With the support of their mother Shirley, Leon and his siblings, would perform original songs in their home. They would later perform publicly, gaining the interest of record and music executives. Once receiving a recording contract with MGM, the sextet changed their name from the Little Angels to The Sylvers, and released three albums on the MGM/Pride label, titled simply "The Sylvers", "The Sylvers 2", and "The Sylvers 3". Released between 1972 and 1974, these LPs offered soulful numbers written by Leon and produced by Jerry Butler (of the Impressions) and Keg Johnson. Four singles from these self-titled albums entered the "Billboard" R&B charts. "Fool's Paradise" was a thought-provoking song that reached 14 in the autumn of 1972. The single featured Charmaine, Edmund, and Ricky as lead singers, backed by the harmonies of Olympia, Leon, and James. "Wish That I Could Talk to You" was the next single and during early 1973 became the siblings' first top 10 song. The track, featuring Leon, Edmund and Ricky on lead, is considered a classic by old-school R&B fans. The two-sided hit "Stay Away From Me" (#33) and "I'll Never Be Ashamed" as well as "Through the Love in My Heart" (#50) followed; and the album track "Cry of a Dreamer" received significant airplay at R&B radio outlets. In early 1973, Leon wrote an uptempo Disco song called "Misdemeanor", for the groups second album. However, the track was later passed on and credited to his younger brother Foster, who was not an official member of the Sylvers at this time. (which also featured younger Sylvers; Angie and Pat who were also not in the band.) and received major airplay on many R&B radio stations. (Though the song originally featured Edmund on lead, it was passed to Foster due to Edmund's voice change.) This song later regained popularity in the late 1980s and 1990s after it was sampled by rapper/producer Dr. Dre for a song by the D.O.C. entitled "It's Funky Enough". Due to the unforeseen success of "Misdemeanor", Foster, Angie, and Pat quickly joined their older brothers and sisters to the official Sylvers group, (upping the total members to nine), and signed an exclusive contract with Capitol Records, the same label they recorded for as the Little Angels.