Being a weeklie podcaste from Madison, Wisconsin featuring several remarkable curiosities therein occurring being a compendium of live music from divers artistes
Show #157 – Sly and the Family Stone
April 8th, 2008
The Woodstock Festival is perhaps best remembered for stinky hippies, The Who’s performance of Tommy (with Pete Townshend kicking Abbie Hoffman off stage), and Jimi Hendrix’s rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner”. But amidst all this was Hendrix performing some new songs which showed a change in direction towards funk and a set by Sly and the Family Stone who helped redefine that genre. Rock, soul, funk – they did it all.
(Photo from Britannica.)
As far as a bio goes, I don’t know squat about the band so I’m going to quote liberally from the Allmusic Guide:
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, R&B, psychedelia, and funk that broke boundaries down without a second thought. Led by Sly Stone, the Family Stone was comprised of men and women, and blacks and whites, making the band the first fully integrated group in rock’s history. That integration shone through the music, as well as the group’s message. Before Stone, very few soul and R&B groups delved into political and social commentary; after him, it became a tradition in soul, funk, and hip-hop. And, along with James Brown, Stone brought hard funk into the mainstream. The Family Stone’s arrangements were ingenious, filled with unexpected group vocals, syncopated rhythms, punchy horns, and pop melodies. Their music was joyous, but as the ’60s ended, so did the good times. Stone became disillusioned with the ideals he had been preaching in his music, becoming addicted to a variety of drugs in the process.
(Photo from Wikipedia.)
His music gradually grew slower and darker, culminating in 1971’s There’s a Riot Going On, which set the pace for ’70s funk with its elastic bass, slurred vocals, and militant Black Power stance. Stone was able to turn out one more modern funk classic, 1973’s Fresh, before slowly succumbing to his addictions, which gradually sapped him of his once prodigious talents. Nevertheless, his music continued to provide the basic template for urban soul, funk, and even hip-hop well into the ’90s.
There ya go.
As for this week’s podcast, it was recorded on 10 September 1970 at Piknik Kasteel Groeneveld Baarn, Amsterdam, Holland. It is a copy of a the performance broadcast on the radio the following year.
Setlist:
Thank You
M’Lady
Sing a Simple Song
Stand!
Dance To The Music
I Want to Take You Higher
This is the band doing “Thank You” in 1970.
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