Sly Stone Archives - Ramblin' with Roger

Sly and Brian

They were both 82 when they died

I’m compelled to write about Sly and Brian. Coincidentally, when I was writing for the ABC Wednesday meme, I created a series of family-related band posts in 2014. It included Sly and the Family Stone -Sly Stone and his siblings, Rose and Freddie; and the Beach Boys – Brian Wilson, his brothers, Dennis and Carl, plus their cousin Mike Love. The posts were only two weeks apart. They are chockablock with musical links.

Check out Coverville 1537: Sly Stone and Brian Wilson Tributes.

Sylvester Stewart (March 15, 1943- June 9, 2025)

The first time I heard of the Family Stone was when I listened to their hit single, Dance to the Music, but I didn’t have any of their albums. My sister got the album Stand! It was a revelation, with the title song, Everyday People, Higher, and others.

I REALLY got Sly and the Family Stone when a bunch of my friends and I went to a cinema in 1970 and watched the movie Woodstock. They were mesmerizing, especially Sly. I seem to recall that when the group was on stage, the projector emitted a purple glow. And then, in those days, the theaters didn’t seem to care – we all watched the movie a second time. (This video is much longer than what was used in the film.)

Soon, I bought the greatest hits album, which has some of the wonderful songs not on a previous album (Hot Fun In The Summertime, Thank You).

Every time I played There’s A Riot Going On, I felt… stoned, and I didn’t even have to smoke. I followed Sly’s various travails. It was great to see the 2021 movie Summer of Soul, featuring the group in 1969, the same year as Woodstock. I’m looking forward to seeing the new documentary ‘Sly Lives!’ as Questlove sets out to answer one question: What is Black Genius?

Long before I’d heard of the Family Stone, Sly produced an album by young Billy Preston, which I own.

Stuck in my head: Sing A Simple Song (the chorus always starts on the first beat of a 4/4 measure, then, at the end, crazily comes in a beat early), Thank You, and Family Affair. Here’s the NYT obit.

Brian Wilson (June 20, 1942- June 11, 2025)

I may have written more about Brian Wilson than any other non-Beatle musician. Surely, I noted that when The Beach Boys first came out , I found them pleasant enough, but I felt no compulsion to buy any of their albums.

Still, I was very aware of them because The Beatles and The Beach Boys were both on Capitol Records, so the inner sleeve of my Beatles LPs listed all the Beach Boys’ albums. I did have two Beach Boys songs from a compilation album.

My first Beach Boys album I purchased was Pet Sounds. I belonged to the Capitol Records Club and never set back the negative option card. Surprisingly, I loved it, and it led me to buy many Beach Boys albums at a time when the group was becoming generally less popular. There are some great songs from that era.

Then Capitol, in its capitalist wisdom, released a collection of their old songs called Spirit of America. I bought that and suddenly became a full-fledged Beach Boys fan. I’ve also purchased several Brian solo albums.

I gave my friend Donna a boxed set of Beach Boys CDs in the late 1990s. Before she died of cancer in the early 2000s, she wanted her friends to divvy up her books and music; I took the boxed set.

I knew that

The New York Times article about Brian contained about 95% of the information that I already knew, including the Beatles/Beach Boys competition. You should see the movie Love & Mercy. I worried about Brian’s well-being after his second wife, Melinda, died in 2024.

I was madly in love with the 2014 BBC cover of God Only Knows by a variety of musicians, including Brian. You can watch the December 2007 Kennedy Center Honor Tribute, part 1 and part 2.

The three songs floating in my head are God Only Knows – effectively used at the end of the movie Love, Actually – ‘Til I Die, and Our Prayer.

Thanks songs, for Thanksgiving

from Beatles to Boyz II Men

Thanksgiving is coming, so I thought I’d link to some thanks songs. All cuts are in my physical music collection.

Thank You Girl – The Beatles, #35 pop in 1964, as the B-side to Do You Want To Know A Secret (#2 pop). Written by Lennon and McCartney, “eyeball to eyeball.”

Thank The Lord For The Night Time – Neil Diamond, #13 pop in 1967. Written by Neil and arguably my favorite song by him.

I Thank You – Sam and Dave, #4 RB, #9 pop in 1968. Sam says, “I want everybody to get off your seat. And get your arms together, and your hands together, and give me some of that OLD SOUL CLAPPING.” Written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter.

Thank You – Led Zeppelin, from the group’s second album (1969). Written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant.

Sylvester Stewart

Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) – Sly and the Family Stone, #1 pop, #1 RB for five weeks in 1969. Written by Sly Stone. Its first album appearance is on the greatest collection along with Everybody Is A Star (the B-side of Thank You) and Hot Fun In The Summertime. It namechecks other songs by the group.
Dance to the music
All night long
Everyday people
Sing a simple song
Mama’s so happy
Mama start to cry
Papa still singin’
We can make it if we try

Thank You For Talkin’ To Me, Africa – Sly and the Family Stone. A reworking of the previous song, also written by Sly Stone, appears on the 1971 album There’s A Riot Goin’ On.

Thank God I’m A Country Boy – John Denver, #1 pop and country in 1975. Written by John Martin Sommers.

Thank You For Being A Friend – Andrew Gold, #25 pop in 1978. Written by Gold and Brock Walsh. It was also used as the theme for The Golden Girls, sung by Cynthia Fee in 1985.

Thank You – Boyz II Men, #17 RB, #21 pop in 1995. Written by Dallas Austin and the group, Michael McCary, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, and Shawn Stockman.

Music, April 1971: What’s Going On

More random music recollections based on the book Never A Dull Moment.

You probably think you know the story of Marvin Gaye’s standout album, What’s Going On, how the Artist recognized what’s REALLY happening in the world and puts out a album designed to stick it to the Suits at the record company. The actual story was a bit more prosaic.

In fact, the title song began with a wisp of of an idea by Obie Benson, the bass singer of the Four Tops, who thought that maybe he had another song like the Coke commercial, “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing.” He and Motown songwriter Al Cleveland thought it might fit Marvin, but he wasn’t impressed. They pushed, and Marvin gave it some tweaks, thinking he might produce it for the Originals.

In July 1970, he came into the studio, had some football buddies for the party noise, captured sax player Eli Fontaine warming up, and basically fell into a sound. He managed to slip it out as a single in January 1971, while Motown owner/brother-in-law Berry Gordy was out on the West Coast. Gordy thought two things: 1) he hated the song, and 2) wondered where’s followup album was after it became a hit.

The What’s Going On album was recorded in March and released in May, with a second mix by Gaye that defined not only the LP, but changed the expectation of listeners regarding what was expected from a Motown album. I played it a lot in college; Inner City Blues especially STILL seems relevant.

Another Motown artist was giving Berry Gordy headaches. Stevie Wonder was married, living in NYC with new wife Syretta, and about to turn 21. His lawyers sent a letter to Gordy disavowing his Motown contract.

Meanwhile, Stevie discovered The Original New Timbral Orchestra, or TONTO, keyboard system. Wonder had lost interest in his new album, Where I’m Coming From, which was actually the first Stevie album I ever bought, as his own sound was developing.

His next album, Music of My Mind, made in 1971 and released the next year, was more representative of the groove he was going for. The FOUR albums after THAT, all dominant on my turntable in the 1970s won FOUR Grammy albums of the Year awards in five years.

Sly Stone’s album was two years late, and he became “the least reliable superstar in the history of popular music.” The eventual downbeat, indecipherable There’s A Riot Goin’ On, released in November 1971, was a contact high of an album. One did not have to BE stoned to FEEL stoned listening to it.

Was Shaft blaxploitation or black empowerment? It was a movie by noted black photographer Gordon Parks, with Richard Roundtree as the handsome black detective, whose looks drove the lyrics written by STAX artist Isaac Hayes. The “shut your mouth” was delivered by Telma Hopkins, whose hit with Dawn, “Knock Three Times”, came out earlier that year. My sister Leslie owned this double LP, which he had to get partially replaced because the package had two of the same LPs.

Listen To

What’s Going On – Marvin Gaye
Inner City Blues – Marvin Gaye
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised – Gil Scott-Heron
Family Affair – Sly & the Family Stone
I Can’t Get Next to You – Al Green
Toussaint L’Ouverture- Santana