“My only weapon is my pen,
I’m a songwriter…”
“Poet”
–Sly Stone
Sly Stone finally decided to tell his story. It’s a wild ride. Sly & The Family Stone operated at the top of the music world in the late 60s and early 70s until drugs destroyed everything. Written with the esteemed Ben Greenman, Sly travels all the way back to his musical childhood in the church, days as a DJ, Woodstock, hit songs, trouble with the law, living in his RV, into May of 2023.
Sly described how his integrated band rose to the top of the world. He reveals personal stories about the band, cultural influence, songwriting and admits without hesitation drug addiction eroded his life and career. As he put it, “The year after I got clean, it was Christmas in America during the pandemic, and my family came over to see me.” Sly explained pressures from the dark side of success. Most of the time, Sly occupied himself–in no particular order–with music, women, drugs, cars, money and legal trouble.
His soulful perspectives on Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Miles Davis, and September 11, 2001, verify how Sly Stone always loved everybody. He preached non-violence. We’re all just everyday people. Some of the funniest and most interesting stories involve Muhammad Ali, Ike Turner, George Clinton, Bob Marley, Bobby Womack, James Brown and Pam Grier. After all, chapter 15 is titled “Crazay”.
Moments of sadness grace the pages. Sly revealed a serious awakening: “At one point during the performance I lifted my guitar and the strap snapped. There had been plenty of times when the band changed. It changed when I moved to L.A. It changed when Larry left. But in those early months of 1975, the Family Stone, at least the way I thought of it–the group that had come together in my parents’ basement in Urbano, graduated to Winchester Cathedral, signed to Epic, danced to the music, stood, taken the stage at Woodstock, reached number 1 three times, helped make a new sound out of old ones–was over.”
Sly still possesses a bright light in a dark world. Overall, the stellar Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) inspires one to revisit the glorious music of Sly & The Family Stone. It’s a family affair…
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I’ll never give up on Sly. Saw him in Philadelphia for a purported afternoon show . He and the Family arrived precisely on Sly Time from New York City – about three hours late by the standards of us mortals.
He has yet to be equaled.