Sly & The Family Stone

Sly Stone – born Sylvester Stewart in Denton, Texas on March 15, 1943 – was a child prodigy and had already been performing music for years before taking up a job in the mid-1960s as a radio DJ in San Francisco, California. This eventually led to him taking a job as a staff producer in 1966 for the fledgling Autumn Records and working with artists like the Beau Brummels and Grace Slick’s first band, the Great Society. Already very familiar with soul, funk and R&B sounds of the day, Sly Stone’s exposure to rock, pop, and psychedelia sparked an idea in his mind and he formed a band called Sly and the Stoners. His brother Freddie had his own band, Freddie and the Stone Souls, so they decided to merge the bands together and created Sly and the Family Stone in 1967. Combining late 1960s psychedelic ideals with a powerful funky sound, Sly and 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’s unique musical vision. 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. The US Top 10 single “Dance to the Music” the following year launched them into the mainstream as they enthralled audiences with their colorful 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 US number 1 with anti-prejudice message song “Everyday People,” introducing the phrase ‘different strokes for different folks’ to the pop culture vernacular. The following year, they gave a seminal performance at the legendary Woodstock Festival and released their second number 1 single, “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin”. Sly Stone's drug problems limited their output, but they returned in 1971 with the 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. However, the albums Fresh and Small Talk were still highly regarded. By 1976, their singles were no longer appearing in the Hot 100, although they did have some minor hits on the Soul / R&B Singles chart. After releasing their 10th album, Ain’t But the One Way, the Family Stone effectively split in 1983.