RAISED in Northern California, Sylvester Stewartbecame a Bay Area radio DJ and in-house producer for San Francisco’s Autumn Records, before forming the Family Stone in 1966 – the core lineup finally settling around brother Freddie (vocals, guitar), sister Rose (vocals, keyboards), Cynthia Robinson (trumpet), Greg Errico (drummer), Jerry Martini (sax) and Larry Graham (bass). The group released their first album the following year: A Whole New Thing was an amazing and unprecedented amalgam of folk-rock, driving Stax soul and mind-expanding production. The Family Stone’s psychedelic sound coalesced with the miraculous title track of 1968’s Dance To The Music. Along with Life – their second album of 1968 – the band were developing as a blazing collective and Stone as a songwriter with the melodic gifts of Paul McCartney. That year, they also began work on Stand!, the group’s true breakthrough. Now read on…
IT was the right time and place for a big leap forward. It was America in 1968, a year where everything happened – Khe Sanh and Tet, King and the riots, Bobby Kennedy, the Democratic National Convention, Tommie Smith and John Carlos with their fists up in Mexico City. There was no shortage of circumstance. The trick was not to become a victim of it. Being an artist meant more than just travelling through events. It meant channelling them.
That’s what had led me to “Everyday People”. I busted up my finger while we were recording that song. I hit the piano too hard and my finger just went out
