Sly Stone  Organ, Guitar and many other instruments & Vocals

Freddie Stone         Guitar & Vocals

Rose Stone            Keyboard & Vocals

Cynthia Robinson    Trumpet & Vocals

Jerry Martini            Saxophone & Clarinet

Greg Errico            Drums

Larry Graham         Bass & Vocals

Sly & The Family Stone: one of the most innovative groups popular music has ever known, a band that instigated a musical revolution.

Led by Sly Stone, The Family Stone consisted of boys and girls, both black and white, making it probably the first truly integrated group in the history of popular music. Starting in 1966, their sound was a unique, unknown fusion of Soul, Funk, Rock, R&B and Psychedelia. Sly himself was a master musician who wrote, arranged and produced all the group’s material, fashioning ingenious musical arrangements filled with syncopated rhythm, pop melody and unexpected harmonies.

While Sly himself played a powerful Hammond B-3 organ, the funky backbeat was laid down by drummer Greg Errico who played in a powerful, innovative style, anchored to Larry Graham’s outrageous bass, which with its thumping, plucking and slapping, would become the standard for other bass players to follow. This base groove was completed by the unique and fabulous guitar playing of Freddie Stone. Riding the rhythm were the punchy horn lines of Jerry Martini on sax and Cynthia Robinson on trumpet, not to mention the solid keyboard work of Rose Stone. Vocally, the group were unsurpassed with Sly, Freddie, Rose and Larry covering all the bases. And in live performance the band would notch it all up into a higher gear, receiving standing ovations wherever they played, and blowing away the competition at the landmark Woodstock festival of 1969.

The true beauty of Sly’s music was not just an irresistible groove, but a profound lyrical message. Before Sly, very few R&B artists had dealt with anything more than a simple view of the social and political aspects of life. The Family Stone would have a lasting impact on the generation that came of age in the late 60’s. Both recording artists and record labels, from Miles Davis to Motown, were affected by Sly, and many subsequently changed their creativity and methods. And by the end of the decade, the huge commercial success of Sly & The Family Stone had put them in a league rivaling The Beatles.

In the early 70s, Sly created more new sounds. With programmed drum tracks, syncopated electric piano, over-modulated guitar, and “popping” bass lines, his music evolved into a deeper, darker form of the Funk, especially when accompanied by cryptic lyrics wailed rather than sung. This period was as influential as his earlier work, and became an inspiration to many artists such as Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder.

Despite the continued quality of his music, Sly’s popularity took a downturn in the course of the early 70s. His continued inability to show up for sold-out concerts lost him a lot of credibility with his fans. Greg and Larry had already left the group and by the beginning of 1975, the magic was finally gone and The Family Stone disbanded. Sly attempted several comebacks through to the mid-1980s, but with an ongoing lack of success, he retreated from the music scene.

Nevertheless, the music of Sly Stone continues to provide a basic template for Funk, R’n’B, and Hip-Hop well into the millennium. Artists like Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind & Fire, Michael Jackson, Prince, OutKast, Pharrell Williams, John Legend and many others are still creating music based on the set of musical rules that Sly & The Family Stone laid down over forty years ago.

All the original members were inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall Of Fame in 1993 and additionally received a R&B Foundation Pioneer Award in 2001.

Edwin & Arno Konings

Sly & The Family Stone’s most notable hits:

Dance To The Music - Life - Everyday People - Sing A Simple Song - Stand! - I Want To Take You Higher - Hot Fun In The Summertime - Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) - Everybody Is A Star - Family Affair - Runnin' Away - If You Want Me To Stay - Time For Livin'