Several Members of Sly and the Family Stone Had Played in James Brown's Band.

Biography

Sly & the Family Stone

Sly & the Family Stone harnessed all of the disparate musical and social trends of the late '60s, creating a wild, brilliant fusion of soul, rock, R&B, psychedelia, and funk that broke boundaries downwardly without a second thought. Led by Sly Stone, the Family Rock was comprised of men and women, and Blacks and whites, making the band the beginning fully integrated group in stone's history. That integration shone through the music, besides every bit the group's message. Before Stone, very few soul and R&B groups delved into political and social commentary; after him, it became a tradition in soul, funk, and hip-hop. And, along with James Chocolate-brown, Stone brought hard funk into the mainstream. The Family Rock'south arrangements were ingenious, filled with unexpected group vocals, syncopated rhythms, punchy horns, and pop melodies. Their music was joyous, ...
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Artist Biography

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Sly & the Family Rock harnessed all of the disparate musical and social trends of the late '60s, creating a wild, bright fusion of soul, stone, R&B, psychedelia, and funk that broke boundaries down without a 2nd idea. Led past Sly Stone, the Family Stone was comprised of men and women, and Blacks and whites, making the ring the first fully integrated group in rock's history. That integration shone through the music, as well as the group's message. Before Stone, very few soul and R&B groups delved into political and social commentary; after him, it became a tradition in soul, funk, and hip-hop. And, along with James Brown, Stone brought hard funk into the mainstream. The Family Stone's arrangements were ingenious, filled with unexpected grouping vocals, syncopated rhythms, punchy horns, and pop melodies. Their music was joyous, but as the '60s ended, so did the good times. Stone became disillusioned with the ideals he had been preaching in his music, becoming addicted to a diverseness of drugs in the process. His music gradually grew slower and darker, culminating in 1971's There's a Anarchism Going On, which set the footstep for '70s funk with its rubberband bass, slurred vocals, and militant Black Power stance. Stone was able to plough out one more modern funk classic, 1973's Fresh, before slowly succumbing to his addictions, which gradually sapped him of his one time biggy talents. Notwithstanding, his music continued to provide the bones template for urban soul, funk, and even hip-hop well into the '90s.

Sly Stone (born Sylvester Stewart, March 15, 1944) and his family moved from his dwelling state of Texas to San Francisco in the '50s. He had already begun to limited an interest in music, and when he was 16, he had a regional hit with "Long Fourth dimension Abroad." Stone studied music composition, theory, and trumpet at Vallejo Junior College in the early '60s; simultaneously, he began playing in several groups on the Bay Area scene, often with his blood brother Fred. Soon, he had go a disc jockey at the R&B station KSOL, afterward switching to KDIA. The radio appearances led to a job producing records for Autumn Records. While at Fall, he worked with a number of San Franciscan garage and psychedelic bands, including the Beau Brummels, the Great Order, Bobby Freeman, and the Mojo Men.

During 1966, Stone formed the Stoners, which featured trumpeter Cynthia Robinson. Though the Stoners didn't last long, he brought Robinson along equally one of the core members of his next group, Sly & the Family unit Stone. Formed in early 1967, the Family Stone too featured Fred Stewart (guitar, vocals), Larry Graham, Jr. (bass, vocals), Greg Errico (drums), Jerry Martini (saxophone), and Rosie Rock (piano), who all were of unlike racial backgrounds. The group's eclectic music and multiracial composition made them distinctive from the numerous flower-ability bands in San Francisco, and their kickoff single, "I Own't Got Nobody," became a regional hit for the local label Loadstone. The ring signed with Epic Records shortly afterward, releasing their debut album, A Whole New Thing, past the end of the year. The record stiffed, but the follow-upwards, Dance to the Music, generated a Height 10 pop and R&B hit with its title track early on in 1968. Life followed afterwards in 1968, simply the record failed to capitalize on its predecessor's success. "Everyday People," released belatedly in 1968, turned their fortunes back around, rocketing to the top of the pop and R&B charts and setting the stage for the breakthrough success of 1969's Stand!

Featuring "Everyday People," "Sing a Uncomplicated Song," "Stand up," and "I Want to Take You Higher," Stand! became the Family Stone'due south first genuine hit album, climbing to number xiii and spending over 100 weeks on the charts. Stand! also marked the emergence of the political bent in Stone's songwriting ("Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey"), as well as the evolution of hard-edged, improvisational funk similar "Sexual activity Machine." The Family Rock rapidly became known as ane of the best live bands of the late '60s, and their operation at Woodstock was widely hailed as one of the festival'south best. The non-LP singles "Hot Fun in the Summertime" and "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" b/w "Everybody Is a Star" became hits, reaching number two and number one respectively in tardily 1969/early on 1970. Both singles were included on Greatest Hits, which became a number ii record upon its fall 1970 release. While the group was at the height of its popularity, Sly was first to unravel behind the scenes. Developing a debilitating habit to narcotics, Stone soon became notorious for arriving late for concerts, oft missing the shows all together.

Stone'southward growing personal problems, also as his dismay with the slow expiry of the civil rights movement and other political causes, surfaced on In that location's a Riot Goin' On. Though the album shot to number one upon its fall 1971 release, the record -- including "Family Affair," Stone's last number ane single -- was night, hazy, and paranoid, and his audition began to shrink slightly. During 1972, several key members of the Family Stone, including Graham and Errico, left the ring; they were replaced by Rusty Allen and Andy Newmark, respectively. The relatively lighter Fresh appeared in the summertime of 1973, and information technology went into the Top Ten on the force of the Meridian 10 R&B striking "If You Want Me to Stay." Released the post-obit year, Small-scale Talk was a moderate hit, reaching number fifteen on the charts and going gold, merely it failed to generate a big striking unmarried. High on You, released in late 1975 and credited merely to Sly Rock, confirmed that his ability and popularity had faded. "I Get High on You" reached the R&B Top 10, but the album fabricated no lasting impact.

Disco had overtaken funk in terms of popularity, and even if Sly wanted to compete with disco, he wasn't in shape to make music. He had go addicted to cocaine, his health was frequently poor, and he was often in trouble with the constabulary. His recordings had slowed to a trickle, and Epic decided to close out his contract in 1979 with Ten Years Too Presently, a compilation of previously released cloth that had the original funky rhythm tracks replaced with disco beats. Stone signed with Warner Brothers that same year, crafting the comeback endeavour Back on the Correct Track with several original members of the Family Rock, but the record was critically panned and a commercial failure. In lite of the album'southward lack of success, Stone retreated fifty-fifty further, eventually joining forces with George Clinton on Funkadelic'south 1981 anthology The Electric Spanking of War Babies. Post-obit the anthology's release, Stone toured with Clinton's P-Funk All-Stars, which led him to commence on his ain bout, as well equally a stint with Bobby Womack. The culmination of this flare-up of activeness was 1983's Ain't Simply the One Manner, an album that was ignored. Later on that year, Rock was arrested for cocaine possession; the post-obit twelvemonth, he entered rehab.

Stone appeared on Jesse Johnson's 1986 R&B hit "Crazay." The post-obit year, he dueted with Martha Davis on "Honey & Amore" for the Soul Man soundtrack; he as well he recorded "Eek-a-Bo-Static," a single that didn't chart. Stone was arrested and imprisoned for cocaine possession by the stop of 1987, and he was never able to recover from the final arrest. Stone continued to battle his addiction, with varying degrees of success. By his 1993 induction to the Rock & Ringlet Hall of Fame, he had disappeared from public view. Artery Records gave Rock a recording contract in 1995, just goose egg would be recorded.

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Source: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sly-the-family-stone-mn0000033161/biography

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