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Sly and the Family Stone
Sly and the Family Stone was an American band formed in San Francisco in 1966, led by singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Sly Stone (born Sylvester Stewart). They were pioneers of funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic music, known for their innovative blend of genres and socially conscious lyrics. The band was one of the first major American rock groups to have a racially integrated, mixed-gender lineup, including members like Larry Graham (bass), Greg Errico (drums), Jerry Martini (saxophone), Cynthia Robinson (trumpet), Rose Stone (keyboards), and Freddie Stone (guitar).
Their music combined infectious grooves, uplifting messages, and complex arrangements, influencing countless artists. Hits like "Dance to the Music" (1968), "Everyday People" (1968), "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" (1969), and "Family Affair" (1971) topped charts and addressed themes of unity, love, and social justice. Albums such as Stand! (1969) and There's a Riot Goin' On (1971) are considered landmarks in music history.
The band faced challenges with drug addiction, internal conflicts, and changing musical trends, leading to their decline by the mid-1970s. Sly Stone’s erratic behavior and legal issues further impacted their legacy, though their influence persists in funk, hip-hop, and pop. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.
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Sly and the Family Stone: The First Family: Live At Winchester Cathedral 1967
by Doug Collette
The glossy silver foil finish inside and outside the covers of The First Family: Live at Winchester Cathedral 1967 to some degree belies the sound quality of the music inside. But the assiduous effort applied to the sonics of the original recordings--by Sly and The Family Stone's first manager Rich Romanello--is right in line with the meticulously annotated contents of the enclosed fifty-two page booklet. With the many period photos as thought-provoking as the carefully annotated prose, the ...
Continue ReadingSly Stone, Tessa Souter, Cedar Walton
by David Brown
This week we remember progressive soul and funk pioneer Sly Stone of Sly and the Family Stone with two interpretations of his classic tunes: “Family Affair" from Bobby Hutcherson and “If You Want Me to Stay" from David Murray. Songs featuring some wonderful “oohs" and “aahs" in the background will be follow from Nina Simone and Billy Strayhorn. New releases are up next from Tessa Souter, interpreting Eric Satie, Brandee Younger, performing on Alice Coltrane's Harp, and Adam O'Farrill with ...
Continue ReadingSly Stone: Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) - A Memoir (Paperback)
by Doug Collette
Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin): A Memoir: (paperback) Sly Stone with Ben Greenman 336 Pages ISBN-13: 978-1250872265 Macmillan Publishing/AuwaBooks2024 Reading Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin): A Memoir, it' is hard to know who to compliment most (even if no additional content appears in the softcover edition). Is it Sly Stone for his rapid fire recollection or co-writer Ben Greenman for helping maintain some flow to the prose thereof? ...
Continue ReadingSly Stone: Thank You (Falettinme be Mice Elf Agin)
by Richard J Salvucci
Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin): A Memoir Sly Stone With Ben Greenman 297 Pages ISBN: 9780374606978 Auwa Books2023 Some readers may remember a time before Sly and the Family Stone. There was music--music you might reasonably call funky. The word “funk" first appeared in the early seventeenth century. Its use in jazz went back to the 1950s, at least. But for a lot of people, there was before Sly and after ...
Continue ReadingSly and the Family Stone: Live at The Fillmore East October 4th and 4th 1968
by Doug Collette
Sly and The Family Stone's galvanizing appearance at the Woodstock Music and Arts Fair in August of 1969 may well represent the pinnacle of their career, but their rise to this apogee of recognition was the culmination of a long slow climb to fame dating back even further than Sylvester Stewart's, nee Sly, tenure as a disc jockey and record producer during the early to mid-Sixties in San Francisco. Melding r&b, gospel, rock and roll, blues and pop, ...
Continue ReadingSly and the Family Stone: Higher
by Carlo Wolff
Sylvester Stewart is a maddening guy. Both a cock of the walk and abjectly self-destructive, the man better known as Sly Stone, leader of the Family Stone, psychedelicized funk better, or at least more notoriously, than anyone else as the 1960s collapsed into the 1970s. In albums like Dance to the Music (1968), the 1969 breakout Stand!, the shadowy 1971 masterpiece There's a Riot Goin' On and 1973's disturbingly catchy Fresh, Sly and his musical--including some blood--kin crafted unparalleled, unsurpassed ...
Continue ReadingSly Stone (1943-2025)
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Sly Stone, whose late-1960s eclectic brand of polished Bay Area funk-pop launched a music revolution that influenced artists ranging from Miles Davis to Stevie Wonder, Prince and all the major funk bands that followed in the 1970s and beyond, died yesterday. He was 82. The singer-songwriter, arranger and multi-instrumentalist was a fashion trend-setter and tireless composer whose drug habit began as a way to ease the stress of delivering albums, hits and performances. While many bands in the late 1960s ...
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