Sly & the Family Stone

Sly & the Family Stone were an important and influential American rock band from San Francisco, California. Active from 1967 until 1975, the band was pivotal in the development of soul, funk and psychedelia. Headed by singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist Sylvester "Sly Stone" Stewart, and containing a number of his family members and friends, the band was the first major American rock band to have a multicultural lineup, giving African-Americans, Caucasians, males, and females all roles in the band's instrumentation.

Related Topics:
American - Rock - San Francisco, California - 1967 - 1975 - Soul - Funk - Psychedelia - Singer - Songwriter - Record producer - Multi-instrumentalist - Sylvester "Sly Stone" Stewart - African-American - Caucasian - Male - Female

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Brothers Sly Stone and singer/guitarist Freddie Stone had combined their bands (Sly & the Stoners and Freddie & the Stone Souls) in 1967, joining the two of them, trumpetist Cynthia Robinson, and drummer Greg Errico. Saxophonist Jerry Martini and bassist Larry Graham completed the original lineup; within a year, Sly and Freddie's sister, singer/keyboardist Rose Stone, joined as well. This collective recorded five Top 10 hits and four groundbreaking albums, which were a major influence on the sound of American pop music in general and soul music in particular. It is often said that there are "two types of black music: black music before Sly Stone, and black music after Sly Stone" (Selvin).

Related Topics:
Singer - Guitarist - Freddie Stone - 1967 - Trumpetist - Cynthia Robinson - Drummer - Greg Errico - Saxophonist - Jerry Martini - Bassist - Larry Graham - Keyboardist - Rose Stone - Top 10 - Pop music

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During the early 1970s, the band switched its sound to a grittier, drug-laced funk sound, which was as influential on the music industry as their earlier work. The band began to fall apart during this period because of drug abuse and ego clashes; As Sly Stone and his bandmates delved deeper into drug abuse, the fortunes and reliability of the band deteriorated, leading to its dissolution in 1975. Sly Stone continued to record solo albums and tour under the "Sly & the Family Stone" name from 1975 until 1987, when he was arrested and sentenced for cocaine use.

Related Topics:
1970s - Funk - Drug abuse - Ego - 1987 - Cocaine

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