Sly & the Family Stone

In the late '60s Sly and the Family Stone fused black rhythms and a psychedelic sensibility into a new pop/soul/rock hybrid that drew both white and black audiences. The Family Stone's music predated disco and inspired the many black self-contained bands that emerged in the '70s; along with James Brown, the Family Stone virtually invented '70s funk, and their impact has proven lasting and widespread. Motown producer Norman Whitfield, for example, patterned that label's forays into harder-driving, socially relevant material (such as the Temptations' "Runaway Child" and "Ball of Confusion") on Sly's work. The pioneering precedent of Sly Stone's racial, sexual, and stylistic mix had an undeniably major influence on Prince and Rick James in the '80s, and the male-female vocal interplay of Human League's "Fascination," for example, can be traced back to any of a number of the group's hits. In the '90s he was paid homage by Earth, Wind & Fire on their Heritage album, and in a hit cover of "Everyday People" by rap group Arrested Development.

Sylvester Stewart's family moved from Texas to the San Francisco area in the '50s. At age four, he began singing gospel music and at age 16 made a local hit, "Long Time Away." Stewart studied trumpet, music theory, and composition at Vallejo Junior College and while in school became active on the Bay Area music scene. With his brother, Fred, he formed several short-lived groups, like the Stewart Bros. He was a disc jockey at soul station KSOL, and at Autumn Records he produced records by the Beau Brummels, Bobby Freeman, the Mojo Men, and Grace Slick's first band, the Great Society. He later worked for KDIA.

In 1966 Sly formed a short-lived group called the Stoners, which included female trumpeter Cynthia Robinson. With her he started his next band, Sly and the Family Stone. Sly, Robinson, and Fred Stewart were joined by Larry Graham [see separate entry], Greg Errico, and Jerry Martini, all of whom had studied music and worked in numerous amateur groups. Rosie Stone joined the group soon after. Working around the Bay Area in 1967, this multiracial band made a strong impression. They recorded their debut single, "I Ain't Got Nobody" b/w "I Can't Turn You Loose," on the local Loadstone label.

The Family Stone's debut LP, A Whole New Thing, flopped. Its followup, Dance to the Music, included the hit title cut (#8 pop, #9 R&B). Life sold fewer copies than their previous albums, but their next release, a double-sided single, "Everyday People" b/w "Sing a Simple Song," was #1 on both the R&B and pop charts. Stand mixed hard-edged politics with the Family's ecstatic dance music. It rose to #13 on the pop chart and contained Sly standards like the title song, "Don't Call Me Nigger Whitey," "Sex Machine," "Somebody's Watching You," and "I Want to Take You Higher" (#3 pop, #24 R&B). Fiery versions of "Dance to the Music" and "Higher," heard on the Woodstock soundtrack album, established the Family Stone as one of the finest live bands of the late '60s.

Singles like "Hot Fun in the Summertime" (#2 pop, #3 R&B) and "Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin" b/w "Everybody Is a Star" (#1 pop and R&B), were the band's commercial peak, and the success of Greatest Hits (#2 pop) reflected their immense popularity. The smooth post-doo-wop/pop/soul of "Hot Fun" and the eerie funk of "Thank You" demonstrated the band's considerable range. By this time, Stand had been on the charts for more than 80 weeks, and most of the Family's Top 10 singles had gone gold, as had most of their post-Dance to the Music LPs. Jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, who'd been flummoxing critics with electrified "fusion" albums, did it again when he named Sly Stone and Jimi Hendrix as his favorite musicians.

After 1970 Sly became somewhat notorious for arriving late for or missing concerts, and it was generally known that he was suffering from drug problems. The group's turning point came in 1971, when There's a Riot Goin' On went to #1. Its darkly understated sound, violent imagery, and controversial militant stance were a sharp contrast to the optimism of earlier works. From that album came "Family Affair" (#1 pop and R&B), Sly's last across-the-board hit.

By 1972, the Family Stone was growing restless. Key members Larry Graham and drummer Greg Errico left and were replaced by Rusty Allen and Andy Newmark. From Fresh, "If You Want Me to Stay" (#12 pop, #3 R&B) did fairly well, and a blues version of "Que Sera Sera" got some airplay, particularly when rumors of a romance between Sly and Doris Day emerged. Small Talk fared moderately well. It took advertising of Sly's public wedding ceremony to Kathy Silva at Madison Square Garden in 1974 to sell it out. "I Get High on You" (#3 R&B) did respectably, but subsequent albums failed.

Meanwhile, disco had emerged, and in 1979 Epic issued Ten Years Too Soon, a compilation album on which the quirky original rhythm tracks were erased and a disco beat dubbed in. By the mid '70s, stories of drug problems and arrests were part of the Sly Stone legacy. By 1979, he was with Warner Bros., attempting to make the comeback many observers felt would be as natural as James Brown's, given the current interest in and popularity of funk. In 198l, having been cited as a major influence by George Clinton, he appeared on Funkadelic's Electric Spanking of War Babies. He toured with Clinton's P-Funk All-Stars, on his own, and with Bobby Womack in the early '80s. In 1983 Sly was arrested for cocaine possession and entered a rehabilitation program a year later.

In 1986 Stone guested on ex-Time guitarist Jesse Johnson's minor hit "Crazay," which led to a deal with A&M Records. A 1987 single, "Eek-a-Bo-Static," failed to chart; that same year Stone duetted with ex-Motel Martha Davis on "Love & Affection," for the soundtrack of the movie Soul Man. Sly's stalled-out career stopped dead for a time when he was jailed in 1987 for cocaine possession. In 1993 Sly and the Family Stone was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Stone has reportedly been working on a new album since 1995, but as of early 2001 no material has surfaced.

from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001)