Sly & The Family Stone

Combining late 1960s psychedelic ideals with a powerful funky sound, Sly & the Family Stone were one of the most exciting bands of the era, influencing later funk, dance and hip-hop movements. Effectively the first front-line multi-cultural, mixed race band of real rock significance, they were driven by Sly Stone, who linked up with his brother Freddie when they decided to combine their two bands, Sly & the Stones and Freddie & the Stone and the Souls. The new group's big rhythm sound soon attracted the interest of CBS Records, which released their debut album A Whole New Thing in 1967 to major critical acclaim; and the US Top 10 single Dance To The Music the following year launched them into the mainstream as they enthralled audiences with their colourful and energetic live shows. The band's peace and love messages captured the mood of the time, drawing influences from a wide variety of sources, with a groundbreaking mix of black and white music. In 1968 they had their first UK Number 1 with an anti-prejudice message song Everyday People, introducing the phrase "different strokes for different folks", and the following year they gave a seminal performance at the legendary Woodstock Festival. Sly Stone's drug problems limited their output but they returned in 1971 with a Number 1 hit Family Affair and the hit album There's A Riot Goin' On. Bitter internal wrangles led to personnel changes and their sound became more stripped down and less successful as a result, though the albums Fresh and Small Talk were still highly regarded. The Family Stone effectively split in 1983.