As a fan of a wide variety of popular (and not-so-popular) music from the 1950s (and sometimes even earlier) up through the present, one of my bucket list projects for years has been to put together a list of my 100 favorite songs of all time. At some point I decided that, once I got around to figuring that out, I could put it out on a blog, for the infinitesimally small proportion of the Internet world that might be interested. So, here we are. While the Top 100 will be a major focus, I also plan to post on a variety of other musical (and occasionally non-musical) topics, in which you may or may not be interested. (If a particular posting doesn’t ring your bell, you’re only a few clicks away from a dancing cat video on YouTube.)

Monday, June 9, 2025

Sly Stone

https://variety.com/2025/music/news/sly-stone-dead-funk-rock-pioneer-family-stone-1236423831/

 

Jason Ankeny’s biography on Allmusic.com provides an excellent summary of his contributions:

 

James Brown may have invented funk, but Sly Stone perfected it; his alchemical fusion of soul, rock, gospel, and psychedelia rejected stylistic boundaries as much as his explosive backing band the Family Stone ignored racial and gender restrictions, creating a series of euphoric yet politically charged records that proved a massive influence on artists of all musical and cultural backgrounds.

 

Unfortunately, drugs and disillusionment wound up wrecking both the band – the Variety obit notes that “In the year 1970, the Family Stone cancelled 26 of their 80 concert dates” – and his life. That sad decline, however, in no way detracts from his enormous musical and cultural contributions.

 

Favorite songs:

I Want To Take You Higher

Everyday People

Hot Fun In the Summertime

Family Affair

Dance to the Music

Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)

Sing a Simple Song

Stand!

M'Lady

Everybody Is a Star

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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 10, 2025 at 7:58 AM

    Tough to choose among these hits.
    Everybody is a Star is an underrated (though not exactly an "obscure") classic.

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    Replies
    1. Mike RhoadsJune 10, 2025 at 8:12 AM

      Both WXPN and the Takoma Park community station (https://takomaradio.org/) are heavily featuring their music this morning.

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