Sly And The Family Stone: SLY STONE (March 15, 1943 – June 9, 2025): Life 1968 + Stand! 1969 + There's A Riot Going On 1971

 

Sylvester Stewart (March 15, 1943 – June 9, 2025), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, was an American musician, songwriter, and record producer who was most famous for his role as frontman

for Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the development of funk with his pioneering fusion of soul, rock, psychedelia, and gospel in the 1960s and 1970s. AllMusic stated that "James Brown may have invented funk, but Sly Stone perfected it," and credited him with "creating a series of euphoric yet politically charged records that proved a massive influence on artists of all musical and cultural backgrounds."
                      

Sly and the Family Stone was an American funk band formed in San Francisco, California in 1966 and active until 1983. They are considered to be pivotal in the development of funk, soul, R&B, rock, and

psychedelic music. Their core line-up was led by singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist Sly Stone, and included Stone's brother and singer/guitarist Freddie Stone, sister and singer/keyboardist Rose Stone, trumpeter Cynthia Robinson, drummer Greg Errico, saxophonist Jerry Martini, and bassist Larry Graham. The band was the first major American rock group to have a racially integrated, mixed-gender lineup.
                      

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, psychedelia, and funk that broke boundaries down without a second thought. Led by Sly Stone, the Family Stone comprised an interracial mix of men and women, making them the first fully integrated band in rock history. Along with James Brown, they brought hard funk into the mainstream and did so with sociopolitical commentary. 
                   

Formed in 1966, the group's music synthesized a variety of disparate musical genres to help pioneer the emerging "psychedelic soul" sound. They released a series of Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hits such as

"Dance to the Music" (1968), "Everyday People" (1968), and "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" (1969), as well as critically acclaimed albums such as Stand! (1969), which combined pop sensibility with social commentary. The Family Stone's arrangements were ingenious, filled with unexpected group vocals, syncopated rhythms, punchy horns, and pop melodies. Their music was joyous, as exemplified by the number one pop hits "Everyday People" and "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)," but as the '60s ended, so did the good times
                            

In the 1970s, it transitioned into a darker and less commercial funk sound on releases such as There's a

Riot Goin' On (1971) and Fresh (1973), proving as influential as their early work. By 1975, drug problems and interpersonal clashes led to dissolution, though Sly continued to record and tour with a new rotating lineup under the name "Sly and the Family Stone" until drug problems forced his effective retirement in 1987.
                        

Stone became disillusioned with the ideals he had been preaching in his music, becoming addicted

to drugs in the process. His music gradually grew slower and darker, culminating in 1971's There's a Riot Going On, a chart-topping album that set the pace for funk with its elastic bass, slurred vocals, and militant Black Power stance. Stone was able to turn in one more classic, 1973's Fresh, before his addictions sapped him of his once-prodigious talents. Nevertheless, his music continued to provide the basic template for funk, contemporary R&B, and even hip-hop well into the '90s.
                      

SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE - LIFE 1968

                 

Life is the third studio album by funk/soul band Sly and the Family Stone, released in September 1968

on Epic/CBS Records. The album was titled M'Lady in the United Kingdom. Just a matter of months after Dance to the Music, Sly & the Family Stone turned around and delivered Life, a record that leapfrogged over its predecessor in terms of accomplishment and achievement. The most noteworthy difference is the heavier reliance on psychedelics and fuzz guitars.
                     

Sly & The Family Stone – Life
Label: Epic – 82876 83945 2, Legacy – 82876 83945 2
Format: CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered 2007
Country: US
Released: 1968 
Genre: Funk / Soul
Style: Psychedelic

TRACKS

                       

01. Dynamite!    2:44
02. Chicken    2:13
03. Plastic Jim    3:29
04. Fun    2:23
05. Into My Own Thing    2:13
06. Harmony    2:51
07. Life    3:01
08. Love City    2:43
09. I'm An Animal    3:21
10. M'Lady    2:45
11. Jane Is A Groupee    2:49

BONUS TRACKS            

12. Dynamite! (Single Version)    2:07
13. Seven More Days    3:24
14. Pressure    3:44
15. Sorrow (Instrumental)    3:19

LINE - UP

Sly Stone (Sylvester Stewart) (1966–1975; died 2025): vocals, organ, guitar, bass guitar, piano, harmonica, and more
Freddie Stone (Frederick Stewart) (1966–1975): vocals, guitar
Cynthia Robinson (1966–1975; died 2015): trumpet, vocal ad libs
Jerry Martini (1966–1975): saxophone
Little Sister: Vet Stone (Vaetta Stewart), Mary McCreary, and Elva Mouton (1966–1975): background vocals
Larry Graham (1966–1972): vocals, bass guitar
Gregg Errico (1966–1971): drums
Rose Stone (Rose Marie Stewart) (1968–1975): vocals, piano, electric piano
Gerry Gibson (1971–1972): drums
Pat Rizzo (1972–1975; died 2021): saxophone
Rustee Allen (1972–1975): bass
Andy Newmark (1973–1974): drums
Bill Lordan (1974): drums
Sid Page (1973–1974): violin
Vicki Blackwell (1974–1975): violin
Jim Strassburg (1974): drums
Adam Veaner (1975): drums
Dennis Marcellino (1975, died 2022): saxophone

Flac Size: 275 MB

SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE - STAND! 1969

                            

Stand! is the fourth album by soul/funk band Sly and the Family Stone, released on May 3, 1969. Written and produced by lead singer and multi-instrumentalist Sly Stone, Stand! is considered an

artistic high-point of the band's career. Stand! is the pinnacle of Sly & the Family Stone's early work, a record that represents a culmination of the group's musical vision and accomplishment. Life hinted at this record's boundless enthusiasm and blurred stylistic boundaries, yet everything simply gels here, resulting in no separation between the astounding funk, effervescent irresistible melodies, psychedelicized guitars, and deep rhythms. 
                 

Sly & The Family Stone – Stand!
Label: Epic – 88697 26952 2, Legacy – 88697 26952 2
Format: CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Jewel Case
Country: US
Released: 2007
Genre: Rock, Funk / Soul
Style: Psychedelic, Funk, Soul

TRACKS

                    

01. Stand!    3:07
02. Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey    5:57
03. I Want To Take You Higher    5:22
04. Somebody's Watching You    3:20
05. Sing A Simple Song    3:56
06. Everyday People    2:21
07. Sex Machine    13:46
08. You Can Make It If You Try    3:38

BONUS TRACKS        

    
09. Stand! (Single Version)    3:08
10. I Want To Take You Higher (Single Version)    3:01
11. You Can Make It If You Try (Unissued Single Version)    3:38
12. Soul Clappin' II    3:26
13. My Brain (Zig-Zag) (Instrumental)    3:18

LINE - UP

Sly Stone – vocals, organ, guitar, piano, harmonica, vocoder; bass guitar on "You Can Make it if You Try"
Rose Stone – vocals, piano, keyboards
Freddie Stone – vocals, guitar
Larry Graham – vocals, bass guitar (except on "You Can Make it if You Try")
Greg Errico – drums, background vocals on "I Want to Take You Higher"
Cynthia Robinson – trumpet, vocal ad-libs; background vocals on "I Want to Take You Higher"
Jerry Martini – saxophone; background vocals on "I Want to Take You Higher"
Little Sister (Vet Stone, Mary McCreary, Elva Mouton) – background vocals on "Stand!", "Sing a Simple Song", "Everyday People" and "I Want to Take you Higher"

Flac Size: 408 MB

SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE - THERE'S A RIOT GOING ON 1971

                      

There's a Riot Goin' On is the fifth studio album by the American funk and soul band Sly and the Family Stone. It was recorded from 1970 to 1971 at Record Plant Studios in Sausalito, California, and

released later that year on November 1 by Epic Records. And damn if this music isn't funk at its deepest and most impenetrable -- this is dense music, nearly impenetrable, but not from its deep grooves, but its utter weariness. Sly's songwriting remains remarkably sharp, but only when he wants to write -- the foreboding opener "Luv N' Haight," the scarily resigned "Family Affair," the cracked cynical blues "Time," and "(You Caught Me) Smilin'." Ultimately, the music is the message, and while it's dark music, it's not alienating -- it's seductive despair, and that's the scariest thing about it. 
                                

Sly & The Family Stone – There's A Riot Goin' On
Label: Epic – 82876759112, Legacy – 82876759112
Format: CD, Album, Deluxe Edition, Reissue, Remastered Apr 9, 2007
Country: UK & Europe
Released: 1971
Genre: Funk / Soul
Style: Funk

TRACKS

               

01. Luv N' Haight    4:02
02. Just Like A Baby    5:11
03. Poet    3:01
04. Family Affair    3:05
05. Africa Talks To You "The Asphalt Jungle"    8:45
06. There's A Riot Goin' On    0:04
07. Brave & Strong    3:29
08. (You Caught Me) Smilin'    2:54
09. Time    3:04
10. Spaced Cowboy    3:58
11. Runnin' Away    2:57
12. Thank You For Talkin' To Me Africa    7:16

BONUS TRACKS        

    
13. Runnin' Away (Single Version)    2:42
14. My Gorilla Is My Butler (Instrumental)    3:10
15. Do You Know What? (Instrumental)    7:14
16. That's Pretty Clean (Instrumental)    4:12

LINE - UP

Sly Stone – arrangements, drums, drum programming, keyboard programming, synthesizers, guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals
Rose Stone – vocals, keyboards
Billy Preston – keyboards
Jerry Martini – tenor saxophone
Cynthia Robinson – trumpet
Freddie Stone – guitar
Ike Turner – guitar
Bobby Womack – guitar
Larry Graham – bass, backing vocals
Greg Errico – drums
Gerry Gibson – drums
Little Sister – backing vocals

Flac Size: 349 MB