Thank you / Sly & the Family Stone LIVE ! on soul train

Since TSgt Joe C. shared thank you by Sly Stone earlier, it reminded me of his performance with the entire family on Soul Train back in the day .
Here is Sly Stone and the Family Stone live wearing the attire of the late 1960s to early 1970s.
"Sly and the Family Stone were one of the most influential bands of all time, featuring a multiracial group of males and female musicians and boasting an amalgam of R&B, rock, psychedelica and funk. At its best, the sound was life-affirming and brilliant. By the mid-‘70s, however, the dream seemed to fade due to drugs, exits and changing times.

Sylvester “Sly” Stone was born in Texas and migrated to California in the early ‘50s to study music at Vallejo Junior College. Stone became a popular disk jockey at KSOL in San Francisco, and later produced the Beau Brummels 1965 hit, “Laugh Laugh.” Stone also released some low- selling singles from the early to mid-‘60s.

Like many groups, Sly and the Family Stone came from other small groups (including the Stoners). By 1967, Sly and the Family Stone were Sly Stone (keyboards and vocals), Freddie Stone (guitar), Cynthia Robinson (trumpet), Jerry Martini (saxophone), Larry Graham (bass), Greg Errico (drums), and later, Rose Stone (keyboards and vocals).

Sly and the Family Stone were signed to Epic Records and their first album was called A Whole New Thing. The sound fused solid R&B with a garage rock sensibility. Subsequent albums found the look becoming more counterculture and the style more defined. Dance to the Music was recorded in 1967 and released in 1968.

Life was released a few months later and featured the fun title track and “M’Lady.” In mid-1969, Sly and the Family Stone released Stand! During this time, Stone matured as a producer and added more intricate sounds and styles. By now, the band’s trademark sound was firmly established and receiving raves, especially Larry Graham’s bass playing and the horn sections’ riffs. “Everyday People” went to #1 on the pop and R&B charts. The other singles from the album, “Stand,” “I Want to Take You Higher” and “Sing a Simple Song,” helped Stand! go platinum. Sly and the Family Stone’s incendiary performance at Woodstock more than helped sales and brought them to their commercial peak.

In 1970, Epic Records released Greatest Hits, which contained the hits from their first four albums with late 1969 non-album singles, the innovative “Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin” and the fond “Hot Fun In the Summertime.” Sly and the Family Stone’s next album was the classic, There‘s a Riot Goin.’ In the two and a half years between albums, Sly and the Family Stone were becoming notorious for drug use, missed shows, and general flip side of the Woodstock ethos.

The work on There‘s a Riot Goin’ On covers that time for better or worse and that often made for difficult listening aesthetically and emotionally speaking. The “happier” songs, “Runnin’ Away,” “You Caught Me Smilin’,” and “Family Affair” (#1 R&B and pop) were as accessible as it got. Despite the highs, the torpor on songs like “Africa Talks To You,” “The Asphalt Jungle,” and “Thank You For Talking To Me Africa” was unnerving in every sense of the word. There‘s a Riot Goin On went platinum and is acclaimed as one of the best albums of all time.

By this point, the fun part of Sly and the Family Stone was drawing to a close as drug use, interpersonal issues, and exits started to appear. Drummer Greg Errico left on 1971, and bassist Larry Graham left in 1972 and later created the Graham Central Station.

Fresh found the band continuing in grand fashion despite the lineup changes. Fresh featured the classic, “If You Want Me To Stay,” “Babies Making Babies,” and a slowed down version of Doris Day’s trademark song, “Que Sera Sera.” To many, Fresh marks the end of Sly and the Family Stone’s and the end of Stone’s musical coherence. Fresh went gold.

In the early to mid-‘70s, Sly and the Family Stone seemed ubiquitous despite their erratic performances and their reputation for not showing up for concerts. Stone released the so-so Small Talk which featured the fun and funky single, “Loose Booty.” The 1974 versions of the band appeared on ABC’s In Concert, Soul Train, the Mike Douglas Show, and the 1975 American Music Awards. More often than not, Stone seemed to be in good spirits, but the magic was gone. Sly and the Family Stone seemed more like a free-form collective and some of the newer members included Vet Stone, Rusty Allen, Andy Newmark, and Sid Page.

In 1975, Stone released his first solo album, High on You, and it was a moderate success. In 1976, Sly and the Family Stone returned for Heard You Missed Me, but it also didn’t fare well.

I’m 1978, Stone signed to Warner Bros. In the same year, Sly and the Family Stone released Remember Who You Are. While it wasn’t a true “Family Stone” album, it did show glimmers of greatness such a the title track and “Back on the Right Track.”

In the early ‘80s, many fans wondered how and when Sly Stone was going to come back. In 1983, Stone released the promising Ain‘t But One Way, but it also failed and was his last album for Warner Bros. In the intervening years, Stone had turned into one of music’s most tragic figures with drug arrests, lawsuits and comebacks that never happened.

In the ’80s and ‘90s, Stone’s music loomed large with acts like Janet Jackson, Prince, and Arrested Development either using a sample, a style, or a presentation derived from Sly Stone. Stone made few appearances on record and the most successful was his guest vocal on Jesse Johnson’s 1986 hit “Crazay.”
From 2015/08/18/soul-retrospective-sly-and-the-family-stone/