Misdemeanor (song)

"Misdemeanor"
Single by Foster Sylvers
from the album Foster Sylvers
Released1973 (1973)
GenreR&B
Length2:33
Label
SongwriterLeon Sylvers III[1]
ProducerKeg Johnson[1]
Foster Sylvers singles chronology
"Misdemeanor"
(1973)
"Hey Little Girl"
(1973)
Music video
"Misdemeanor" on YouTube

"Misdemeanor" is a song performed by American rhythm and blues singer Foster Sylvers; issued as the first single from his eponymous debut studio album. Written by his brother Leon,[1] the song is his only hit to date on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #22 on the chart in 1973.[2]

Jess Harvell of Freaky Trigger has written of the song in retrospect: "So musically this comes over like a '99 era Irv Gotti/Ja Rule track (you know, when they were good): stop-start rhythm, lotsa chimes, pizzicato xylophone(?). Only the dippy-dippy-do funk bass maroons it in the 70s. It's fucking great."[3]

Charts

Chart performance for "Misdemeanor"
Chart (1973) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[2] 22
US R&B Singles (Billboard)[2] 7

References

  1. ^ a b c "Foster Sylvers / The Sylvers - Misdemeanor / So Close | Releases | Discogs". Discogs. Zink Media. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Foster Sylvers - Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  3. ^ Harvell, Jess (October 29, 2002). "Foster Sylvers – "Misdemeanor"". Freaky Trigger. Retrieved October 29, 2025.