(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Top Comments: the Sly Stone memoirs edition [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-11-30 New memoirs by Sylvester Stewart (Sly and the Family Stone) after the jump …. But first: Top Comments appears nightly, as a round-up of the best comments on Daily Kos. Surely ... you come across comments daily that are perceptive, apropos and .. well, perhaps even humorous. But they are more meaningful if they're well-known ... which is where you come in (especially in diaries/stories receiving little attention). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Send your nominations to TopComments at gmail dot com by 9:30 PM Eastern Time nightly, or by our KosMail message board. Please indicate (a) why you liked the comment, and (b) your Dkos user name (to properly credit you) as well as a link to the comment itself. Though my reading habits can’t begin to compare to my intrepid T/C colleague Tara — this is a memoir that I was looking forward to reading. As with Keith Richards (whom I wondered if he could remember anything … then surprisingly, he delivered), Sly Stone is someone whom I wondered would be able to ever provide his life story to us in print. With the help of author Ben Greenman (who has co-written memoirs from Brian Wilson, Gene Simmons, George Clinton and Questlove) … he, too, did it. George Clinton is a frequent name in this book, and Questlove not only wrote the Foreword … he is also the US publisher of this book entitled Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin). (After yet another Sly classic tune, of course). Sylvester Stewart was born in Texas, then his family moved to the (relatively) integrated community of Vallejo, California. While today, men named Sylvester consciously adopt Sly as a nickname: he said it was a mistake on a classroom chalkboard (that he rather liked). Several years ago, I posted a profile of Sly (at this link) and will list some highlights from it below (all of which the book touches on). Emerging in a pivotal year musically (1967) the band Sly Stone assembled was (a) racially integrated, (b) had instrumentalists of both genders, (c) mixed together soul, R&B and funk along with rock and psychedelia and (d) brought social commentary into R&B in a way not seen before. To do any one of those things in 1967 would have been noteworthy .. but all four? ...... Under their parents' guidance, Sly and three of his four siblings recorded a 78-rpm disc "On the Battlefield for my Lord" in 1952. Sly studied music at Vallejo Junior College in the early 1960's and played in bands on the weekend. In addition, he became a DJ at the Bay Area R&B station KSOL but tellingly: added both the Beatles and Stones to his playlists. He parlayed this into a producer's job at Harvest Records, working with performers such as Bobby Freeman ("Do You Want to Dance?"), the Beau Brummels ("Just a Little") and the Great Society (with future Jefferson Airplane singer Grace Slick). In doing so, he had a wide-ranging vision of the music scene. In 1966, organist Sly formed a band called Sly and the Stoners (with Cynthia Robinson on trumpet) at the same time as his guitarist brother Freddie formed one called Freddie and the Stone Souls (with Greg Errico on drums). At the suggestion of saxophonist Jerry Martini (Sly's friend) - the two bands merged to form Sly and the Family Stone in early 1967. The group included two other Stewart/Stone siblings: sisters Vaetta leading a back-up vocal quartet (for a time) and Rose on piano (after finally agreeing to give up her day job). Critically, they recruited bassist Larry Graham - whose 'slapping' bass lines have become standard in funk music. After a successful regional hit "I Ain't Got Nobody", Clive Davis signed them to his Epic label. Their first release A Whole New Thing got some good reviews (interestingly, one from Mose Allison) yet sold poorly, and it took urging from Clive Davis for Sly to work on crafting a breakthrough hit single. 1968's Dance to the Music was that hit, reaching #8 and the album of the same name became a success as well. Their next album Life followed in 1968 which did not have any hit singles but did garner more critical applause, as the band's sound was becoming more tight and Sly's songwriting more adventurous - all of which set the stage for an even greater recording in 1969. This band was unlike any that had preceded them. With white musicians Greg Errico and Jerry Martini: the band was integrated racially. In Cynthia Robinson and Rose Stone: there were female instrumentalists (not simply singers). They played in traditionally Black venues and at white ones (notably in 1969: at the Summer of Soul festival in Harlem, then six weeks later at Woodstock). The mix of R&B, soul, pop, Gospel-style singing, rock and San Francisco psychedelia hadn't been heard before, and their colorful clothing (plus Rose's blonde wig) made them a visual sight to behold. Their lyrics emphasized love, anti-racism and understanding - all of which the band amply demonstrated by its own group member composition. Their magnum opus recording was 1969's Stand - preceded by the late 1968 release of the single Everyday People with the phrase "different strokes for different folks" that has achieved an iconic status even to this day. The album itself remained in the album charts for over 100 weeks, and its political tone became more edgy. The title track Stand as well as "I Want to Take You Higher", “You Can Make It if You Try” and Everyday People led to this album being ranked #121 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. Later that year came their triumphant appearance at Woodstock and all seemed well at the dawn of the 1970's with the release of the Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) single which hit #1 on the charts. In truth: events were occurring leading to the band's dissolution in a few years. Later in life, the book recounts his omnipresent tax issues, an infant son mauled by the family pit bull …. and substance abuse. Sly became known for his lateness/missing concerts, with this as a frequent reason. He allows that his fourth trip to rehab was the charm, and now is clean at age eighty. Near the end, he touches on musicians/friends who have passed on (including Cynthia Robinson) yet notes what his other former bandmates are up to today … proudly noting that Jerry Martini tours with Sly’s daughter Sylvyette (Phunne) Stewart. The book is only 265 pages long, so it’s a quick read for, say, holiday travel. And you can probably borrow it from your public library (as I did). Quite a worthwhile read. Sly in the 1960’s ... … and recently Of all of the songs from the band’s wonderful catalogue … I have to end with Hot Fun in the Summertime. In no small part as in my mis-spent youth: I initially mistook it for a Beach Boys tune (the horns should have been a giveaway). Decades later the Beach Boys may have agreed, as they recorded it on this album (from 1992). The song was ranked #247 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of all time. End of the spring And here she comes back Hi, hi, hi, hi there Them summer days Those summer days That's when I had Most of my fun, back Hi, hi, hi, hi there Them summer days Those summer days On cloud nine when I want to Out of school, yeah County fair in the country sun And everything is true Hot fun in the summertime First of the fall And then she goes back Bye, bye, bye, bye there Them summer days Those summer days Now, on to Top Comments : From Jon Sitzman: In the front-page story about a right-wing broadcaster dreaming about making the n-word irrelevant by using it — JSteve7 just dropped a mic, and I thought I could recognize it. Highlighted by lolsilently: In the front-page story about a book-banner claiming (at a school board meeting) that a single kiss in a children’s book led to a life of pornography — we should pitch in to send erilaz on an all-expense-paid trip to the next meeting of this school board. And from Ed Tracey, your faithful correspondent this evening ........ In the diary by Blayman about Ammon Bundy apparently being a fugitive from justice in Idaho — Lincoln Green fills-us-in on some of the back-story. Next - enjoy jotter's wonderful (and now eternal) *PictureQuilt™* below. Just click on the picture and it will magically take you to the comment featuring that photo. TOP PHOTOS November 29th, 2023 (NOTE: Any missing images in the Quilt were removed as (a) they were from an unapproved source that somehow snuck through in the comments, or (b) it was an image from the DailyKos Image Library which didn't have permissions to allow others to use it.) Alas, there is no Top Mojo for today ... the gremlins have gained control tonight. 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