Sly & The Family Stone

In the closing years of the 1960s, Sly & the Family Stone wove together the period’s scattered musical currents and cultural currents into a striking blend of soul, rock, R&B, psychedelia, and funk that erased stylistic borders almost instinctively. Fronted by Sly Stone, the ensemble united male and female musicians as well as Black and white players, thereby becoming rock’s first fully integrated band. That same racial and gender mix informed both the sound and the lyrical outlook; before Stone, few soul or R&B acts addressed political or social issues, yet afterward such commentary became common in soul, funk, and hip-hop. Alongside James Brown, he also moved hard funk into the commercial mainstream. The group’s charts featured inventive vocal layering, off-kilter grooves, crisp horn lines, and catchy pop hooks. Joy defined much of the early work, yet as the decade closed the optimism faded. Stone grew disillusioned with the principles he had championed and developed multiple drug dependencies. His output turned slower and more somber, reaching a peak with the 1971 release There’s a Riot Goin’ On, whose elastic bass lines, mumbled vocals, and assertive Black Power stance shaped the decade’s funk direction. He managed one further contemporary classic, 1973’s Fresh, before his addictions steadily eroded his once-formidable abilities. Even so, the template he established continued to underpin urban soul, funk, and hip-hop into the 1990s.

Born Sylvester Stewart on 15 March 1944, Sly Stone relocated with his family from Texas to San Francisco during the 1950s. Already drawn to music, he scored a regional success at sixteen with “Long Time Away.” At Vallejo Junior College in the early 1960s he studied composition, theory, and trumpet while performing in several Bay Area ensembles, frequently alongside his brother Fred. He soon took a disc-jockey post at R&B outlet KSOL, later moving to KDIA. Those broadcasts led to a production role at Autumn Records, where he oversaw projects for San Francisco garage and psychedelic acts including the Beau Brummels, the Great Society, Bobby Freeman, and the Mojo Men.

Stone assembled the short-lived Stoners in 1966, retaining trumpeter Cynthia Robinson as a key member when he formed Sly & the Family Stone that November. The new lineup also included Fred Stewart on guitar and vocals, Larry Graham Jr. on bass and vocals, Greg Errico on drums, Jerry Martini on saxophone, and Rosie Stone on piano, each musician representing a different racial background. Their eclectic style and multiracial makeup set them apart from the city’s prevailing flower-power groups; the debut single “I Ain’t Got Nobody” became a local hit on Loadstone. Epic Records signed the band soon afterward, issuing the 1967 album A Whole New Thing, which made little impression. Its 1968 follow-up, Dance to the Music, yielded a Top Ten pop and R&B hit with the title track. Life arrived later that year yet failed to build on the prior success. Late-1968 single “Everyday People” reversed the trend, climbing to number one on both charts and paving the way for the breakthrough of 1969’s Stand!

Stand! featured “Everyday People,” “Sing a Simple Song,” “Stand,” and “I Want to Take You Higher,” reached number thirteen, and remained on the charts for more than one hundred weeks. The album also signaled Stone’s turn toward explicit political themes, notably in “Don’t Call Me Nigger, Whitey,” and introduced tougher, improvisational funk on tracks such as “Sex Machine.” The Family Stone quickly earned a reputation as one of the era’s premier live acts; their Woodstock set ranked among the festival’s highlights. Non-album singles “Hot Fun in the Summertime” and “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” backed with “Everybody Is a Star” hit number two and number one, respectively, in late 1969 and early 1970. Both appeared on the 1970 compilation Greatest Hits, which peaked at number two. At the height of popularity, Stone’s private struggles intensified; a severe narcotics habit led to frequent late arrivals and outright cancellations.

Stone’s mounting personal crises and frustration with the waning Civil Rights movement and allied causes surfaced on the 1971 album There’s a Riot Goin’ On. Although it debuted at number one and contained his final chart-topping single “Family Affair,” the record sounded hazy, paranoid, and downcast, causing some listeners to drift away. Several core members, among them Graham and Errico, departed in 1972; Rusty Allen and Andy Newmark took their places. The lighter-toned Fresh followed in 1973, reaching the Top Ten on the strength of “If You Want Me to Stay.” Small Talk, issued the next year, climbed to number fifteen and earned gold certification yet produced no major single. Late-1975’s High on You, credited solely to Sly Stone, confirmed the decline in both commercial clout and creative force; “I Get High on You” grazed the R&B Top Ten, but the album left little lasting mark.

As disco eclipsed funk, Stone’s own capacity to respond diminished. Cocaine addiction, recurring health problems, and legal troubles mounted. Output slowed to a trickle, prompting Epic to fulfill his contract in 1979 with Ten Years Too Soon, a remix collection that overlaid disco rhythms on earlier funk tracks. Stone moved to Warner Bros. that same year and recorded the comeback attempt Back on the Right Track with several original Family Stone members, yet the project received poor reviews and weak sales. Discouraged, he withdrew further until collaborating with George Clinton on Funkadelic’s 1981 album The Electric Spanking of War Babies. He subsequently toured with Clinton’s P-Funk All-Stars, launched his own roadwork, and spent time with Bobby Womack. The brief resurgence culminated in 1983’s Ain’t But the One Way, which passed unnoticed. Later that year Stone was arrested for cocaine possession; he entered rehabilitation the following year.

He contributed to Jesse Johnson’s 1986 R&B hit “Crazay” and duetted with Martha Davis on “Love & Affection” for the Soul Man soundtrack, also releasing the unsuccessful single “Eek-a-Bo-Static.” Another cocaine-related arrest and imprisonment occurred near the end of 1987, after which recovery proved elusive. Stone continued to fight addiction with uneven results. By the time of his 1993 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame he had largely vanished from public view. Avenue Records offered a contract in 1995, but no new recordings emerged.