Dawn Silva
The Funk Queen

Her Bio

She has now released her autobiographical book, 'The Funk Queen'

Silva takes her readers on a journey around the world, and back, beginning with her rich heritage, and the trials and tribulations of a black child growing up in America during the mid 50’s and ’60s, to her defiant stint with the Black Panthers in the early ’70s in Oakland, California, to the mid-’90s performing in front of a quarter of a million people.

This true story is no longer Funk’s Best Kept Secret. It is a story of survival and persistence, a tale of a courageous woman who stood against the male-dominated music industry and never backed down; no matter how often she was knocked down, each time, she would rise stronger and better than before.

Dawn Silva began her career as a background singer for Sly Stone & The Family Stone. This world-class exposure and moved Silva full swing into the Funk Arena when Stone dropped out of his supporting slot on Parliament-Funkadelic’s 1976 U.S. tour and the rest is history.

George Clinton, produced a group on Atlantic Records called, The Brides of Dr. Funkenstein, featuring Sly’s girls, Lynn Mabry, and Dawn Silva. In 1979, the Brides’ unprecedented popularity earned them a #7 hit record on Billboard’s R&B singles.

The (Record World R&B Awards) honored the ladies with a #1 Best New Single, for Bootsy Collins’ song, “Disco To Go a #1 Best New Album for Funk or Walk. Silva flew under the radar for most of the ’80s and 90’s moving on to record and tour with “The Gap Band,” credited on “Gap Band V” (Jamming) and the platinum-selling album “Gap Gold.” Silva stood on stage at the Greek Theatre, in Hollywood, California, singing behind the world-famous B.B. King. She crossed paths with the gifted duo, The Eurythmics, and recorded with guitarist Dave Stewart on various studio projects and soundtracks.

Silva released her solo project Dawn Silva - All My Funky Friends in 2000,