Artist artifact
Sly and the Family Stone
Integrated funk-soul band that mixed psychedelic rock, gospel joy, and social messaging into late-1960s American dance music.
Biography
Integrated funk-soul band that mixed psychedelic rock, gospel joy, and social messaging into late-1960s American dance music.
Influence
Parliament-Funkadelic, Miles Davis's electric bands, and later hip-hop all drank from Sly's polyrhythmic optimism and subsequent darker There's a Riot Goin' On turn.
Historical context
Integrated funk-soul band that mixed psychedelic rock, gospel joy, and social messaging into late-1960s American dance music. Parliament-Funkadelic, Miles Davis's electric bands, and later hip-hop all drank from Sly's polyrhythmic optimism and subsequent darker There's a Riot Goin' On turn. The Family Stone's multiracial, mixed-gender lineup was itself a political arrangement on national television stages.
Associated instruments
- Vocals
- Keyboards
- Bass
- Guitar
- Drums
- Horns
Specimen note
The Family Stone's multiracial, mixed-gender lineup was itself a political arrangement on national television stages.