Sly Stone, who died on Monday at the age of 82, was a rare breed. Most innovators never achieve commercial dominance. And most of the kings and queens of the Billboard charts offer safe and familiar hits. For a dazzling six years between 1968 and 1973, Sly and the Family Stone managed to do both as they shaped the culture and rode its wave to superstardom.
Just consider their early chart toppers. “Everyday People” and “Dance to the Music” were not just megahits. They were political anthems, reflecting the dream of an America no longer divided by race and gender enmity. The drummer on those groundbreaking funk songs was a white guy, Greg Errico. The trumpet player was a woman and family friend, Cynthia Robinson. Sly and the Family Stone looked like the Promised Land described by Martin Luther King Jr.