With the recent passing of musician Sly Stone at age 82 due to persistent health issues, the world ofmusicdidn’t lose just an artist;it lost a foundational icon. The bandleader and singer of the iconic funk-rock groupSly & the Family Stonewas a significant influence onthe discography of the artist Prince, as well as the likes of Michael Jackson/The Jackson 5, George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic, and Stevie Wonder (among other timeless talents). This was largely because of the band’s heartfelt, pioneering leap into the genre of psychedelic soul during their ’60s and ’70s prime.
That fusion of psych-rock and soul, as well as the group’s naturally prolific sense of big-band-style R&B and funk, placed Sly & The Family Stone onto a unique genre pedestal that would forever change the musical game. Though being in a league all their own wasn’t unusual territory for the band, as they were already one of the first major American rock groupsto have a racially integrated, mixed-gender lineup in their classic incarnation. It seems only fitting, then, that Sly & The Family Stone would have a roster of songs that matched their sense of progressive character and personality.
10If You Want Me To Stay (Fresh, 1973)
A Groovy, Defiant Mea Culpa
A single from Sly & The Family Stone’s sixth album (1973’sFresh), “If You Want Me To Stay,” came into existence after an apology following a disagreement that Stone wrote to his soon-to-be wife at the time. Most of the track was recorded by Stone himself, who at this point in the band’s historywas essentially crafting material on his own.
Despite only having spare backing contributions from his bandmates here, the vision of “If You Want Me To Stay"is just as fresh and funky as Sly’s prime work(though with more of a pop edge by this stage). His crooning vocal to a lover, telling her she needs to respect him for who he is, or he won’t be coming back home, feels like it has a grittier, soulful edge right out of the Stevie Wonder playbook. That throbbing ache of a bassline holding together “If You Want Me To Stay” is just an added bonus to this song.
9Everybody Is A Star (B-Side, 1969)
An Uplifting Style Anthem
“Everybody Is a Star” was released as the B-side to another very well-known Sly & The Family Stone song, “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” in 1969. The two tracks were recorded along with “Hot Fun in the Summertime” for an album that was never released, leading toall three tracks later being issued on the band’s 1970Greatest HitsLP.
“Everybody Is a Star” is a matter of family when it comes to lead vocals, with Stone trading lines with his real-life siblings (and fellow band members), guitarist Freddie Stone, and backing vocalist Rose Stone, as well as renowned bassist Larry Graham. The track is an uplifting bit of soulful R&Babout uplifting the talents and abilities of everyone, and marks the end of the band’s “lighter” era of material that would alter as the ’70s began and progressed.
8Sing A Simple Song (Stand!, 1969)
A Solution To Life’s Problems
“Sing a Simple Song” was released as the 1968 B-side to the Sly & The Family Stone hit “Everyday People,” both of which came out on the group’s 1969 albumStand!. It’s considered a signature track from the band’s discography and has been covered/sampled by actsranging from Diana Ross & the Supremes to the Wu-Tang Clan.
Vocal duties are once again shared by the Stone sibling trio, bassist Larry Graham, as well as shouted spoken-word sections from the group’s trumpet player/vocalist, Cynthia Robinson. “Sing a Simple Song” is a thumping, humming, collaborative entity that feels so alive in the basic notionof getting through the problems of life by singing a simple song. The concept seems so rudimentary, but the fervor and love within the creative craft of it is the true magic in this track.
7Dance To The Music (Dance To The Music, 1968)
A Get Up And Groove On Song
Sly & The Family Stone put out “Dance To The Music” as a 1967 single, later becoming the title track to their sophomore album in 1968. The songbecame one of the band’s earliest successes, something the group had mixed feelings about, as they’d been pressured by their label to create a hit (and a more commercially viable record after their 1967 debut).
Despite feeling as though they’d been “unhip” for creating a formula that funneled their psychedelic stylings through a pop-oriented filter, “Dance To The Music"was still a well-deserved launching point for Sly & The Family Stone, given the track’s undeniable sense of energy. With the Stones and Graham again trading vocals (and Robinson throwing in some ad-libs) as well as the interplaying chemistry of the whole band kicked on high, “Dance To The Music” is a get-down party piece, one no listener can resist following.
6Stand! (Stand!, 1969)
Getting Up For What You Believe In
The title track from the group’s 1969 fourth studio album, “Stand!” introducesone of Sly & The Family Stone’s artistic high point LPsin a sweeping and powerful way. Compared to what the band felt was a more predictable pop/rock/soul album with their prior record,Dance To The Music, “Stand!” immediately showed a greater sense of what the Stone’s message was within their creativity.
Lyrically, “Stand!” is all about telling the listener how to quite literally stand up for themselves, the people around them, and ultimately what they feel is right in the world. The line “you’ve been sitting too long, there’s a crease in your right and wrong” alone is a bar that resonatesnot only with the tone in 1969, but in much of our current times today.
5Hot Fun In The Summertime (Single, 1969)
An Ode To The Season
“Hot Fun in the Summertime” is part of the trio of songs along with “Everybody is a Star” and “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” meant for an album that was never realized, instead being put out as a 1969 single before receiving an LP release on the band’s 1970Greatest Hitscompilation. The track charted well on Billboard and was releasedjust a month before Sly & The Family Stone played Woodstock, which also proved to be a career-boosting appearance.
This track is another great example of how well Sly and his band could paint so eloquently through simple emotion and the feeling brought on by tone and instrumentation. “Hot Fun in the Summertime” doesn’t need to be a dissertation of words and complication; the interchange of vocals, the spray of piano rhythm, and the moves of the bass are all that need to be heardto know the fun of summer is at hand, and it’s gonna be a hot one.
4I Want To Take You Higher (Stand!, 1969)
Elevating For The Love Of Music
Coming out of the gateslike a Sunday church revival high on the principles of love, life, blues, and the melody of music, “I Want to Take You Higher” was one of the few songs on Sly & The Family Stone’s 1969 albumStand!that wasn’t intended to be delivered with a message in mind. This track is meant to be about music and the joyful feeling that it gives you, and it’s impossible for this one not to deliver on that intended promise.
Like so much of the group’s other material, “I Want to Take You Higher” feels like a living, breathing tapestry of vocal and instrumental talent guided into the flow of a singular river current. Every contribution, down to Stone buzzing on the harmonica and the bright, shiny brass horns, feels perfectly in place even in the environment of a loose and aggressive jam session type of sound, and it’s in these listening momentsthat you know you’ve been taken somewhere special.
3Family Affair (There’s A Riot Goin' On, 1971)
A Change In Sound Scenery
Sly & The Family Stone had their third and final number-one pop-charting single with the song “Family Affair” off their 1971 albumThere’s a Riot Goin' On, and it marked a shift in sound for the group at this time. Only released with Stone and his sister Rose on backing vocals (along with Bobby Womack on guitar and Billy Preston on keys), “Family Affair” still has a soulful exterior to it,but also feels much more embedded in clouded turmoil.
This may have been due to Stone’s mindset at the time, which involved a lot of drug use, external pressures, and questionable characters that Stone had around himself, which all combined to keep him isolated from band members and had him missing creative deadlines. As such, “Family Affair"feels like a darker commentary about families, all while Stone seemed quite cut off from the wellspring of the group that had given him so much life and light up to this point.
2Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) (Single, 1969)
A Track Comfortable In Its Own Skin
Another one of the songs (along with “Everybody is a Star” and “Hot Fun in the Summertime”) to not be put on a full album, instead being issued as a 1969 single before being placed on Sly & The Family Stone’s 1970Greatest Hitscompilation. “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” not only references other songs from the group’s catalog, but is also where bassist Larry Graham is widely creditedwith one of the earliest introductions of the slap technique on the electric bass.
“Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” feels a bit like a mission statement for Sly & The Family Stone. The narrator wins out in a wrestling match against the Devil (of life? of expectations?), and is free to pursue being the person that they want to be. The song feels likethe approval of existing to coexist, and a message that getting to “Come Together” isn’t just for The Beatles anymore.
1Everyday People (Stand!, 1969)
A Call For Equal Harmony
Initially released as a single in 1968 (the group’s first number one on the Billboard Soul Music charts) and dropped on the band’s 1969 albumStand!, “Everyday People” was (like the title track)another call for the public’s social awareness. In a band that was both racially integrated and gender-mixed, it came as no surprise and only made sense thatSly & The Family Stonewould try to seek harmony, equality, and family in the world.
A more pop-sounding track (with more Larry Graham slap bass technique), “Everyday People,” is once again not filled with frills, but jammed to the powerful letter in pointing out all the people who can’t get along in life due to simple material reasons. Sly asserts that “we’ve got to live together” because we’re all regular, everyday people, andpeaceful harmony matters more than petty squabbles or racial differences.
