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 recorded in a similar style to Giorgio Moroder, and is often credited with pioneering 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, as a light technician, he met Sylvester (originally of the Cockettes gay Theatre group) 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".