Sly and the Family Stone

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Sly and the Family Stone was an American band from San Francisco, founded in 1966. The leader was Sly Stone, born Sylvester Stewart in Dallas and raised in a religious family where there was a lot of singing. He worked as a DJ at a radio station, where he also played white bands such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, and as a producer for a local label. With his brother Freddie (guitar) and later his sister Rose (keyboards) he formed a band with the trumpeter Cynthia Robinson, the drummer Greg Errico, the saxophonist Jerry Martini and the bass player Larry Graham. It was the first major American rock band with Black and white musicians, men and women together.

Music and breakthrough

The breakthrough came in late 1967 with Dance to the Music. Everyday People followed, a song against every kind of prejudice, then the album Stand! (1969), Hot Fun in the Summertime and Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin). The music blended funk, soul, gospel and psychedelic rock. All the band members sang in turn, horns and organ played short, rousing motifs and the bass drove everything forward. In 1969 the band played one of the best sets at Woodstock.

Influence

In the early 1970s the sound became darker. There's a Riot Goin' On (1971) sounded gloomy, with a drum machine and weary vocals that reflected the mood of those years. Fresh followed in 1973. Because of drugs and quarrels the band fell apart in the mid-1970s. The influence on funk, soul, R&B and hip hop is enormous, and Miles Davis, too, listened closely to their energy. In 1993 the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 1967A Whole New Thing
• 1968Dance to the Music
• 1968Life
• 1969Stand!
• 1971There’s a Riot Goin’ On
• 1973Fresh
• 1974Small Talk
• 1976Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I’m Back
• 1979Back on the Right Track
• 1982Ain’t but the One Way
• 2025SLY LIVES! (aka the Burden of Black Genius) (soundtrack)

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• Mixtape 5: Jazz Festival^NL Reader
• Mixtape 6: Fear of a Black Planet^NL Reader
• After Hours: Session 3^NL Reader

Mentioned in other articles

• Fusion and jazz rock GenreMiles Davis listened to Jimi Hendrix, Sly and the Family Stone and James Brown, and played with electric instruments on In a Silent Way (1969) and, on Bitches Brew (1970), with several drummers at once.

See also

• A Whole New Thing
• There’s a Riot Goin’ On
• Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I’m Back
• Back on the Right Track
• Ain’t but the One Way
• Fusion and jazz rock