Sly Stone

Sly Stone (born Sylvester Stewart in Dallas, Texas on March 15, 1944) is a pivotal African-American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most famous for his role as frontman for Sly & the Family Stone, a band which was pivotal in the development of soul, funk and psychedelia in the 1960s and 1970s.

Biography

Early career

Main entry: Sly & the Family Stone.

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Sylvester Stewart was the second of five children. After the family moved from Dallas, Texas to Vallejo, California (near San Francisco), he and his brother Freddie and their sisters Rose and Vaetta formed "The Stewart Four" as children, performing gospel music in the Church of God in Christ and even recording a single in 1952. All of the Stewart children except oldest sister Loretta would later adopt the surname "Stone" and become members of Sly & the Family Stone.

Related Topics:
Dallas, Texas - Vallejo, California - San Francisco - Freddie - Rose - Vaetta - Gospel - Church of God in Christ - 1952

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As he got older, Sylvester learned to play a number of instruments, settling primarily with the guitar, and joined a number of high school bands. One of these was The Viscaynes, a doo-wop group in which he and a Filipino teenager where the only non-white members. The Viscaynes released a few local singles, including "Yellow Moon" and "Stop What You Are Doing"; during the same period, Sylvester also recorded a few solo singles under the name "Danny Stewart".

Related Topics:
Guitar - High school - Doo-wop - Filipino - White

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In the mid-1960s, Sly worked as a dee-jay for San Francisco radio station KSOL and also as a record producer for Autumn Records, working with such bands in the San Francisco area as The Beau Brummels and The Mojo Men. Adopting the stage name "Sly Stone," he then formed "The Stoners" in 1966 which included Cynthia Robinson on trumpet. Robinson went on to join Sly & the Family Stone as well, when it was formed in 1967. Freddie Stone (guitar and vocals), Larry Graham (bass guitar and vocals), Greg Errico (drums), Jerry Martini (saxophone) and Rosie Stone (piano and vocals) were also in the original line-up. On backup vocals were Little Sister: Vet Stone, Mary McCreary, and Elva Mouton. Sly himself played guitar, piano, and harmonica, among other instruments, for the band's records and performances. Their debut single as Sly & the Family Stone was "I Ain't Got Nobody", a major regional hit for Loadstone Records.

Related Topics:
1960s - Dee-jay - Record producer - Autumn Records - San Francisco - The Beau Brummels - The Mojo Men - 1966 - Cynthia Robinson - Trumpet - 1967 - Freddie Stone - Guitar - Larry Graham - Bass guitar - Greg Errico - Drums - Jerry Martini - Saxophone - Rosie Stone - Piano - Little Sister - Vet Stone

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Sly & the Family Stone's early success

The Loadstone single attracted the attention of Epic Records, who got Sly & The Family Stone to sign to their label. After a mildly received debut album, A Whole New Thing (1967), Sly & The Family Stone had their first hit album and single in Dance to the Music (1968) and its title track. Although their third album, Life (also 1968), also suffered from low sales, their fourth album, Stand (1969), became a runaway success, selling over three million copies and spawning a number one hit single, "Everyday People." By the summer of 1969, Sly & The Family Stone were one of the biggest names in music, releasing three more top five singles, "Hot Fun in the Summertime" and "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" / "Everybody is a Star", before the end of the year, and appearing at Woodstock.

Related Topics:
Epic Records - A Whole New Thing - 1967 - Dance to the Music - 1968 - Title track - Life - Stand - 1969 - Everyday People - Hot Fun in the Summertime - Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) - Everybody is a Star - Woodstock

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Personal problems and decline

In the fall of 1969, Sly moved from San Fransisco to Los Angeles. Not long after the move, he found himself crushed under stress from a number of sources: record executives wanted more product; the Black Panther Party and other black activist groups wanted Sly's music to become more militant and reflective of the black power movement (as well as demanding the removal of white musicians Errico and Martini from the band); and personal conflicts within the band. Sly developed ulcer problems because of the stress, and began turning to a variety of drugs, primarily cocaine and PCP, for relief.

Related Topics:
1969 - Los Angeles - Black Panther Party - Black power - Ulcer - Drugs - Cocaine - PCP

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Sly's drug abuse soon began to affect his career: he became notorious for missing interviews and concerts and his demeanor became erratic and unpredictable. The band's fifth album, There's a Riot Goin' On (1971), reflected the turmoil. Most of Riot was recorded with overdubbing as opposed to The Family Stone all playing at the same time; in fact, Sly played most of the parts himself and performed more of the lead vocals than ususal.

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The band's cohesion slowly began to erode, and its sales and popularity began to decline as well. Errico withdrew from the group in 1971 and was eventually replaced with Andy Newmark. Larry Graham and Sly were no longer on friendly terms, and Graham was fired in early 1972 and replaced with Rusty Allen. The band's later releases, Fresh (1973) and Small Talk (1974), featured even less of the band and more of Sly. The band's shaky reputation for showing up at concerts caused promoters to avoid booking them, and after a disastrous engagement at the Radio City Music Hall in January 1975, The Family Stone broke apart completely.

Related Topics:
1971 - Andy Newmark - 1972 - Rusty Allen - Fresh - 1973 - Small Talk - 1974 - Radio City Music Hall - January - 1975

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Later years

Sly went on to record four more albums as a solo artist (only High on You (1975) was released under just his name; the other three were released under the "Sly & The Family Stone" name). He also collaborated with Funkadelic on The Electric Spanking of War Babies (1981), but was unable to reinvigorate his career.

Related Topics:
1975 - Funkadelic - The Electric Spanking of War Babies - 1981

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Bobby Womack, who had worked with Sly in the early 1970s, arranged for Sly to enter a drug rehabilitation program in 1984, but Sly was never able to fully overcome his addictions. He made sporadic appearances on other artists' records and released an unsuccessful single called "Eek-a-Bo-Static" in 1987, but was arrested and jailed for cocaine use and possesion by the end of the year.

Related Topics:
Bobby Womack - 1984 - 1987 - Cocaine

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After his release, Sly went into semi-retirement and became a recluse. In 1991, he appeared on a cover of "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" performed by the Japanese band 13 Cats. His last major public appearance was during the1993 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony where Sly, much to the surprise of everyone (including his former bandmates), showed up onstage to be entered into the Hall of Fame along with the Family Stone. In 2003, the other six members of the original Family Stone entered the studio to record a new album. Sly was invited to participate, but declined.

Related Topics:
13 Cats - 1993 - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - 2003

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Sly reportedly lives near Beverly Hills with two female assistants, where he records at a home studio and rides his motorcycle. In the late 1990s, he reportedly sported a blonde braided mohawk.

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On August 15, 2005, Sly drove his younger sister Vet Stone on his motorcycle to Los Angeles' Knitting Factory, where Vet was performing with her Sly & the Family Stone tribute band, the Phunk Phamily Affair. Sly kept his helmet on during the entire performance, and was described by one concertgoer as looking a little like Bootsy Collins. A film crew doing a documentary on Sly & the Family Stone was at the show and apparently captured this rare sighting on film. Sly is reportedly producing the Phunk Phamily Affair's new album.

Related Topics:
August 15 - 2005 - Vet Stone - Los Angeles - Bootsy Collins

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Tribute album

A Sly & The Family Stone tribute album, Different Strokes By Different Folks, was released on July 12 2005 by Starbucks' Hear Music label. The project features both cover versions of the band's songs and songs which sample the original recordings. Among the artists for the set are including The Roots ("Star", which samples "Everybody is a Star"), Maroon 5 ("Everyday People"), John Legend, Joss Stone & Van Hunt ("Family Affair"; the Black Eyed Peas' Will.I.Am ("Dance to the Music"), and Steven Tyler and Robert Randolph ("I Want to Take You Higher").

Related Topics:
July 12 - 2005 - Starbucks - Cover versions - Sample - The Roots - Maroon 5 - Everyday People - John Legend - Joss Stone - Van Hunt - Family Affair - Steven Tyler - Robert Randolph - I Want to Take You Higher

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Epic Records issued its own version of the tribute album on September 27 with two additional covers: "Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey" and "Thank You (Falletinme Be Mice Elf Agin)".

Related Topics:
Epic Records - September 27

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