Sly Stone
Sly Stone (born
Sylvester Stewart in
Denton, Texas on
March 15,
1944) is an
American musician,
songwriter, and
record producer, most famous for his role as frontman for
Sly & the Family Stone, a band which played a critical role in the development of
soul,
funk and
psychedelia in the 1960s and 1970s.
Early career
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.
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 which, excepting Sylvester and his
Filipino friend, Frank Arelano, was all-white. The fact that the group was integrated made the Viscaynes "hip" in the eyes of their audiences, and would later inspire Sylvester's idea of a multicultural Family Stone. 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".
In the mid-1960s, Sly worked as a
DJ 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,
The Mojo Men, and
The Great Society. 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.
Sly & the Family Stone's 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 single with
Dance to the Music, which was later included on an
album of the same name. 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 bathtub" and "
Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" / "
Everybody is a Star", before the end of the year, and appearing at
Woodstock.
Personal problems and decline
In the fall of 1969, Sly moved from San Francisco 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.
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 usual.
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 not 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.
Later years
Sly Stone 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.
Sly did do a short tour with
Bobby Womack in the summer of 1984, and he continued to make sporadic appearances on compilations and other artists' records. In 1986, Stone was featured on a track from
The Time member Jesse Johnson's solo album
Shockadelica called "Crazay". The music video featured Stone on keyboards and vocals, and received some airplay on the
BET music network.
In 1987, Stone released a single, "Eek-a-Boo Static Automatic", from the
Soul Man soundtrack. He also co-wrote and co-produced "Just Like A Teeter-Totter," which appeared on a
Bar-Kays album from 1989.
After his release, Stone went into semi-retirement and became a recluse. In 1990, he gave an energetic vocal performance on the Earth, Wind and Fire song, "Good Time." In 1991, he appeared on a cover of "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" performed by the Japanese band
13CATS. And he shared lead vocals with Bobby Womack on "When the Weekend Comes" from Womack's 1993 album, "I Still Love You." His last major public appearance until 2006 was during the 1993
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony where Stone, 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. Stone was invited to participate, but declined.
Stone reportedly lives near Beverly Hills with two female assistants, where he records at a home studio and rides his motorcycle. A few home-studio recordings (most likely from the late 1980s) with Stone's voice and keyboards over a drum machine have made their way onto a bootleg. One Sly-penned demo called "Coming Back for More" appears to be autobiographical and includes the verse: "Been so high, I touched the sky and the sky says 'Sly, Why you tryin' to get by?' Comin' back for more." His son, Sylvester Jr., told People Magazine in 1997 that his father had composed an album's worth of material, including a tribute to Miles Davis called "Miles and Miles."
On
August 15,
2005, Stone 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, according to his Web site, is producing and writing material for the group's new album. In addition, Sly renamed the group "Family Stone."
Freddie Stone said in February 2006 that the Family Stone might tour this year, possibly with Sly, adding that his brother is "jazzed" about the idea. Friends and family say Sly continues to write songs and record in his home studio. Family Stone drummer Greg Errico told Rolling Stone in the March 2006 issue, "Sly's been calling two or three times a day lately, singing over the phone."
Mid-2000s tributes
A Sly & the Family Stone tribute took place at the
2006 Grammy Awards on
February 8,
2006, at which Sly gave his first live musical performance since 1987. Sly & the original Family Stone lineup (minus Larry Graham) performed briefly during a tribute to the band, for which the headliners included
Steven Tyler,
John Legend,
Van Hunt, and
Robert Randolph. Sporting an enormous blonde mohawk, thick sunglasses, a "Sly" beltbuckle and a silver lamé suit, he joined in on "I Want To Take You Higher." Hunched over the keyboards, he wore a cast on his right hand (the result of a recent motorcycle mishap), and a hunched back caused him to look down through most of the performance. His voice, though strong, was barely audible over the production. Sly walked to the front of the stage toward the end of the performance, sang a verse and then with a wave to the audience, sauntered offstage before the song was over. "He went up the ramp [outside the theater], got on a motorcycle and took off," Ken Ehrlich, executive producer of the Grammy Awards show told the Chicago Sun-Times. "Yes -- there was a motorcycle there."
Ehrlich said Sly refused to leave his hotel room until he was given a police escort to the show and then waited in his car until the performance began.
A Sly & The Family Stone tribute album,
Different Strokes By Different Folks, was released on
July 12 2005 by
Starbucks' Hear Music label, and on
February 7,
2006 by Epic Records. 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
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").
Epic Records' version of the tribute album (to include two additional covers: "Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey" and "Thank You (Falletinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" were released in January 2006.
Sly Stone was married to Kathleen Silva for five months in 1974. They were wed onstage during a Sly & The Family Stone concert at
Madison Square Garden on
June 5 before a crowd of over twenty thousand people, and divorced on
October 30 after Sly's
pit bull Gun attacked their son, Sylvester Bubba Ali Stewart, Jr. Sly, Silva, and Sly, Jr. all appear on the cover of
Small Talk together. Sly also has a daughter, Sylvette Phunne Robinson, with Family Stone member Cynthia Robinson, born at about the same time as Sly, Jr.
*
Sly Stone solo discography*
Sly & the Family Stone*
Sly & the Family Stone discography*Aswad, Jem (Feb 10, 2006). "
Who, Exactly, Is Sly Stone? (That Weird Guy With The Mohawk At The Grammys)".
MTV.com. Retrieved February 11, 2006.
*Coyle, Jake (Feb 8, 2006). "
Reclusive Sly Stone Steps Out at Grammys".
Yahoonews.com. Retrieved February 11, 2006.
* Selvin, Joel (1998). For the Record: Sly and the Family Stone: An Oral History. New York: Quill Publishing. ISBN 038-079377-6.
