Motley Moose – Archive

I post a weekly diary of historical notes, arts & science items, foreign news (often receiving little notice in the US) and whimsical pieces from the outside world that I often feature in “Cheers & Jeers” … plus a profile of Sly and the Family Stone.

   

OK, you’ve been warned – here is this week’s tomfoolery material that I posted.

ART NOTES – nineteenth-century works from the Romantic period in an exhibition entitled Romantic Spirits are at the Telfair Museum in Savannah, Georgia through February 15th.

CHEERS to the whimsical German political party named Die Partei – whose chairman has actually won a seat in the European Parliament by advocating (with tongue firmly planted-in-cheek) for the rebuilding of the Berlin Wall, plus a war-of-aggression against …. Liechtenstein.

THE OTHER NIGHT yours truly hosted the Top Comments diary with a look at the Worst Baseball Teams in History – with the certifiably-worst team of all time … being one that you are unlikely to have heard of.

THURSDAY’s CHILD is Nelson the Cat – the 20 year-old winner of Britain’s “Cat of the Year” award, for having survived the loss of an eye and several cruelties in life … yet who has endured.

RELATIONS between Canada and Mexico have had some recent strains, as a result of some actions by ….. your-friend-and-mine, Stephen Harper.

EACH YEAR numerous visitors crowd into the Roman Forum; mistakenly believing that this is where the remains of Julius Caesar are interred.

FRIDAY’s CHILD is Cleo the Cat – who has won Britain’s “Hero Cat” award for 2014, by seeing a man through a heart attack (winners in three other award categories will be featured in this space next week).

BRAIN TEASER – try this Quiz of the Week’s News from the BBC.

YUK for TODAY – in seeing the news that Michelle Nunn’s candidacy for the US Senate seat from Georgia has been supported by no less than Zell Miller – I recalled the old Saturday Night Live skit of “Hardball” featuring Darrell Hammond (as Tweety) and Will Forte (as Zell) ….

Joining us now to shout about God knows what, everyone’s favorite looney tune – former senator and current Fox News contributor Zell Miller! Zell, whattaya got for us?

Let me tell you, Matthews! This country’s got a real problem with the media, and you’re one of them! If you can’t control that dirty liberal thing you call a mouth, then maybe I’ll have to jump on my horse and come up north myself and put a sock in it!! Do you hear me, Chris Matthews?!! Do you hear me?!!

Haaah! This is why I come into work every day, folks!!

HAIL and FAREWELL to the Italian-born soprano Licia Albanese – with the Met, who sang more than 400 performances over the course of 26 years  at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and who in 1995 was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Bill Clinton – who has died at the age of 105.

SEPARATED at BIRTH – CNN conservative pundit S.E. Cupp and former 1990’s MTV veejay Lisa “Kennedy” Montgomery – now a Fox Business host (believe it or not).

   

…… and finally, for a song of the week …………… it may be an overstatement when the San Francisco Chronicle journalist Joel Selvin wrote, “there are two types of black music: black music before Sly and the Family Stone, and black music after Sly and the Family Stone” – but if so, perhaps not by much.

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? ……  

Born Sylvester Stewart in 1944, the man later to be known as Sly Stone moved with his family from Texas to California in the 1950’s. Under their parents’ guidance, He 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 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, 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 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”, “Don’t Call Me Nigger, Whitey” 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 that led to band’s dissolution within a few years.

It began with Sly Stone’s extensive heroin habit, which caused him to miss many of the band’s concerts. He hired several friends to act as bodyguards, thus driving a wedge between himself and others in the band. And by the 1970’s disillusionment with the pace of civil rights reform was beginning to take its toll. Drummer Greg Errico left in 1971 (with a series of drummers holding the chair for the next few years).

The band regrouped and released 1971’s There’s a Riot Going On which moved further in a moody direction. (It’s a) Family Affair was another #1 hit single from the album, and the group’s last. Backstage, all was not well. Saxophonist Jerry Martini was threatened with firing if he inquired again about management’s handling of finances and bassist Larry Graham left after a backstage brawl in 1972. (Graham has since had a successful solo career, beginning with Graham Central Station in the 1970’s).

The group released two further albums: Fresh (from 1973) which had a Top 20 single “If You Want Me to Stay” and Small Talk (from 1974) – both of which garnered mixed reviews. More problems arose as (a) Sly was overdubbing the recordings excessively for a band reliant on a fresh sound, (b) his drug habit became overwhelming, (c) the  missed concerts started adding up and (d) the advent of disco music was starting to cut into the band’s appeal. The end came in January, 1975 when the band booked itself at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, bearing all the risk. When the seats were only 1/8 occupied: they had to scramble to afford plane fare home – for their last concert.

Sly Stone had some modest success as a solo artist throughout the 1970’s (and touring with George Clinton) but a 1983 arrest for cocaine led to spiraling personal problems. Freddie Stone carried on for a time before becoming a minister late in the 1970’s. Rose Stone became a session musician before becoming the music director at Freddie’s church and Greg Errico played in many different bands over the years (David Bowie, Santana, Jerry Garcia Band).

There have been various incarnations of the band since; the Family Stone Band features some of the Stone family members (photo right). Sly Stone was set to perform in April, 2010 at the Coachella Festival – but alas, just like the 1993 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies: Sly was late to the stage and went into a funk shortly thereafter. He has been described as being homeless, but eccentric may be a more apt word. In 2011 he released a comeback album entitled I’m Back! Family & Friends – and harkening back to his early days, it features an eclectic mix of guest performers (Ray Manzarek, Jeff Beck, Bootsy Collins, Ann Wilson of Heart, and jazz saxophonist Ernie Watts) – yet it garnered less-than-favorable reviews, and Stone again retreated to the shadows. An enigma wrapped insid …..

The band’s legacy, though is solid – besides the induction ceremony noted above, some of their achievements include: their Greatest Hits album was ranked #61 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and the magazine ranked them as #43 in the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Their musical legacy influenced musicians from Miles Davis to George Clinton to Prince, a tribute album entitled Different Strokes by Different Folks saw performers such as John Legend, the Black-Eyed Peas, Steve Tyler and Joss Stone play Family Stone songs, and the band was awarded a R&B Foundation Pioneer Award in 2001 and in 2007, the band’s entire back catalog was re-released. Even if Sly Stone never sings another note: this band has left a high-water mark of distinction.

   

Though I have other favorites from them: at this time of the year, it’s hard to surpass Hot Fun in the Summertime which upon first hearing: I mistook for a Beach Boys song (and 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, and at this link you can listen to it.