Patrick Cowley

Patrick Joseph Cowley (b October 19, 1950 Buffalo, New York - d November 12, 1982 San Francisco, California) was a Disco and Hi-NRG dance music composer and recording artist. He was one of two men (the other being

Patrick Joseph Cowley (b October 19, 1950 Buffalo, New York - d November 12, 1982 San Francisco, California) was a Disco and Hi-NRG dance music composer and recording artist. He was one of two men (the other being Giorgio Moroder) often credited with pioneering in electronic dance music.

Born in Buffalo, Cowley moved to San Francisco in 1971, beginning an intensive study of the synthesizer. Working at the City Disco, he met Sylvester who was there performing. They began to collaborate, and Cowley's aggressive synthesizer style became associated with Sylvester. Their club-dancing fan base responded enthusiastically to hits like "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)", "Dance (Disco Heat)", and their most successful single, "Do You Wanna Funk".