tour with Sylvester in late 1981, Cowley complained of feeling increasingly unwell. Upon returning to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, he visited a doctor who diagnosed food poisoning. Weeks later, with his condition only worsening, doctors again failed to identify what was wrong with him. At this early stage in the history of the HIV and AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...

, misdiagnosis was common and so Cowley was discharged from the hospital (in 1982) after doctors could do nothing more for him.

After discharge, Cowley went on to complete two albums, his own Mind Warp and Sylvester
Sylvester James
-Studio albums:-Live albums:-Compilation albums:* Mighty Real UK #62* 12 By 12 * Immortal -Singles:-Additional recordings:*Lights Out San Francisco...

's All I Need, which was later retitled Do Ya Wanna Funk after its chart-topping hit. Cowley died at his home, in San Francisco, on November 12, 1982. He was 32 years old, an early victim of AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...

 (which was then still known as GRID). A couple of tracks were also completed for a planned Sarah Dash
Sarah Dash
Sarah Dash is a singer and actress. Her first notable appearance on the music scene was as a member of Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles...

 album that year, which was cut short by Cowley's death.

Albums

  • Menergy (1981)
  • Megatron Man (1981)
  • Mind Warp
    Mind Warp
    -Track listing:# "Tech-No-Logical World" - 7:43# "Invasion" - 6:44# "They Came At Night" - 6:12# "Mind Warp" - 6:36# "Primitive World" - 3:01# "Mutant Man" - 5:23# "Goin' Home" - 5:36# "Invasion " - 6:21# "Mind Warp " - 7:57...

    (1982)
  • Catholic (2009 - Recorded 1976-1979)

Notable collaborations

  • "Right On Target" by Paul Parker
    Paul Parker (singer)
    Paul Parker is a Hi-NRG and dance singer born in San Francisco, California. His biggest success came in the eighties, when he reached #1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart twice: "Right on Target" in 1982, which was written and produced by Patrick Cowley, who also produced Parker's 1983 debut...

     (1982)
  • "Die Hard Lover" by Frank Loverde
    Frank Loverde
    Frank Loverde was an American disco singer and musician active during the 1980s. Based in San Francisco, Loverde worked with record producer Patrick Cowley on his greatest success; Die Hard Lover, released in 1982....

     (1982)
  • "Do You Wanna Funk" by Sylvester (1982)
  • "Tech-no-logical world" by Paul Parker (1982)

External links

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