
Sly Stone's 5 essential songs, from 'Everyday People' to 'Stand!'
Sly Stone's 5 essential songs, from 'Everyday People' to 'Stand!'
For Sly and the Family Stone, it was always all about that bass.
The funk band, led by the mercurial genius who gave the band its moniker, joined James Brown and Parliament-Funkadelic as pioneering artists who ushered in the fusion of rock, R&B and soul.
Sly Stone – born Sylvester Stewart in Denton, Texas − has died at age 82, his family announced on June 9. But the music he created with the band − a lineup that included brother/guitarist Freddie Stone, sister/keyboardist Rose Stone, trumpeter Cynthia Robinson, drummer Greg Errico, saxophonist Jerry Martini and bassist Larry Graham − inhabits the music of artists ranging from Diana Ross & The Supremes to Michael Jackson to John Mayer.
Sly and the Family Stone released 10 studio albums between 1967 and 1982, with many songs injected with passionate social consciousness and others existing as blissful foot-stompers.
Here are five of the band's most essential songs:
Sly Stone dies: The funk pioneer, who led Sly and the Family Stone, was 82
'Everyday People' (1968)
The first No. 1 hit for the unit is also one of the most enduring in music history. A call for peace and equality is blanketed with a pop sheen including a singsong chorus ("There is a blue one who can't accept the green one for living with the black one trying to be a skinny one") and a bridge including the phrase, 'different strokes for different folks,' which was the inspiration behind the '70s sitcom 'Diff'rent Strokes.' The song's covers include a memorable rendition by Joan Jett as well as Cher and Future, who recorded it for a 2017 Gap commercial.
'Stand!' (1969)
Sly Stone wrote this minor, yet important, hit solo and also primarily used studio musicians to record it. Stone's message was simple, to stand 'for the things you know are right,' his words emphasized by a gospel choir. 'It's the truth that the truth makes them so uptight. … Don't you know that you are free, at least in your mind if you want to be,' he sings in a gravelly tone before a mid-song detour into a think stew of gospel and funk. The B-side of the single – 'I Want to Take You Higher' – is equally worthy of hosannas.
''Hot Fun in the Summertime' (1969)
Though it was released just before the band's appearance at Woodstock, the No. 2 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 became a symbol of the music festival with its memo about carefree fun in the sun. Tapped piano notes and a gentle pillow of strings provide the song's backbone, and when the horns kick in along with the group's soaring background vocals, it's impossible not to get swept into the groovy vibe.
'Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin' (1969)
Though the spelling of the title would cause much cringing among English teachers, the clever title (which translates to 'Thank You for Letting Me Be Myself Again') is one of many unforgettable elements of the funktastic singalong of individuality that still serves as a call to the dance floor.
A sliding high hat pairs with heavy use of bassist Graham's legendary 'slap technique,' which he would employ throughout the band's duration and be emulated by Prince, Flea and Chic's Bernard Edwards, among others.
'Family Affair' (1971)
The final No. 1 hit for the band and one of its most emulated, whether through its woozy electric piano (played by Billy Preston) or its syncopated rhythm. Prince and Madonna found ways to interpolate the song into their own recordings ('Y Should Eye Do That When Eye Can Do This?' and 'Keep It Together,' respectively), but, no, Mary J. Blige's song and album of the same name is not affiliated with Sly and the Family Stone's.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Washington Post
8 hours ago
- Washington Post
Sly Stone channeled multitudes; they were all gloriously American
There are a host of images of Sly Stone in which his onstage style serves as a celebration of the freedom and power that were the by-products of being a rock star, but also the jet fuel. He could be a blend of blinding sequins, flashing metallics and all manner of hats, from broad brims and newsboys to a crochet bucket hat adorned with a glamorous brooch. His face could be haloed in a wondrously buoyant Afro. His hair could reach skyward in a rainbow-colored mohawk. And it could be straight-combed and curled like a child's on Easter Sunday. When he performed, he could swagger with a bravado that spoke of street cool, and he could lower his voice and tilt his head like a preacher halfway through a sermon but just getting warmed up.


Washington Post
12 hours ago
- Washington Post
The musical world that Sly Stone made for us still spins
Not even in a world this big, bad, beautiful, wonderful, horrible, overstimulated and hyperbolic can we begin to overstate the importance of Sly Stone. His death on Monday at 82 feels too enormous, too unwieldy for whatever tools we have to measure it. He's one in a tiny handful of 20th-century visionaries who created the musical reality we've lived in ever since, standing shoulder to shoulder with his peer influences (the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, all of Motown) and the star students he inspired (Parliament-Funkadelic, Prince, Janet Jackson, Outkast, all of hip-hop, all of everything). Pop's utopian impulse might not begin with him, at least not in a tidy, big bang way, but it doesn't grow so vast — so quickly — without the immensity of his imagination. When we grieve Sly Stone, we grieve a sense of what's possible in all music.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
Dionne Warwick, Jamie Foxx Among Those Paying Tribute to Sly Stone: 'May He Rest in Paradise'
Hollywood is paying tribute to Sly Stone after news of the funk-rock pioneer's death was announced Monday. Stone died after a 'prolonged battle with COPD and other underlying health issues,' his family said Monday. More from The Hollywood Reporter Secretly Group Acquires 50 Percent Stake in Merge Records Mariah Carey Signs Multi-Album Deal With Gamma Jessica Pratt, MJ Lenderman, Shaboozey Among Big Winners at 2025 Libera Awards 'Sly passed away peacefully, surrounded by his three children, his closest friend, and his extended family,' his family wrote in a statement. 'While we mourn his absence, we take solace in knowing that his extraordinary musical legacy will continue to resonate and inspire for generations to come.' Sly shot to prominence in the music industry in 1968 alongside his band Sly and the Family Stone with their hit 'Dance to the Music,' which landed in the top 10 on both the pop and R&B charts. The group continued to deliver a series of crossover tracks, including 'Summer of Love,' including 'Stand!,' 'Hot Fun in the Summertime,' 'Runnin' Away,' 'If You Want Me to Stay' and 'Time for Livin',' which emerged to define their hometown of San Francisco. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Dionne Warwick, whom Sly used to play the keyboard for early in his career, said, 'I met Sly during his years as a DJ. I will miss him as I know everyone will. My condolences to his family.' At the 2025 BET Awards carpet, Grammy nominee Durand Bernarr told THR, 'I hope that he knew he was loved and he was respected and we're rooting for him.' Also at the BET Awards, American Idol alum and 'Over' singer Lucky Daye commemorated his influence on the music industry, also telling THR, 'May he rest in paradise today.' In a statement to THR, Grammy winner Ray Parker Jr. said, 'He was my hero. Sly wrote the best songs in the world and bridge the black and white worlds like no other. I'm pretty sure every one of his albums had a No. 1 Pop hit. The guitars on 'Thank You for Letting Me Be Myself' speak for themselves. There's never been anything like it before and is hard to imagine will be again.' Paul Stanley, co-founder and co-lead vocalist of KISS, said on X, 'Sly Stone Has Died. In 1968 I saw Sly & the Family Stone debut at the Fillmore East in New York City opening for Jimi Hendrix. They were a freight train of bombastic, joyous SouI that would soon climb the charts and change the sound of R&B for so many other artists. Rest In Soul!' On Instagram, Jamie Foxx wrote, 'Legend RIP SLY.' Questlove, director of the Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) documentary, paid tribute to Sly on Instagram, writing, 'From the moment his music reached me in the early 1970s, it became a part of my soul. Sly was a giant — not just for his groundbreaking work with the Family Stone, but for the radical inclusivity and deep human truths he poured into every note. His songs weren't just about fighting injustice; they were about transforming the self to transform the world. He dared to be simple in the most complex ways — using childlike joy, wordless cries and nursery rhyme cadences to express adult truths.' The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which Sly and the Family Stone were inducted into in 1993, wrote on X, '1993 Inductees Sly & The Family Stone made it possible for Black popular music to burst free on its own terms, with singer, songwriter, and producer @HigherSlyStone at the helm, extending the boundaries of pop and R&B with each new song.' The Sundance Film Festival also shared a statement on X: 'Sly Stone changed music forever. A visionary, a rebel, a genius. His sound shaped generations and his spirit broke boundaries.' Below, read more tributes to Stone. "You should know that he was a genius" – PJ Morton remembers Sly Stone on the red carpet at the #BETAwards — The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) June 9, 2025 View this post on Instagram A post shared by Holly Robinson Peete (@hollyrpeete) Sly Stone changed FUNK FOREVER. With the Family Stone, he fused groove, soul, and psychedelia into something bold and alive. Integrated in sound and spirit, the band broke every rule. His influence is everywhere funk has gone and everywhere it's still in peace, Sly.… — Okayplayer (@okayplayer) June 9, 2025 Rest In Beats SLY Stone ..and we should THANK @questlove of @theroots for keeping his FIRE blazing in this Century. 2 documentaries and book . GET EM — Chuck D (@MrChuckD) June 9, 2025 View this post on Instagram A post shared by Eric Johnson (@upstairsaterics) Rest easy Sly Stone. You changed music (and me) forever. The time he won over Ed Sullivan's audience in 1968. Simply magical. — Danny Deraney (@DannyDeraney) June 9, 2025 RIP Sly Stone (1943–2025), the funk pioneer who made the world dance, think, and get higher. His music changed everything—and it still does. — Eric Alper 🎧 (@ThatEricAlper) June 9, 2025 Rest in peace, Sly…🖤 Today, the legendary Sly Stone from Sly and the Family Stone, has passed away at age 82…In honor of his legacy here's an incredible clip of Sly and the Family Stone performing 'Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)' — Melodies & Masterpieces (@SVG__Collection) June 9, 2025 Best of The Hollywood Reporter Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2025: Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and More Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025 Hollywood's Highest-Profile Harris Endorsements: Taylor Swift, George Clooney, Bruce Springsteen and More