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Sly Stone has died

381 points| brudgers | 9 months ago |abcnews.go.com | reply

66 comments

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[+] harry8|9 months ago|reply
One story I heard of his influence was that Stevie Wonder did a guest spot in a Sly & the Family Stone gig and could feel the energy of the whole place, heaving.

Took that feeling and with a new record deal giving him creative control did Superstition, Higher Ground and all those classics.

It's hard to be cynical enough about rock history you see on tv, but it's at least plausible that one genius can inspire another, thinking of a Haydn & Mozart kind of thing.

"If You Want Me to Stay" probably my favourite Sly Stone track.

I never got around to listening to his stuff with Funkadelic, maybe today is that day.

[+] dpc050505|9 months ago|reply
Stevie Nicks wrote Dreams hiding in Sly Stone's basement den.

He led the first popular racially integrated rock band and is among the 3 biggest stars in funk.

[+] thinkingtoilet|9 months ago|reply
Great story. Thanks. As a musician, it's nice to validate that "feeling" a crowd's energy is very real, even someone with out vision can feel it.
[+] brudgers|9 months ago|reply
I was listening to an interview of Alan Parsons and when they were talking about 1973’s Dark Side of the Moon, he mentioned that it was not nominated for the album Grammy and that Stevie Wonder won.

So I listened to Wonder’s Inner Visions and it was clear why it won. It is a much better album. It is a pity Inner Visions is largely forgotten.

[+] plemer|9 months ago|reply
Can’t even explain what Sly means to me. Grew up on him, singing with my brother and sister in the back seat. He was summer, he was courage, he was jubilation. And his music still is. RIP.
[+] jimt1234|9 months ago|reply
Same here. I got into Sly after hearing the Beastie Boys "Paul's Boutique" album, where he was heavily sampled - like this gem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_Z7HwDnuNI

Side note: Sampling is/was controversial, but I'll always be grateful to hip hop and sampling for introducing me to so much great music (like Sly) that never would've made its way to the suburbs of Missouri where I grew up. The Beastie Boys "Paul's Boutique" and De La Soul's "Three Feet High" albums triggered me to purchase, probably, 2 dozens other albums because of all the samples - from Sly to The Isley Brothers to The Turtles and so on.

[+] aorloff|9 months ago|reply
I booop ooop ooop ooop when I want tooo
[+] bosky101|9 months ago|reply
For someone not familiar with this culture, i for a moment thought the thread was talking about Sylvester Stallone.

RIP.

Was sly involved in the song superstition?

[+] fuzzfactor|9 months ago|reply
He put on one of the most celebrated performances at Woodstock.
[+] gremlinsinc|9 months ago|reply
yeah, same thought. I'm 45... heard of the band but that's it.
[+] asveikau|9 months ago|reply
I would encourage anyone reading who is less familiar to put on "everyday people", which you may have heard in a car commercial, but this time pay close attention to the lyrics.

https://youtu.be/YUUhDoCx8zc

[+] pjmorris|9 months ago|reply
Seconded.

The two things I most remember about the summer of 1969 were watching the Apollo 11 launch from our balcony and the subsequent moon walk, and hearing 'Everyday People' on the radio. The lyrics stuck with me. I was 6 or 7 at the time and thought 'That's what it must be like to be an adult.' I still do.

[+] mykowebhn|9 months ago|reply
One of my favorite Sly moments was when he appeared on the Mike Douglas Show with Muhammad Ali. Sly is the perfect foil playing the jester and peacemaker to Ali's activism and seriousness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBFAHd189V8

[+] gabriel666smith|9 months ago|reply
(Of course Ali & Stone were both generationally-talented communicators, but) there is such a stark difference between the sincerity and honesty with which difficult questions - race, reparations for slavery, etc - are being approached by those present in this clip, and more generally in popular media from previous decades, compared to the mode in which these discussions are had in pop culture today.

It feels refreshing and invigorating to watch people state their sincere opinions on a topic, very plainly, then debate them with those who have plainly stated oppositional viewpoints. It’s also actually engaging, and entertaining, whereas contemporary broadcast discussion of politics makes me want to scoop my eyeballs out with teaspoons from boredom alone, let alone the frustration of watching intelligent people very carefully avoid saying anything of substance which might be interpretable as an opinion.

I don’t think it’s survivorship bias due to preserved clips being particularly engaging, because the general public hasn’t lost this mode of communication. In most places I go, people don’t mince words or obfuscate their positions in the way people in broadcast media choose to. Real people seem disagree quite happily.

So it’s almost uncanny seeing such sincere expression on camera!

I’m not sure what happened - whether it was the branding of ‘speaking out’ as ‘courageous’ which led to public figures fearing sincere communication (as if it is something to fear!) - but I do feel that we’ve lost something.

And of course we have lost one of the great composers and bandleaders of the last century in Sly Stone. It would be very difficult to overstate the influence of his compositions and style on contemporary music. A true genius, and, like Ali, a true innovator within his chosen form.

RIP!

[+] funksta|9 months ago|reply
"The band released several unheralded albums in the '70s but never reached the height of 1969 again"

That's a questionable take– "There's a Riot Goin On" (1971) and Fresh (1973) are both absolute classics and highly influential

[+] pivic|9 months ago|reply
There's a wonderfully made two-part podcast documentary about Sly Stone and the Family; the documentary focuses on one song but is really a well-told story about the world around Sly Stone: https://500songs.com/podcast/song-175-everyday-people-by-sly...

Sly wasn't just a brilliant performer, singer, and accomplished multi-instrumentalist but a fantastic songwriter and hugely influential producer. He knew his way around music and lost sight of all ways.

[+] felixyz|9 months ago|reply
Wonderful podcast all-around!
[+] WalterBright|9 months ago|reply
I became a fan of base ever since "Dance to the Music". Thank you, Sly, for the great music!
[+] MrJagil|9 months ago|reply
I watched this clip recently https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJU-4fYejiw being turned onto it by super dave being a guest on Norm Mcdonalds show.

It's an interesting time capsule. Peter Marshall using a racial slur on live television, Sly being stoned out of his mind.

[+] coastalpuma|9 months ago|reply
RIP King

Please listen to "There's a riot goin on"

[+] daseiner1|9 months ago|reply
Great album.

Worth mentioning, I think, that the album title is a response to Marvin Gaye's What's Going On which came out earlier that year (1971).

[+] Bluestein|9 months ago|reply
A man way ahead, and beyond, his time.-

He had to systematically learn to "dumb down" his genius, in order to reach an audience, and systematically, methodically, did so ...

... and, in so doing, defined an era.-

[+] tinyplanets|9 months ago|reply
Huge fan of Sly and the Family Stone, sorry to hear about this loss. "A Family Affair" is one of my all time favorite songs (and one of my go-to karaoke songs :)
[+] milesward|9 months ago|reply
Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin
[+] adamc|9 months ago|reply
A great talent undone by his addiction.
[+] curtisszmania|9 months ago|reply
What an incredible legacy. May we all move through life with more rhythm and less regret. Let's honor his spirit by making our work as electrifying as his music. Rest in peace, Sly.