Gamson received the 2006 Stonewall Book Award for nonfiction for ''The Fabulous Sylvester'', his biography of disco singer and activist Sylvester, which was also shortlisted for the 2005 Lambda Literary Awards. In a mostly positive review for ''The Village Voice'', Robert Christgau lamented the gaps in Gamson's knowledge of music history, but praised his "details and insights" into Sylvester's life. ''Kirkus Reviews'' called the book "worshipful, occasionally overenthusiastic, yet engaging and sometimes surprisingly insightful."