Sly & the Family Stone Artistfacts

1966-1975
Sly StoneVocals, various instruments
Larry GrahamBass1966–1972
Cynthia RobinsonTrumpet
Jerry MartiniSaxophone
Gregg ErricoDrums1966–1972
Freddie StoneGuitar
Rose StoneVocals1968–1975
Rustee AllenBass1972–1975
Pat RizzoSaxophone1972–1975
Andrew NewmarkDrums1972-1973
Sly & the Family Stone brought funk to the party during what many consider the most fertile period in music history: 1969-1971. This was an eclectic time when hard rock, bubblegum pop, Motown soul, and singer-songwriter tunes were all on the charts, and it was also the heyday for Sly & the Family Stone. They landed three US #1 hits during this time: "Everyday People," "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)," and "Family Affair." All three also topped the R&B chart.
With two white members (drummer Gregg Errico and sax player Jerry Martini) and a female trumpet player (Cynthia Robinson) the group broke from convention and defied expectations. Robinson was particularly influential, encouraging girls to play the trumpet at a time when it was a very male-dominated instrument.
Sly Stone wrote and produced all of their original songs, pinning their fortunes to him. When he was lucid, this wasn't a problem, but in the early '70s his drug addiction affected his work, making it very difficult for his bandmates. When Larry Graham and Gregg Errico jumped ship in 1972, the hits started to dry up. Stone also earned a reputation for showing up late to concerts or missing them completely, often with flippant excuses.
Elements of their songs were incorporated into some huge hits of the '80s and '90s and '00s. Janet Jackson sampled the bassline of "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" on "Rhythm Nation" in 1989; Arrested Development adapted "Everyday People" into "People Everyday" in 1992; and Mary J. Blige purloined the title "Family Affair" for her 2001 hit.
Sly Stone signed with A&M Records in 1986 and that year contributed two songs for the soundtrack of Soul Man, a movie about a white guy who passes himself off as black to get a scholarship to Harvard. Also in 1986, he teamed with Jesse Johnson on a single called "Crazay," and even appeared in the video, surprising A&M by showing up clean and on time. It didn't last: His planned album with A&M never materialized and he never made another music video.
Sly Stone had many comeback opportunities, but none materialized. He pretty much vanished in the late '80s but showed up in 1993 when the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (it was a brief appearance; he waited until his bandmates made their speeches, then came on stage and said a few words).

His next high-profile appearance was at the Grammy Awards in 2006, when a bevy of stars (John Legend, Maroon 5, members of Aerosmith...) ran through some Sly & the Family Stone hits before he joined them for "I Want To Take You Higher." Sporting an enormous mohawk, he looked frail and confused. Before the song was over, he waved goodbye and left the stage.

Stone made sporadic concert appearances over the next few years but always disappointed fans and promoters. When he did show up, there were inevitably "technical problems" and he could only offer glimpses of his past glory. His appearance at Coachella in 2010 was particularly painful to watch. He died in 2025 at 82.
Before he started making music, Sly Stone was a DJ. When he was working at KSOL in San Francisco in 1964, he picked up on "the swim" dance craze and co-wrote a song called "C'mon And Swim," which was recorded by Bobby Freeman and went to #5 in America.
On June 5, 1974, Sly Stone and model-actress Kathy Silva married on stage at Madison Square Garden, sandwiched between opener Eddie Kendricks and a headline set by Sly & the Family Stone. Unfortunately, the cleric turned out to be unregistered in New York, so they had to do it again in the city hall.

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