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Downloaded from
YTS.MX
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[Sly Stone] Okay, okay.
We'll do the whole thing again.
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[♪ rhythmic tapping]
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That was cooking though, man.
That was a good, that was...
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- [♪ guitar playing]
- Don't worry about it, let's do it again.
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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX
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One. Two.
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One, two, three!
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[♪ "Sing a Simple Song"
by Sly and the Family Stone playing]
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♪ Sing a simple song ♪
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♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
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[crowd cheering]
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Many people think of him as their hero.
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Making music that sounded
like no one else's.
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The most innovative musician
on the rock scene.
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- Hit after hit after hit.
- The one and only Sly Stone.
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♪ You're in trouble when you find
it's hard for you to smile ♪
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♪ A simple song
might make it better for a little ♪
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♪ Yeah ♪
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♪ Sing it with your sister, sing it
sing it sista, yah, yah ♪
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It can't be overstated
how massively popular
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Sly and the Family Stone was.
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♪
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[George Clinton]
At that time, a mixed group
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of Black and white
girls and boys was a new thing.
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♪ Hey, music lover ♪
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They sounded
like nothing else sounds.
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- ♪ All I want to do ♪
- They was doing psychedelic.
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- R&B,
- Pop. Rock.
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- [George] Church.
- Blues.
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- Soul.
- Funk.
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Sly and the Family Stone
was a family.
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We were friends.
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- But Sly was the creator.
- Writer.
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- [Jimmy Jam] Producer.
- Multi-instrument.
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- Player.
- Composer.
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- Songwriter.
- Thinker.
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- Poet.
- He opened a portal like,
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"Oh, yeah, come this way."
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♪ Thank you for letting me
be myself again ♪
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[Greg Errico]
He was an innovator.
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He was the first artist to use
a drum machine in a hit record.
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- ♪ It's a family affair ♪
- ♪ It's a family affair ♪
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We were all heavily influenced by Sly.
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There's no Prince and the Revolution
without Sly and the Family Stone.
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His songs have been sampled
by tons of artists.
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♪ Ahh ♪
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♪ I'm gonna knock you out ♪
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♪ Huh! ♪
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The drums reign supreme
in this motherfucker.
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[laughing]
That's how that shit sound.
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♪ You can make it if you try ♪
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He didn't have just hits.
He had culture-changing hits.
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♪ I am everyday people ♪
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[Novena Carmel]
He was the highlight of Woodstock.
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- ♪ Want to take you higher ♪
- ♪ Higher ♪
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[Vernon Reid] Sly was bringing people
together at a time when this country
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was tearing itself apart.
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We want a fight.
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[Jerry Martini]
He is a bona fide...
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- Groundbreaking.
- Brilliant.
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...genius.
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In the beginning,
it was all about the music.
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Then it became all about other things.
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- Pressure.
- [D'Angelo] Fear.
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- Guilt.
- Love.
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- Pain.
- Fame.
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- Doubt.
- Identity.
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- Anxiety.
- Insecurity.
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- Struggle.
- Survival.
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[crowd screaming and cheering]
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[tape glitching]
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[buttons clicking]
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[crew member] You know, Sly,
let me do this.
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So, I don't want you
to get out of your light.
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- Okay.
- Does that screw you up?
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- No, I'm fine. Yeah.
- You can still use that?
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Hey, Jimmy, can I have a drink?
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- What's this?
- Uh, rum or something like that.
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- Rum?
- Yeah, or something.
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- [interviewer] Okay? Okay.
- [crew member] We're rolling tape.
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- [overlapping chatter]
- [interviewer] You have speed?
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- [crew member] Yep.
- [interviewer] Alright.
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Sly, you were born Sylvester Stewart,
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and your music career
goes all the way back to the age
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- of something like four years old.
- Right.
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You formed Sly and the Family Stone
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- in the late '60s.
- Yeah.
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You've been called by everybody
that I've interviewed
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and everything that I've read,
a musical genius.
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You are at the place
that every aspiring musician
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- in this country wants to be.
- Mm-hmm.
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There are, uh, guys and girls
all over this country
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trying to get to the top.
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Then you get there,
and you blow it.
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I didn't say all that.
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- No, I'm asking you.
- I didn't blow nothing.
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- Where'd you hear that?
- But were you
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consciously trying to do that or...?
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No, no.
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[Questlove] So, I have a theory that
for Black artists in America,
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success can be more frightening
than failure.
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You know, the world's watching you,
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analyzing you, projecting stuff onto you.
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And I think that Sly
was kind of the first Black artist
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to go through that so publicly,
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at a level where there was a burden
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that came with his genius.
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So, I want to start there.
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Can you tell me
what you think Black genius is?
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[exhales, chuckles]
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Black genius?
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- [Questlove] Can you define Black genius?
- [chuckles]
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Wow. Damn.
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[Questlove]
What is Black genius?
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[laughing]
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[laughing]
Fuck...
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[Questlove] Do you believe
in the concept of Black genius?
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I love it when it happens.
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♪
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[narrator]
San Francisco is a swinging place.
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[trolley bell ringing]
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[Greg] Early '60s,
it was an amazing time in San Francisco.
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It was an international
intersection of cultures.
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There was music all up and down
Broadway Street.
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[♪ jazz music playing]
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♪ Down here, we're loving life ♪
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[Greg] There was a lot
of experimentation musically
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coming out of the Bay area.
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And a lot of diversity.
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There was so much possibility,
you felt it.
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And Sly was in the middle of it.
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He had a very popular radio show.
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I used to listen to him.
Everybody did.
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[Sly] [on radio]
Sly Stone, KSOL San Francisco.
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I definitely want you
to be a magnificent stone.
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[Larry Graham]
Everybody everywhere knew Sly.
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He was the most popular DJ
in the Bay area.
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♪ Sly Stone is my name ♪
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♪ Playing records is my game ♪
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[Larry]
He did things that nobody else was doing.
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- [tires screeching]
- [Sly] Oh, look what you've done. Oh!
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[Joel Selvin]
On the radio, Sly was fantastic.
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You felt like you were tuning in
to a different world.
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[Sly] Do you believe in flying saucers?
Are we being invaded from outer space?
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[Jerry] When Sly was a DJ,
I used to go over there
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and hang out with him a lot,
you know, because he was funny.
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[caller]
Fifty-six degrees in San Francisco,
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and I think it will rain tomorrow.
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So, Sly doesn't even know
what he's talking about.
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[Jerry]
But he was serious about music.
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I'd write on the radio, that's what I did.
I wrote songs.
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♪ Now I get up
when the sun goes down ♪
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♪ I dress real tough,
go out on the town ♪
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[Jerry] He was playing on Broadway
in a lot of bands,
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and then he started producing
several other bands
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with Tom Donahue and Bob Mitchell
at Autumn Records.
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[Sly]
Tom Donahue gave me a break.
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Tom gave me a chance to produce
Bobby Freeman.
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[Bobby Freeman]
Okay, baby, let's hear that one time.
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- [producer] Swim one, take three.
- [Sly] One, two, three, four.
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[♪ "C'mon and Swim"
by Bobby Freeman playing]
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♪ Kinda like the monkey,
it's kinda like the twist ♪
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♪ Pretend you're in the water
and you go like this ♪
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♪ Now, baby, swim, a-baby, do the swim ♪
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[Jerry]
Sly was a natural producer,
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and that was Sly's first gold record,
and he was only 19.
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And then I produced The Beau Brummels,
a song called Laugh, Laugh.
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♪ I thought I'd die,
it seemed so funny to me ♪
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♪ Laugh, laugh, you met a guy ♪
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[Joel] The Beau Brummels
was our version of the British Invasion.
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Sly was able to get in the driver's seat
with that sound.
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[Sly] Come on in
and get around the microphone.
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[Grace Slick]
Sly was the first producer I ever met.
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[Sly]
Let's do it again.
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[Grace]
The Great Society was my first band.
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We were not great musicians.
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We had practiced as best we could
with the ability we had.
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[laughing]
Which was very little.
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Sly says, "Okay, you know,
play your stuff."
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[Sly]
Let's hear that up to now.
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♪
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[Grace] He could have been really mean,
but he went to each person
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and he said,
"Maybe a little bit like this.
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How about trying that?"
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[Sly] Don't worry about it.
Let's do it again. One, two!
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♪ Don't you want somebody to love ♪
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[Grace] And he plays
every instrument beautifully.
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I just stood there
with my jaw on the ground.
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He helped us realize how to make a record.
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[Sly] Bud's just mad 'cause he won't
be around when it's a hit.
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[Sly laughing]
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[Joel] He ended up with
the original version of Someone to Love,
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and this guy that worked
for Tom Donahue at Autumn Records
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blew everybody away
with what a brilliant, incandescent,
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and ebullient young man he was.
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[Vernon]
Sly Stone had a gift.
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He had huge ears,
and he was taking in input at all times.
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He was able to flow
between R&B music,
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British Invasion music,
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and the beginnings
of American psychedelia,
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and that was totally unprecedented
at the time.
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[interviewer] Wasn't it pretty unusual
for someone, an artist,
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who was a DJ
and who was also a producer?
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Weren't you one of the first to do that?
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Probably, but I didn't know it.
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I didn't know
that I was one of the first.
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- [interviewer] Mm.
- I had no idea.
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[Questlove]
When Sly's starting out,
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he's pretty much the hardest-working man
in San Francisco.
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Why do you think he had to do
two, three, four times as much
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just to make a name for himself?
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It doesn't matter whether you're
doing music,
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sports, or anything that you do.
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We as Black folk,
we gotta always be three, four,
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five steps ahead of everybody else
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in order just to break even.
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It's just always been that way.
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00:09:46,711 --> 00:09:49,588
- [Questlove] Why?
- Why ask why?
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There is no why, Yoda.
You know that.
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♪
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[Jerry]
I was in awe of him.
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He liked bands
that I never thought he would.
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I was a white guy trying to be Black,
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00:10:01,726 --> 00:10:05,270
and he was a Black man
being everything.
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[interviewer] Were you conscious of people
searching for a different type of music?
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00:10:09,275 --> 00:10:12,403
I was conscious that I was searching
for a different type of music.
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I just dug Dylan, and Charles,
and Aretha Franklin
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and the Staple Singers,
and the Beatles.
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It's all music,
and it should all be together somewhere.
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And I decided if I'm going to do music,
it'll be my music.
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Stop the tape, man.
Let's do it again.
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00:10:30,547 --> 00:10:31,631
[slide projector clicks]
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[host]
Sly Stone, it's so good to have you here.
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I've always wondered
where it all started,
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00:10:37,971 --> 00:10:40,389
and where you came from,
where your roots are, you know.
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[Sly]
Yeah, from Denton, Texas.
238
00:10:42,809 --> 00:10:45,562
I was three months
when I came to California.
239
00:10:47,689 --> 00:10:49,857
[host] So, Vallejo, California,
is where you ended up?
240
00:10:49,858 --> 00:10:51,775
[Sly]
Yeah.
241
00:10:51,776 --> 00:10:54,820
[Mark Anthony Neal] Sly's family
was part of the Great Migration,
242
00:10:54,821 --> 00:10:57,740
a pivotal moment in American history
243
00:10:57,741 --> 00:11:01,076
and the changing demographics,
racial demographics of the country.
244
00:11:01,077 --> 00:11:03,746
Black folks migrated
from the Deep South
245
00:11:03,747 --> 00:11:06,331
and moved up north
and to the West Coast
246
00:11:06,332 --> 00:11:08,584
to be able to get jobs, and buy homes,
247
00:11:08,585 --> 00:11:12,296
and have the kind of lives
that they couldn't have in the Deep South.
248
00:11:12,297 --> 00:11:16,342
But if this moment for Sly's parents
was an opportunity,
249
00:11:16,343 --> 00:11:19,803
I think for Sly's generation,
it's a different kind of opportunity
250
00:11:19,804 --> 00:11:22,514
to really push the culture
and the society forward
251
00:11:22,515 --> 00:11:26,895
in ways that their parents would have
never thought of in that period.
252
00:11:53,838 --> 00:11:55,756
- ♪ He's calling me ♪
- ♪ He's calling me ♪
253
00:11:55,757 --> 00:11:56,882
♪ Don't you know he's calling? ♪
254
00:11:56,883 --> 00:11:58,634
[host]
You were coming up in the church there?
255
00:11:58,635 --> 00:12:01,553
[Sly] Yeah, I played guitar,
and bass, and drums
256
00:12:01,554 --> 00:12:03,347
in church six, seven times a week.
257
00:12:03,348 --> 00:12:04,973
Monday night, we had union meeting.
258
00:12:04,974 --> 00:12:06,642
Tuesday night,
we had choir rehearsal.
259
00:12:06,643 --> 00:12:08,519
Wednesday night,
we had usher board meeting.
260
00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:10,729
Thursday night, there was prayer
and Bible band.
261
00:12:10,730 --> 00:12:12,690
Friday night,
there was regular worship service.
262
00:12:12,691 --> 00:12:14,483
Saturday night, there was
an inspirational service
263
00:12:14,484 --> 00:12:16,568
with different choirs
from around the cities.
264
00:12:16,569 --> 00:12:20,406
And Sunday, three times a day
and sometimes five times on Sunday.
265
00:12:20,407 --> 00:12:23,617
[Cynthia Robinson] The first time
that I saw him in a youth choir,
266
00:12:23,618 --> 00:12:25,285
when Sly would sing,
267
00:12:25,286 --> 00:12:29,581
it was just on another level
that caused joy in your heart.
268
00:12:29,582 --> 00:12:32,001
I never forgot him.
269
00:12:32,002 --> 00:12:34,086
[Mark]
He's in the Black sanctified church.
270
00:12:34,087 --> 00:12:38,007
It was a learning lab for him
to learn how to run a band,
271
00:12:38,008 --> 00:12:40,843
how to run a choir,
how to integrate harmony
272
00:12:40,844 --> 00:12:42,428
with melody and rhythm.
273
00:12:42,429 --> 00:12:45,806
♪ Oh, once, I was a civilian ♪
274
00:12:45,807 --> 00:12:47,141
♪ Ooh ♪
275
00:12:47,142 --> 00:12:50,228
[host] You formed a, a gospel group
around that time.
276
00:12:55,692 --> 00:13:01,238
♪ You know that I'm on
the battlefield for my Lord ♪
277
00:13:01,239 --> 00:13:04,074
[host] Do you remember
the first time that you as a kid
278
00:13:04,075 --> 00:13:06,953
- recognized the power of music?
- [Sly] Yeah.
279
00:13:19,716 --> 00:13:20,716
[Sly laughing]
280
00:13:20,717 --> 00:13:22,010
[host]
And you've been running ever since?
281
00:13:23,636 --> 00:13:27,723
- ♪ Heavenly angels ♪
- ♪ Angels ♪
282
00:13:27,724 --> 00:13:29,308
[interviewer]
So, you w ent through grade school
283
00:13:29,309 --> 00:13:32,019
and then you started a group
in high school called The Viscaynes?
284
00:13:32,020 --> 00:13:34,271
Yeah, well, I was in a group.
I didn't start it.
285
00:13:34,272 --> 00:13:38,150
- ♪ Angel ♪
- ♪ All the time ♪
286
00:13:38,151 --> 00:13:41,528
[Jerry] I dug watching the Viscaynes
on Dick Stewart's Dance Party.
287
00:13:41,529 --> 00:13:45,450
He was interacting with white people
like I've never seen a Black person do.
288
00:13:58,129 --> 00:14:01,924
[announcer] Moving ahead with confidence
in the future of California
289
00:14:01,925 --> 00:14:04,260
is a goal of junior college.
290
00:14:33,415 --> 00:14:36,875
[interviewer] After you got out of school,
you had been a producer and a DJ.
291
00:14:36,876 --> 00:14:39,920
You formed Sly and the Family Stone
in the late '60s.
292
00:14:39,921 --> 00:14:42,589
[clearing throat] Jerry Martini
is the guy that really started it.
293
00:14:42,590 --> 00:14:44,216
[Jerry]
I see the songs he's writing.
294
00:14:44,217 --> 00:14:47,219
I say, "If we do a band,
we'll all be famous."
295
00:14:47,220 --> 00:14:50,264
I don't know what to say, I'm a noodge.
My mother was a noodge.
296
00:14:50,265 --> 00:14:53,267
My grandmother was a Russian Jew.
They were all noodges.
297
00:14:53,268 --> 00:14:56,312
♪
298
00:14:58,356 --> 00:15:00,358
[Sly]
This is an original tune.
299
00:15:03,778 --> 00:15:04,863
♪ Nobody ♪
300
00:15:09,534 --> 00:15:11,703
♪ I ain't got nobody ♪
301
00:15:16,666 --> 00:15:18,334
♪ If you need somebody ♪
302
00:15:18,335 --> 00:15:20,878
[host] How did you decide
who to have in your group?
303
00:15:20,879 --> 00:15:23,005
[Sly]
Well, my brother Freddie plays guitar,
304
00:15:23,006 --> 00:15:25,591
and my sister plays electric piano,
her name is Rose.
305
00:15:25,592 --> 00:15:26,967
So, nepotism.
306
00:15:26,968 --> 00:15:29,178
[Freddie Stone] I had a group,
Freddie and the Stone Souls.
307
00:15:29,179 --> 00:15:32,806
Sly came to me one day, he says,
"Look, get the very best musicians
308
00:15:32,807 --> 00:15:34,308
"that you have out of your group,
309
00:15:34,309 --> 00:15:37,144
and I'll get the very best
musicians I know."
310
00:15:37,145 --> 00:15:38,730
I said, "Look, I got the drummer."
311
00:15:40,065 --> 00:15:42,608
I was 17 and a half.
I'm still in high school.
312
00:15:42,609 --> 00:15:45,361
[Sly] Cynthia, the trumpet player,
I knew in school.
313
00:15:45,362 --> 00:15:48,113
She naturally was
the first person I thought of.
314
00:15:48,114 --> 00:15:50,157
[Cynthia]
Sly said, "I'm getting a group together,"
315
00:15:50,158 --> 00:15:52,826
and I'm thinking something in my life
is gonna be different.
316
00:15:52,827 --> 00:15:54,620
[Sly]
Larry Graham played bass.
317
00:15:54,621 --> 00:15:57,998
I had not worked with a drummer in years.
318
00:15:57,999 --> 00:16:00,376
When I was 15,
I played with my mother
319
00:16:00,377 --> 00:16:02,753
as a duo, no drums.
320
00:16:02,754 --> 00:16:06,548
That's when I developed the style
of thumping the strings
321
00:16:06,549 --> 00:16:08,634
to make up for not having drums.
322
00:16:08,635 --> 00:16:11,637
So, I thought, this is either
gonna be a train wreck...
323
00:16:11,638 --> 00:16:13,847
[laughing]
324
00:16:13,848 --> 00:16:16,184
...or something is gonna happen,
I don't know.
325
00:16:17,227 --> 00:16:19,812
[Greg]
We hit it off, there was chemistry,
326
00:16:19,813 --> 00:16:22,690
and when we started playing,
I go, oh yeah, this is different.
327
00:16:22,691 --> 00:16:25,109
♪
328
00:16:25,110 --> 00:16:27,111
[Jerry]
Sly already had it in his mind
329
00:16:27,112 --> 00:16:29,488
that we were gonna have a mixed band.
330
00:16:29,489 --> 00:16:33,534
There were guys, and girls,
and Black, and white.
331
00:16:33,535 --> 00:16:37,246
So, you get all that input,
so you get all that sound.
332
00:16:37,247 --> 00:16:39,915
[Greg]
This is December of 1966.
333
00:16:39,916 --> 00:16:45,087
A lot of things going on in the country
that didn't necessarily support the idea
334
00:16:45,088 --> 00:16:47,131
that male, and female,
and Black, and white
335
00:16:47,132 --> 00:16:48,716
should get together
to start a music group.
336
00:16:48,717 --> 00:16:51,468
You've got to keep the white
and the Black separate.
337
00:16:51,469 --> 00:16:54,054
- We are not white, we are Black.
- [cheering and applause]
338
00:16:54,055 --> 00:16:55,931
We rehearsed every night,
339
00:16:55,932 --> 00:16:59,309
and we started playing six nights a week
at Winchester Cathedral.
340
00:16:59,310 --> 00:17:02,397
[♪ band playing "Try a Little Tenderness"]
341
00:17:05,650 --> 00:17:07,026
♪ Hey, hey, hey ♪
342
00:17:07,027 --> 00:17:10,071
[vocalizing and shouting]
343
00:17:13,450 --> 00:17:15,951
[Cynthia]
Even though we played cover songs,
344
00:17:15,952 --> 00:17:18,287
Sly would put his original stamp on it.
345
00:17:18,288 --> 00:17:19,955
♪ You got-got-got to... ♪
346
00:17:19,956 --> 00:17:23,001
[♪ vocalizing]
347
00:17:26,212 --> 00:17:29,715
♪ Yeah, whoo, you got to try
a little tenderness ♪
348
00:17:29,716 --> 00:17:31,925
♪
349
00:17:31,926 --> 00:17:34,304
♪ Yeah ♪
350
00:17:37,390 --> 00:17:39,141
[David Kapralik]
I went to the Winchester Cathedral
351
00:17:39,142 --> 00:17:43,354
and had my mind blown away
by this extraordinary talent.
352
00:17:43,355 --> 00:17:48,067
This tour de force.
The integration of Afro-Americans
353
00:17:48,068 --> 00:17:51,612
and Caucasians,
the girls, the boys.
354
00:17:51,613 --> 00:17:54,615
I just knew in my bones.
[laughing]
355
00:17:54,616 --> 00:17:56,867
This was happening music,
and I loved it.
356
00:17:56,868 --> 00:17:59,120
- [♪ band playing]
- [applause]
357
00:18:02,540 --> 00:18:04,083
[Sly]
David Kapralik dug us,
358
00:18:04,084 --> 00:18:06,543
and he signed us up,
and we signed him up.
359
00:18:06,544 --> 00:18:09,296
[Clive Davis]
David Kapralik brought the group to me,
360
00:18:09,297 --> 00:18:13,425
and I was excited by the music
from the very beginning.
361
00:18:13,426 --> 00:18:17,763
In those days,
music was very, very segmented.
362
00:18:17,764 --> 00:18:18,847
You had pop.
363
00:18:18,848 --> 00:18:20,641
♪ Falling in love with love ♪
364
00:18:20,642 --> 00:18:22,685
♪ Is falling for make-believe ♪
365
00:18:22,686 --> 00:18:23,977
[Clive]
You had R&B.
366
00:18:23,978 --> 00:18:27,106
♪ The love that I have belongs
to the woman with soul ♪
367
00:18:27,107 --> 00:18:28,482
[Clive]
You had rock.
368
00:18:28,483 --> 00:18:31,402
♪ Girl, I want to be with you ♪
369
00:18:31,403 --> 00:18:33,487
[Clive]
But with Sly,
370
00:18:33,488 --> 00:18:37,533
we get this totally unique
blurring of genres.
371
00:18:37,534 --> 00:18:42,496
♪ Ahh, ahh ♪
372
00:18:42,497 --> 00:18:47,501
♪ I know,
I know you need attention ♪
373
00:18:47,502 --> 00:18:52,423
♪ I got, I got attention for you ♪
374
00:18:52,424 --> 00:18:57,344
♪ I know,
I know you need affection ♪
375
00:18:57,345 --> 00:19:02,266
♪ I got, I got affection for you ♪
376
00:19:02,267 --> 00:19:06,687
♪ If somebody told me,
if I knew you liked to ♪
377
00:19:06,688 --> 00:19:09,106
[host] You've played in front of
a lot of different kinds of audiences.
378
00:19:09,107 --> 00:19:12,359
Is it different playing for an all-Negro
as opposed to an all-white audience?
379
00:19:12,360 --> 00:19:16,530
[Sly] Yeah. Sometimes if, uh, we didn't do
a tune that was R&B enough,
380
00:19:16,531 --> 00:19:19,199
some Black people had to wait
for the next two or three songs
381
00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:20,868
before they decided that they'd stay.
382
00:19:20,869 --> 00:19:22,870
And then, there were
some white audiences
383
00:19:22,871 --> 00:19:26,081
that if we didn't get into a jam
quick enough, then they would split.
384
00:19:26,082 --> 00:19:27,875
So, you just got to go and play,
385
00:19:27,876 --> 00:19:31,211
and just hope that, uh,
most of the people want to stay.
386
00:19:31,212 --> 00:19:35,716
♪ I'm on a trip to your heart ♪
387
00:19:35,717 --> 00:19:38,594
[Clive] I thought,
here, you have a creative genius
388
00:19:38,595 --> 00:19:42,765
who was going to make
a permanent mark on history.
389
00:19:42,766 --> 00:19:44,725
So, I signed him.
390
00:19:44,726 --> 00:19:47,436
[Jerry] And we did our first album
in Los Angeles
391
00:19:47,437 --> 00:19:49,229
at CBS on Sunset and Gower.
392
00:19:49,230 --> 00:19:51,315
[engineer] This is it.
Quiet, everybody.
393
00:19:51,316 --> 00:19:52,566
[Sly]
Yeah. Are we taking this?
394
00:19:52,567 --> 00:19:53,859
[Clive]
Sly's work ethic...
395
00:19:53,860 --> 00:19:55,527
- [Sly] Two, one.
- [Clive] ...was intense.
396
00:19:55,528 --> 00:19:59,156
He wanted to work 24/7,
seven days a week.
397
00:19:59,157 --> 00:20:02,534
When the rhythm section was laying a part,
the horns would be sleeping.
398
00:20:02,535 --> 00:20:06,121
The horns get ready to play their part,
then the other people would be sleeping.
399
00:20:06,122 --> 00:20:07,748
We were fanatics.
400
00:20:07,749 --> 00:20:09,541
And that's the way
it ought to be, too, by the way.
401
00:20:09,542 --> 00:20:12,628
[Greg] Our first album
was totally out of the box,
402
00:20:12,629 --> 00:20:14,546
and we were like an anomaly.
403
00:20:14,547 --> 00:20:18,592
♪ Hey, dig, I know how it feels
to expect to get a fair shake ♪
404
00:20:18,593 --> 00:20:21,053
♪ But they won't let you forget
that you're the underdog ♪
405
00:20:21,054 --> 00:20:24,848
♪ And you got to be twice as good,
yeah, yeah ♪
406
00:20:24,849 --> 00:20:27,309
♪ Even if you're never right,
they get uptight ♪
407
00:20:27,310 --> 00:20:28,769
♪ When you get too bright ♪
408
00:20:28,770 --> 00:20:31,397
♪ Or you might start thinking
too much, yeah ♪
409
00:20:31,398 --> 00:20:33,065
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
410
00:20:33,066 --> 00:20:35,776
[Mark] In a broad sense,
the band is an underdog,
411
00:20:35,777 --> 00:20:39,738
coming out of the West Coast with
this multi-racial, multi-gendered band,
412
00:20:39,739 --> 00:20:41,407
something that we've never seen before.
413
00:20:41,408 --> 00:20:46,829
♪ Say I'm the underdog ♪
414
00:20:46,830 --> 00:20:49,331
[Mark] It's hard not to also think
about that song
415
00:20:49,332 --> 00:20:52,251
in the context
of the race politics of the moment.
416
00:20:52,252 --> 00:20:53,877
[Vernon]
As a Black man in America,
417
00:20:53,878 --> 00:20:56,797
he's taking that persona on
of the underdog.
418
00:20:56,798 --> 00:20:59,550
"I got nothing to lose
and everything's against me, so let's go."
419
00:20:59,551 --> 00:21:02,177
♪ I know how it feels to get demoted ♪
420
00:21:02,178 --> 00:21:04,138
♪ When it comes time
to get promoted ♪
421
00:21:04,139 --> 00:21:06,140
♪ 'Cause you might be
moving up too fast ♪
422
00:21:06,141 --> 00:21:08,642
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
423
00:21:08,643 --> 00:21:12,104
[Mark] Sly was still trying
to figure out his sound.
424
00:21:12,105 --> 00:21:13,981
Are they gonna be read as a rock group,
425
00:21:13,982 --> 00:21:17,609
or are they gonna always be seen
as a Black group?
426
00:21:17,610 --> 00:21:21,822
[Jerry] The first album, I thought
it was gonna be a smash hit.
427
00:21:21,823 --> 00:21:26,327
But it was a complete flop.
It broke Sly's heart.
428
00:21:27,704 --> 00:21:30,873
[David] The album A Whole New Thing,
it was a dud.
429
00:21:30,874 --> 00:21:35,794
Sly came into my office
completely dejected.
430
00:21:35,795 --> 00:21:39,548
I heard myself saying to him,
do you need a hit single?
431
00:21:39,549 --> 00:21:42,301
[Jerry] Dave Kapralik said he wanted us
to sound like the bands
432
00:21:42,302 --> 00:21:43,761
that were out there already.
433
00:21:43,762 --> 00:21:47,389
He said, "I want you guys to play
in a nice club and dress nice."
434
00:21:47,390 --> 00:21:51,144
And, and Sly said two words to him,
which I'm not gonna repeat.
435
00:22:09,746 --> 00:22:13,499
Hey, get up and dance to the music!
436
00:22:13,500 --> 00:22:16,710
[♪ band playing "Dance to the Music"]
437
00:22:16,711 --> 00:22:20,757
Get on up and dance to the music.
438
00:22:24,427 --> 00:22:27,972
[♪ band vocalizing and harmonizing]
439
00:22:31,685 --> 00:22:33,937
♪ Dance to the music ♪
440
00:22:35,897 --> 00:22:38,066
♪ Dance to the music ♪
441
00:22:39,192 --> 00:22:41,777
♪ Dance to the music ♪
442
00:22:41,778 --> 00:22:44,655
[Larry]
Dance to the Music was a hit record.
443
00:22:44,656 --> 00:22:46,699
So, I thought we're gonna be it.
444
00:22:46,700 --> 00:22:50,202
♪ All we need is a drummer ♪
445
00:22:50,203 --> 00:22:53,623
♪ For people who only need
a beat, yeah ♪
446
00:22:54,666 --> 00:22:57,669
[♪ drum solo]
447
00:23:01,715 --> 00:23:04,508
♪ I'm gonna add a little guitar ♪
448
00:23:04,509 --> 00:23:07,886
♪ And make it easy
to move your feet ♪
449
00:23:07,887 --> 00:23:10,097
[Jimmy] The first time I hear d
Dance to the Music,
450
00:23:10,098 --> 00:23:13,142
it was like, oh, my God,
it's the greatest thing ever.
451
00:23:13,143 --> 00:23:16,228
It sounded like nothing else
on the radio at the time.
452
00:23:16,229 --> 00:23:19,523
♪ I'm gonna add some bottom ♪
453
00:23:19,524 --> 00:23:22,527
♪ So that the dancers
just won't hide ♪
454
00:23:23,737 --> 00:23:26,989
♪ You might like to hear my organ ♪
455
00:23:26,990 --> 00:23:29,950
♪ I said ride, Sally, ride now ♪
456
00:23:29,951 --> 00:23:33,787
Writing a hit song
is almost impossible,
457
00:23:33,788 --> 00:23:38,960
but Sly had an uncanny ability
to make every part of the song hooky.
458
00:23:39,961 --> 00:23:42,421
The rhythm,
it's implied four on the floor.
459
00:23:42,422 --> 00:23:43,964
[♪ drumbeat]
460
00:23:43,965 --> 00:23:45,549
It's close to the Motown beat.
461
00:23:45,550 --> 00:23:47,176
♪ Can't help myself ♪
462
00:23:47,177 --> 00:23:48,260
But it ain't.
463
00:23:48,261 --> 00:23:50,262
[Terry Lewis]
There's a bass playing one note.
464
00:23:50,263 --> 00:23:52,724
[imitating bass guitar]
465
00:23:53,767 --> 00:23:56,185
You add that to the little licks
that come along with it.
466
00:23:56,186 --> 00:23:58,187
[♪ saxophone playing]
467
00:23:58,188 --> 00:23:59,855
Those nice little horn parts.
468
00:23:59,856 --> 00:24:01,190
[♪ horns playing]
469
00:24:01,191 --> 00:24:03,359
Each person gets their moment.
470
00:24:03,360 --> 00:24:05,945
♪ I'm gonna add
a little guitar ♪
471
00:24:06,988 --> 00:24:09,573
♪ I'm gonna add some bottom ♪
472
00:24:09,574 --> 00:24:10,657
They have unison vocals.
473
00:24:10,658 --> 00:24:13,160
♪ Dance to the music ♪
474
00:24:13,161 --> 00:24:14,578
They had harmony vocals.
475
00:24:14,579 --> 00:24:16,622
[♪ band singing a cappella harmonies]
476
00:24:16,623 --> 00:24:19,792
He's got some magical way
of weaving things together.
477
00:24:19,793 --> 00:24:21,878
♪
478
00:24:25,924 --> 00:24:27,966
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
479
00:24:27,967 --> 00:24:31,095
♪ Cynthia and Jerry got a message
they're saying ♪
480
00:24:31,096 --> 00:24:34,474
♪ Sing, all the squares go home ♪
481
00:24:35,892 --> 00:24:39,061
[Vernon] Sly's inviting you
to something extraordinary.
482
00:24:39,062 --> 00:24:40,938
He's learning to be inclusive.
483
00:24:40,939 --> 00:24:43,190
♪ Listen to the voices ♪
484
00:24:43,191 --> 00:24:45,818
[♪ band vocalizing]
485
00:24:45,819 --> 00:24:49,405
[Vernon] And it felt like
the carnival has come to town.
486
00:24:49,406 --> 00:24:51,491
♪
487
00:24:57,205 --> 00:25:01,542
That song changed everything.
It was a paradigm shift.
488
00:25:01,543 --> 00:25:03,961
The gigs got better.
489
00:25:03,962 --> 00:25:06,255
The first time we played
the Fillmore East in New York,
490
00:25:06,256 --> 00:25:08,340
it was Jimi Hendrix Experience,
491
00:25:08,341 --> 00:25:11,844
Sly and the Family Stone,
one show, $7.50.
492
00:25:11,845 --> 00:25:13,387
Hello?
[chuckles]
493
00:25:13,388 --> 00:25:15,180
- [cheering and applause]
- ♪ Hey, hey, hey, hey ♪
494
00:25:15,181 --> 00:25:17,183
[♪ "M'Lady" playing]
495
00:25:22,188 --> 00:25:23,732
♪ M'lady ♪
496
00:25:25,650 --> 00:25:27,152
♪ M'lady ♪
497
00:25:29,195 --> 00:25:33,073
♪ A smile of pleasure,
beautiful and kind ♪
498
00:25:33,074 --> 00:25:36,660
[David] They were a smash, they were
the hot sensation of New York.
499
00:25:36,661 --> 00:25:38,537
♪ Give her some time, yeah ♪
500
00:25:38,538 --> 00:25:40,372
♪ Time, time ♪
501
00:25:40,373 --> 00:25:43,625
- ♪ Give her some time ♪
- ♪ Time, time ♪
502
00:25:43,626 --> 00:25:46,754
[David] And word spread,
and then everything broke open.
503
00:25:46,755 --> 00:25:50,466
Now, here for the youngsters
is Sly and the Family Stone.
504
00:25:50,467 --> 00:25:53,969
Don't hate the Black.
Don't hate the white.
505
00:25:53,970 --> 00:25:56,472
If you get bitten, just hate the bite.
506
00:25:56,473 --> 00:25:59,351
- ♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
- ♪ The music's getting longer ♪
507
00:26:01,895 --> 00:26:04,146
♪ All I want to do, yeah ♪
508
00:26:04,147 --> 00:26:06,940
- ♪ I want to take you higher ♪
- ♪ Higher ♪
509
00:26:06,941 --> 00:26:11,111
I'm 18 years old. I'm thinking,
this is where I seen the Beatles.
510
00:26:11,112 --> 00:26:12,989
This is where I seen Elvis Presley.
511
00:26:13,990 --> 00:26:16,742
And I said, here we are.
This could be significant.
512
00:26:16,743 --> 00:26:18,827
Tomorrow could be different
than today.
513
00:26:18,828 --> 00:26:21,455
- ♪ Wanna take you higher ♪
- ♪ Higher ♪
514
00:26:21,456 --> 00:26:26,961
- ♪ Higher ♪
- ♪ Higher ♪
515
00:26:27,962 --> 00:26:30,547
♪ Up and away, now ♪
516
00:26:30,548 --> 00:26:33,967
♪ Up, up and away ♪
517
00:26:33,968 --> 00:26:36,054
♪
518
00:26:40,684 --> 00:26:43,060
[Larry] For him and Rose to go out
into the audience,
519
00:26:43,061 --> 00:26:44,603
who would do that
on the Ed Sullivan Show,
520
00:26:44,604 --> 00:26:46,271
go out in the audience, right?
521
00:26:46,272 --> 00:26:48,066
And doing the hambone.
[laughing]
522
00:26:50,276 --> 00:26:52,194
Go on, Sly. Yeah!
523
00:26:52,195 --> 00:26:53,821
Work, Sly.
Work, Sly.
524
00:26:53,822 --> 00:26:56,407
[audience clapping in rhythm]
525
00:26:56,408 --> 00:26:59,243
[Jerry] And all those people
in suits out in the audience
526
00:26:59,244 --> 00:27:00,661
clapping on one and three?
527
00:27:00,662 --> 00:27:02,371
- [crew laughing]
- They loved it.
528
00:27:02,372 --> 00:27:04,457
[rhythm clapping
and music continues]
529
00:27:05,875 --> 00:27:08,752
And that meant that America loved it.
530
00:27:08,753 --> 00:27:10,839
♪
531
00:27:17,762 --> 00:27:19,138
♪ Hey music lover ♪
532
00:27:19,139 --> 00:27:21,015
[André 3000] To me,
one of the greatest things about Sly
533
00:27:21,016 --> 00:27:24,184
is he's letting us
peer into something very free.
534
00:27:24,185 --> 00:27:27,771
The appearance, the clothing,
even the wigs,
535
00:27:27,772 --> 00:27:29,523
it was from another world.
536
00:27:29,524 --> 00:27:33,111
When they came together
as the sound, it was so future.
537
00:27:36,364 --> 00:27:40,200
♪ Higher ♪
538
00:27:40,201 --> 00:27:42,287
♪
539
00:27:44,956 --> 00:27:46,290
[♪ music stops]
540
00:27:46,291 --> 00:27:49,918
Thank you for letting us be ourselves.
Thank you.
541
00:27:49,919 --> 00:27:53,006
♪
542
00:28:00,180 --> 00:28:02,182
- [♪ music ends]
- [cheering and applause]
543
00:28:04,517 --> 00:28:07,979
[Jerry] I still have dreams
about when it was the fun days.
544
00:28:08,938 --> 00:28:12,107
[cheering and applause fades out]
545
00:28:12,108 --> 00:28:14,443
We used to hang together.
546
00:28:14,444 --> 00:28:17,738
We would rent bicycles
and ride around bicycles in New York City.
547
00:28:17,739 --> 00:28:19,448
[car horns honking]
548
00:28:19,449 --> 00:28:22,076
[Greg] Being in the group
was a musical experience,
549
00:28:22,077 --> 00:28:24,120
but it was also personal friendships.
550
00:28:25,163 --> 00:28:28,582
I think we spent more time together
than we spent with our family members,
551
00:28:28,583 --> 00:28:31,502
or their girlfriends, or wives.
552
00:28:31,503 --> 00:28:33,587
We were making a little money,
we were able to buy toys.
553
00:28:33,588 --> 00:28:34,672
[engine revving]
554
00:28:34,673 --> 00:28:37,716
Bought motorcycles
and went riding together.
555
00:28:37,717 --> 00:28:40,719
We all got dogs together.
556
00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:43,263
- [dogs barking]
- I had Egyptian Salukis.
557
00:28:43,264 --> 00:28:47,017
Freddie had an Irish wolfhound.
Sly bought a pit bull.
558
00:28:47,018 --> 00:28:49,228
Rose had an Afghan.
559
00:28:49,229 --> 00:28:52,148
Greg and Jerry had Saint Bernard
and Great Pyrenees.
560
00:28:53,274 --> 00:28:55,317
[Greg]
We'd go to the movies together.
561
00:28:55,318 --> 00:28:58,612
We went to see this movie called
2001: A Space Odyssey
562
00:28:58,613 --> 00:29:00,030
that just came out.
563
00:29:00,031 --> 00:29:02,449
I think we took some mescaline
or something like that,
564
00:29:02,450 --> 00:29:05,035
some mushrooms or some psychedelics,
565
00:29:05,036 --> 00:29:07,831
so it was quite--
it was quite the experience.
566
00:29:08,748 --> 00:29:11,418
We were family. Period. Simply.
567
00:29:12,502 --> 00:29:15,045
[Larry]
I felt like part of the family.
568
00:29:15,046 --> 00:29:17,631
Sly was like
a big brother I never had.
569
00:29:17,632 --> 00:29:19,758
[Jerry]
He was a leader.
570
00:29:19,759 --> 00:29:23,053
We all loved Sly,
especially Cynthia.
571
00:29:23,054 --> 00:29:24,596
She was in love with Sly.
572
00:29:24,597 --> 00:29:28,267
[Cynthia] He was the first guy that
ever treated me with real respect.
573
00:29:28,268 --> 00:29:31,730
He made you want to be there together
and to do this together.
574
00:29:32,564 --> 00:29:35,190
[Greg]
We were all inspired by Sly.
575
00:29:35,191 --> 00:29:39,028
We were also inspired
by what was going on in the country then.
576
00:29:39,029 --> 00:29:42,531
[protesters shouting]
577
00:29:42,532 --> 00:29:44,158
[reporter]
Demonstrators in San Francisco
578
00:29:44,159 --> 00:29:45,951
protest the Vietnam War.
579
00:29:45,952 --> 00:29:47,703
[protester]
U.S., get out!
580
00:29:47,704 --> 00:29:52,833
America is shocked by the brutal slaying
of Doctor Martin Luther King.
581
00:29:52,834 --> 00:29:56,754
[Greg]
It was an intense time in '68.
582
00:29:56,755 --> 00:29:58,881
We were on the tour bus one time.
583
00:29:58,882 --> 00:30:01,633
It was the middle of the night
and we had to get gas.
584
00:30:01,634 --> 00:30:03,385
We're downtown Detroit.
585
00:30:03,386 --> 00:30:06,263
[Cynthia] Everything was out.
The store lights were out.
586
00:30:06,264 --> 00:30:07,807
We were like, what's going on?
587
00:30:08,725 --> 00:30:12,728
[Greg] Then all of a sudden,
we're surrounded by jeeps and tanks.
588
00:30:12,729 --> 00:30:15,397
[reporter] The body
of Doctor Martin Luther King Jr.,
589
00:30:15,398 --> 00:30:18,525
viewed by mourners and followers
this morning.
590
00:30:18,526 --> 00:30:20,152
Detroit tonight is under a curfew
591
00:30:20,153 --> 00:30:22,529
and National Guard troops
are on duty there.
592
00:30:22,530 --> 00:30:25,699
The next thing,
we're up against a building.
593
00:30:25,700 --> 00:30:27,910
[Jerry]
I thought we were gonna die.
594
00:30:27,911 --> 00:30:30,204
Sly was not afraid at all.
I was afraid.
595
00:30:30,205 --> 00:30:33,916
But Sly just had the guitar out
going like this, you know.
596
00:30:33,917 --> 00:30:36,919
They goes,
"Tell that... down there,
597
00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:38,837
tell him to shut up
or we'll shoot his ass."
598
00:30:38,838 --> 00:30:42,007
[Cynthia] And then, they took me
and Rose, and Sly's girlfriend,
599
00:30:42,008 --> 00:30:44,551
who was Caucasian,
and put us in the truck.
600
00:30:44,552 --> 00:30:49,099
And a service guy walked past Anita
and said, "nigger lover."
601
00:30:50,350 --> 00:30:54,353
This is a moment in history
where you have these assassinations
602
00:30:54,354 --> 00:30:57,648
A stain of bloodshed that has spread
across our land.
603
00:30:57,649 --> 00:30:59,358
[staff member] A doctor!
We need a doctor right here.
604
00:30:59,359 --> 00:31:01,652
[reporter] Senator Kennedy
is shot in the head.
605
00:31:01,653 --> 00:31:03,821
You have an unpopular war.
606
00:31:03,822 --> 00:31:05,114
[gunfire]
607
00:31:05,115 --> 00:31:06,740
[news reporter]
Troopers took a lot of casualties.
608
00:31:06,741 --> 00:31:10,411
You have campuses where students
are protesting these wars.
609
00:31:10,412 --> 00:31:11,995
[protesters shouting]
610
00:31:11,996 --> 00:31:14,916
You have police brutality
against people of color.
611
00:31:16,876 --> 00:31:18,961
And there's always this threat of violence
612
00:31:18,962 --> 00:31:22,841
that's associated with anybody
who speaks out in this moment.
613
00:31:24,551 --> 00:31:28,595
[interviewer] Just about everything in
this country, late '60s, was in disarray.
614
00:31:28,596 --> 00:31:31,765
Did that make your job
as a musician, as a writer,
615
00:31:31,766 --> 00:31:35,936
- more difficult or easier?
- Easy.
616
00:31:35,937 --> 00:31:39,148
That-- those are the kind of things
that make you feel like, uh, working,
617
00:31:39,149 --> 00:31:41,984
or writing, or playing,
or doing what you do.
618
00:31:41,985 --> 00:31:43,902
We're really trying to say something
619
00:31:43,903 --> 00:31:46,822
after playing some other tunes
that didn't mean anything.
620
00:31:46,823 --> 00:31:49,116
And with the members of the group,
all you got to do
621
00:31:49,117 --> 00:31:52,077
is inspire them
in the right way and let 'em go.
622
00:31:52,078 --> 00:31:54,164
[♪ musicians practicing]
623
00:31:56,374 --> 00:31:59,835
In the studio, the spark
for the songs would come from Sly.
624
00:31:59,836 --> 00:32:01,671
[Sly]
Oh, wait a minute!
625
00:32:02,964 --> 00:32:04,923
[Freddie]
Sly is up here at the helm,
626
00:32:04,924 --> 00:32:07,551
and he would give us
the skeleton of a song,
627
00:32:07,552 --> 00:32:09,970
and then he would say,
"Okay, what do you do with that?"
628
00:32:09,971 --> 00:32:11,513
[Sly] Okay, okay, we'll do
the whole thing again.
629
00:32:11,514 --> 00:32:13,600
♪
630
00:32:15,435 --> 00:32:18,604
Songs would develop.
The arrangements would develop.
631
00:32:18,605 --> 00:32:21,607
- [♪ band playing]
- [band member speaking indistinctly]
632
00:32:21,608 --> 00:32:23,692
[Sly] Come on, I think we got a chance
to get something done here.
633
00:32:23,693 --> 00:32:26,362
They would morph,
sometimes significantly different
634
00:32:26,363 --> 00:32:27,780
than where it started.
635
00:32:27,781 --> 00:32:32,242
[Sly] Okay, Greg. Okay, this is
Some People, 102290, take one.
636
00:32:32,243 --> 00:32:33,911
Sly wasn't cracking the whip.
637
00:32:33,912 --> 00:32:36,206
♪
638
00:32:37,832 --> 00:32:39,208
- [♪ music stops]
- [Sly] Let's try it again.
639
00:32:39,209 --> 00:32:40,876
But we did spend long hours,
640
00:32:40,877 --> 00:32:43,587
because if we didn't get it,
we'd keep going over it again.
641
00:32:43,588 --> 00:32:45,547
[♪ band playing]
642
00:32:45,548 --> 00:32:46,674
[Sly]
One-- one more time.
643
00:32:46,675 --> 00:32:48,634
- [♪ band playing]
- No. Take five.
644
00:32:48,635 --> 00:32:50,720
[♪ band playing]
645
00:32:52,222 --> 00:32:53,222
Take six.
646
00:32:53,223 --> 00:32:56,100
- [♪ band playing]
- What happened?
647
00:32:56,101 --> 00:32:57,893
You guys aren't together,
Cynthia and Jerry.
648
00:32:57,894 --> 00:33:00,145
[♪ trumpet playing]
649
00:33:00,146 --> 00:33:02,731
Rose, play the same thing
you're playing now, an octave higher.
650
00:33:02,732 --> 00:33:04,693
[♪ piano and guitar playing]
651
00:33:06,778 --> 00:33:09,780
[Mark]
We talk about catching fire in a bottle.
652
00:33:09,781 --> 00:33:13,367
Sly and the Family Stone were in sync
653
00:33:13,368 --> 00:33:16,912
with what was happening
culturally, socially, and politically.
654
00:33:16,913 --> 00:33:18,330
[Sly] Wait a minute,
wait a minute, wait a minute.
655
00:33:18,331 --> 00:33:19,581
They're playing the wrong notes.
656
00:33:19,582 --> 00:33:21,375
[chuckles]
Let's try again. Take 100.
657
00:33:21,376 --> 00:33:23,336
[♪ "Everyday People" playing]
658
00:33:29,884 --> 00:33:33,929
♪ Sometimes I'm right,
and I can be wrong ♪
659
00:33:33,930 --> 00:33:37,766
♪ My own beliefs are in my song ♪
660
00:33:37,767 --> 00:33:42,229
♪ The butcher, the banker,
the drummer, and then ♪
661
00:33:42,230 --> 00:33:46,525
♪ Makes no difference what group I'm in ♪
662
00:33:46,526 --> 00:33:51,864
♪ I am everyday people ♪
663
00:33:51,865 --> 00:33:54,783
There's a certain power
hearing unison vocals.
664
00:33:54,784 --> 00:33:56,702
♪ There is a blue one ♪
665
00:33:56,703 --> 00:33:59,538
♪ Who can't accept
the green one for living ♪
666
00:33:59,539 --> 00:34:01,331
[Jimmy]
Everybody singing the same note,
667
00:34:01,332 --> 00:34:04,543
doing the sing-songy,
nursery rhyme-ish melodies
668
00:34:04,544 --> 00:34:07,463
made it easy for the listener
to sing along with.
669
00:34:07,464 --> 00:34:10,382
♪ And so on and so on and
scooby-dooby-doo ♪
670
00:34:10,383 --> 00:34:13,344
[Terry] That unison creates the vibe
that pulls everybody in
671
00:34:13,345 --> 00:34:15,763
to that one-minded concept.
672
00:34:15,764 --> 00:34:19,059
♪ We got to live together ♪
673
00:34:20,060 --> 00:34:23,229
♪ I am no better
and neither are you ♪
674
00:34:24,147 --> 00:34:27,524
♪ We are the same
whatever we do ♪
675
00:34:27,525 --> 00:34:32,780
♪ You love me, you hate me,
you know me, and then ♪
676
00:34:32,781 --> 00:34:36,658
But when they sing in harmony,
oh, boy, it felt like church.
677
00:34:36,659 --> 00:34:42,331
♪ I am everyday people ♪
678
00:34:42,332 --> 00:34:44,792
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
679
00:34:44,793 --> 00:34:46,877
♪ There is a long hair ♪
680
00:34:46,878 --> 00:34:48,962
♪ That doesn't like the short hair ♪
681
00:34:48,963 --> 00:34:53,259
♪ For being such a rich one that
will not help the poor one ♪
682
00:34:53,677 --> 00:34:55,719
♪ Different strokes ♪
683
00:34:55,720 --> 00:34:57,262
♪ For different folks ♪
684
00:34:57,263 --> 00:34:58,430
♪ And so on and so on... ♪
685
00:34:58,431 --> 00:35:00,891
[Vernon]
With Everyday People, Sly came along
686
00:35:00,892 --> 00:35:03,769
as the Black hippie Pied Piper singing,
687
00:35:03,770 --> 00:35:05,646
"We are the same, whatever we do."
688
00:35:05,647 --> 00:35:08,982
♪ We got to live together ♪
689
00:35:08,983 --> 00:35:12,528
[Vernon] That's the first time you hear
that sentiment from a Black artist.
690
00:35:12,529 --> 00:35:16,407
♪ Won't accept the Black one that
won't accept the red one ♪
691
00:35:16,408 --> 00:35:20,828
[Vernon] There was a utopianism
that people were ready to buy into,
692
00:35:20,829 --> 00:35:25,416
that female, and male, and Black,
and white can create another world.
693
00:35:25,417 --> 00:35:28,919
Being so tuneful and just being
great music, that was the validation.
694
00:35:28,920 --> 00:35:31,046
That was the proof of concept
that it was possible.
695
00:35:31,047 --> 00:35:36,552
♪ I am everyday people ♪
696
00:35:36,553 --> 00:35:38,595
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
697
00:35:38,596 --> 00:35:41,265
♪
698
00:35:41,266 --> 00:35:42,641
[Vernon]
But at the same time,
699
00:35:42,642 --> 00:35:45,144
that message could be perceived
as problematic,
700
00:35:45,145 --> 00:35:47,896
because, you know, these people,
they got their knee on my neck.
701
00:35:47,897 --> 00:35:49,064
They're shooting brothers up.
702
00:35:49,065 --> 00:35:50,983
[overlapping shouting]
703
00:35:50,984 --> 00:35:54,111
[George] The hippies
was trying to do love and peace.
704
00:35:54,112 --> 00:35:56,405
You know, we're from the ghetto,
we don't believe that.
705
00:35:56,406 --> 00:35:57,698
You got to watch out for your back.
706
00:35:57,699 --> 00:36:01,035
A policeman in a Black community
is a licensed killer.
707
00:36:01,036 --> 00:36:03,537
[Mark]
In the late 1960s,
708
00:36:03,538 --> 00:36:05,831
the civil rights movement
is at a crossroads.
709
00:36:05,832 --> 00:36:09,710
We no longer have with us
Martin Luther King.
710
00:36:09,711 --> 00:36:12,087
We've lost something,
and we feel it deeply.
711
00:36:12,088 --> 00:36:14,423
[Mark] So, the movement
is kind of at a standstill,
712
00:36:14,424 --> 00:36:16,717
except for this radical edge.
713
00:36:16,718 --> 00:36:18,302
We have to got to get...
714
00:36:18,303 --> 00:36:20,304
[crowd] Black Power!
715
00:36:20,305 --> 00:36:23,515
Let Black people defend themselves
from racist pig cops,
716
00:36:23,516 --> 00:36:26,477
who shoot up windows and murder
Black people in the Black community.
717
00:36:26,478 --> 00:36:28,395
[Mark]
Sly is kind of walking the line
718
00:36:28,396 --> 00:36:31,482
between the civil rights world
of his parents
719
00:36:31,483 --> 00:36:33,359
and the Black Power world that's emerging.
720
00:36:33,360 --> 00:36:37,529
So, Sly gives a love letter
to both sides of this moment--
721
00:36:37,530 --> 00:36:41,116
what happened before,
and what's possible in the aftermath.
722
00:36:41,117 --> 00:36:47,081
♪ Stand, in the end,
you'll still be you ♪
723
00:36:47,082 --> 00:36:51,460
♪ One that's done all the things
you set out to do ♪
724
00:36:51,461 --> 00:36:57,216
♪ Stand, there's a cross
for you to bear ♪
725
00:36:57,217 --> 00:37:02,680
♪ Things to go through
if you're going anywhere ♪
726
00:37:02,681 --> 00:37:04,556
♪ Ooh ♪
727
00:37:04,557 --> 00:37:10,270
♪ Stand for the things
you know are right ♪
728
00:37:10,271 --> 00:37:14,358
♪ It's the truth that the truth
makes them so uptight ♪
729
00:37:14,359 --> 00:37:18,195
At 16 years old,
I was a sub-section leader
730
00:37:18,196 --> 00:37:21,115
in the Black Panther Party
in Lower Manhattan.
731
00:37:21,116 --> 00:37:25,160
When we first heard Stand!,
it was so powerful for us,
732
00:37:25,161 --> 00:37:28,038
as activists, as revolutionaries,
733
00:37:28,039 --> 00:37:31,792
listening to Sly talk about
the way the world should be.
734
00:37:31,793 --> 00:37:34,253
♪ Stand! ♪
735
00:37:34,254 --> 00:37:36,380
[Niles Rodgers] You were one way
before you heard the record.
736
00:37:36,381 --> 00:37:40,676
Then after you sat there for a few hours
listening over and over and over again,
737
00:37:40,677 --> 00:37:45,264
that feeling of transformation,
it was magical.
738
00:37:45,265 --> 00:37:51,145
♪ Stand, you've been sitting
much too long ♪
739
00:37:51,146 --> 00:37:55,232
♪ There's a permanent crease
in your right and wrong ♪
740
00:37:55,233 --> 00:37:56,650
♪ Stand ♪
741
00:37:56,651 --> 00:38:01,363
It was one of the only
empowering songs that there were,
742
00:38:01,364 --> 00:38:04,324
you know, out there for young people,
and we weren't getting a lot of that.
743
00:38:04,325 --> 00:38:05,909
We were getting a lot of
"I love you, baby."
744
00:38:05,910 --> 00:38:08,412
♪
745
00:38:08,413 --> 00:38:10,039
- ♪ Stand! ♪
- [Dream Hampton] In Detroit,
746
00:38:10,040 --> 00:38:13,500
that album was like The Chronic,
you know, for my parents.
747
00:38:13,501 --> 00:38:17,421
It was like every car on Belle Isle
748
00:38:17,422 --> 00:38:20,257
was riding around playing Stand!
as an anthem.
749
00:38:20,258 --> 00:38:23,385
♪ Stand, stand ♪
750
00:38:23,386 --> 00:38:26,055
[Jimmy]
Stand! is such an amazing arrangement.
751
00:38:26,056 --> 00:38:28,891
It's the same melody
in different registers,
752
00:38:28,892 --> 00:38:30,517
and then it's back to the beginning again.
753
00:38:30,518 --> 00:38:33,605
[♪ singing melody]
754
00:38:41,237 --> 00:38:43,238
It sounds like something's gonna happen,
but it doesn't.
755
00:38:43,239 --> 00:38:45,240
It goes right back to...
♪ Stand ♪
756
00:38:45,241 --> 00:38:48,160
So, it teases you
like there's gonna be a release.
757
00:38:48,161 --> 00:38:50,080
There's like a tension that happens.
758
00:38:51,456 --> 00:38:53,082
But then, it just--
it doesn't let it go.
759
00:38:53,083 --> 00:38:56,835
♪ Well, at least in your mind
if you want to be ♪
760
00:38:56,836 --> 00:38:59,880
[Jimmy] And then, finally,
at the end of the song,
761
00:38:59,881 --> 00:39:02,549
you've been waiting, waiting, waiting,
anticipating something.
762
00:39:02,550 --> 00:39:05,594
All of a sudden, it goes into a whole
different change where it's...
763
00:39:05,595 --> 00:39:08,138
[♪ singing melody]
764
00:39:08,139 --> 00:39:09,599
And it's like a whole 'nother song.
765
00:39:10,684 --> 00:39:12,351
♪ Stand! ♪
766
00:39:12,352 --> 00:39:15,897
♪ Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na, na-na ♪
767
00:39:16,898 --> 00:39:20,943
And it's like, oh, shit!
What the-- oh, my God.
768
00:39:20,944 --> 00:39:24,196
It's like a-- it's like a musical orgasm.
769
00:39:24,197 --> 00:39:26,865
- Can I say that on camera? Yeah.
- [Questlove laughing]
770
00:39:26,866 --> 00:39:30,953
It's like a-- it's like a musical--
I swear to God.
771
00:39:30,954 --> 00:39:33,123
♪ Na-na-na-na-na, na-na ♪
772
00:39:36,793 --> 00:39:38,544
[George]
By the time he got to Stand!,
773
00:39:38,545 --> 00:39:41,714
he knew perfectly what would work
on the radio,
774
00:39:41,715 --> 00:39:44,592
in the hood, and in the pop culture.
775
00:39:46,428 --> 00:39:49,054
[Larry] We were all very happy
about our success,
776
00:39:49,055 --> 00:39:51,515
but now, we had set the bar
777
00:39:51,516 --> 00:39:55,436
really, really high
for our live performances.
778
00:39:55,437 --> 00:40:01,525
So, our next show, we gotta-- we gotta
get that high, you know, or higher.
779
00:40:01,526 --> 00:40:03,861
[helicopter whirring]
780
00:40:03,862 --> 00:40:07,448
[announcer] Nearly half a million kids
jammed onto a 600-acre dairy farm
781
00:40:07,449 --> 00:40:09,950
near Woodstock, New York,
in August '69,
782
00:40:09,951 --> 00:40:12,579
to dance, sing,
smoke, and make love.
783
00:40:13,580 --> 00:40:16,749
[interviewer] Do you recall
your experience at Woodstock?
784
00:40:16,750 --> 00:40:20,794
At first, I was scared,
to tell you the truth.
785
00:40:20,795 --> 00:40:23,797
Well, I usually am, though,
before a concert.
786
00:40:23,798 --> 00:40:28,010
I'm always scared before a con--
you know, kind of, um...
787
00:40:28,011 --> 00:40:30,429
I want to hurry and get it on,
788
00:40:30,430 --> 00:40:32,306
'cause I can't wait,
you know, that kind of thing.
789
00:40:32,307 --> 00:40:34,558
- [interviewer] Mm-hmm.
- And, you know, it kind of wears me out.
790
00:40:34,559 --> 00:40:38,563
But, um, the Woodstock thing,
I walked in the audience, I remember that.
791
00:40:39,564 --> 00:40:42,608
There were so many people
that I thought, man,
792
00:40:42,609 --> 00:40:44,860
we better not make a mistake.
793
00:40:44,861 --> 00:40:47,905
And then I thought, well,
this is no way to walk down that,
794
00:40:47,906 --> 00:40:50,157
- you know, that thing in my stomach.
- Mm-hmm.
795
00:40:50,158 --> 00:40:52,159
[crowd shouting]
796
00:40:52,160 --> 00:40:56,789
Right before we went on,
Sly, he poured out a pile of blow,
797
00:40:56,790 --> 00:40:59,458
you know,
with a pinch of mescaline.
798
00:40:59,459 --> 00:41:01,628
We all got our dollar bills and hit it.
799
00:41:03,588 --> 00:41:05,507
And then it seems like we're on...
[snapping]
800
00:41:06,758 --> 00:41:08,926
and we...
801
00:41:08,927 --> 00:41:11,762
we were on,
or almost we'd had never gotten off.
802
00:41:11,763 --> 00:41:13,138
That was it.
803
00:41:13,139 --> 00:41:16,266
- ♪ I wanna take you higher ♪
- [crowd] ♪ Higher ♪
804
00:41:16,267 --> 00:41:22,106
- ♪ Wanna take you higher ♪
- ♪ Higher ♪
805
00:41:22,107 --> 00:41:25,359
- ♪ Higher ♪
- ♪ Higher ♪
806
00:41:25,360 --> 00:41:27,445
♪
807
00:41:28,571 --> 00:41:30,323
♪ Higher now ♪
808
00:41:39,457 --> 00:41:41,876
♪ Do it higher, oh yeah ♪
809
00:41:51,553 --> 00:41:53,430
♪ Wanna take you higher ♪
810
00:41:56,474 --> 00:41:59,351
♪ Unh, wanna take you higher ♪
811
00:41:59,352 --> 00:42:00,894
♪ Higher ♪
812
00:42:00,895 --> 00:42:07,110
- ♪ Wanna take you higher ♪
- ♪ Higher ♪
813
00:42:09,112 --> 00:42:11,864
- ♪ Higher ♪
- [inaudible]
814
00:42:11,865 --> 00:42:13,782
♪ Higher ♪
815
00:42:13,783 --> 00:42:15,869
[cheering and applause]
816
00:42:17,579 --> 00:42:19,289
[interviewer]
What effect did it have on you?
817
00:42:21,499 --> 00:42:24,001
Wow, it was a little too big.
818
00:42:24,002 --> 00:42:27,671
It was almost too big to happen.
819
00:42:27,672 --> 00:42:31,718
You know, I thought we would happen,
but at the time, it was, whew.
820
00:42:33,345 --> 00:42:35,180
Almost too much all at once.
821
00:42:45,648 --> 00:42:49,194
[André 3000]
Success can equal certain freedoms.
822
00:42:50,445 --> 00:42:53,030
But I don't think anybody
is totally free the whole time.
823
00:42:53,031 --> 00:42:56,408
I think there are moments of-- and I think
that's what we're attracted to.
824
00:42:56,409 --> 00:42:58,994
Like when we see what we call a rock star,
825
00:42:58,995 --> 00:43:01,538
it's almost like they are making
a sacrifice for us,
826
00:43:01,539 --> 00:43:03,332
and that's why we hail them.
827
00:43:03,333 --> 00:43:06,877
But sometimes, it starts to work
against why and what you're doing.
828
00:43:06,878 --> 00:43:11,049
The same thing that made you great
becomes the thing that kills you.
829
00:43:13,426 --> 00:43:17,305
♪ Everybody is a star ♪
830
00:43:18,515 --> 00:43:22,852
♪ Who could rain
and chase the dust away ♪
831
00:43:24,104 --> 00:43:27,815
♪ Everybody wants to shine ♪
832
00:43:27,816 --> 00:43:31,235
[Joel] After Woodstock,
Sly and the Family Stone
833
00:43:31,236 --> 00:43:34,488
was just this explosive
monumental event
834
00:43:34,489 --> 00:43:36,116
every time they were on stage.
835
00:43:37,117 --> 00:43:41,787
[Suzanne de Passe] The first time
I saw them live was so unbelievable.
836
00:43:41,788 --> 00:43:45,541
No Motown act, no--
nobody had ever rocked me
837
00:43:45,542 --> 00:43:47,584
the way that concert did.
838
00:43:47,585 --> 00:43:52,047
I left there thinking he could run
for president and win.
839
00:43:52,048 --> 00:43:56,510
[David] John Lennon is an icon.
Elvis Presley is an icon.
840
00:43:56,511 --> 00:44:00,055
Sly Stone became an icon.
841
00:44:00,056 --> 00:44:03,851
[Terry] Sly opened the floodgates
for all musicians of color
842
00:44:03,852 --> 00:44:05,686
to just do whatever they felt like,
843
00:44:05,687 --> 00:44:08,897
because at one point, you might have felt
like you could only do Motown.
844
00:44:08,898 --> 00:44:12,526
Sly gave everyone
this whole psychedelic thing.
845
00:44:12,527 --> 00:44:15,195
Shoot, even The Temptations
went psychedelic.
846
00:44:15,196 --> 00:44:17,448
You have so many different groups
coming about
847
00:44:17,449 --> 00:44:20,159
that are being more free with the music.
848
00:44:20,160 --> 00:44:24,747
That brand-new 21st-century funk,
we got it from Sly.
849
00:44:24,748 --> 00:44:26,833
♪
850
00:44:28,501 --> 00:44:31,045
Miles Davis
just absolutely worshiped Sly.
851
00:44:31,046 --> 00:44:34,257
Miles used to follow him around,
he used to come to our gigs.
852
00:44:35,633 --> 00:44:38,344
[Vernon]
Miles had a young wife, Betty Mabry.
853
00:44:38,345 --> 00:44:40,554
She took her old-ass husband
and was like, "You know what?
854
00:44:40,555 --> 00:44:42,515
Pops, check this out.
This is what's up."
855
00:44:43,391 --> 00:44:46,101
And he takes it in,
and his mind is blown.
856
00:44:46,102 --> 00:44:50,397
I mean, there's no On the Corner
without his exposure to Sly Stone.
857
00:44:50,398 --> 00:44:52,149
Fast forward into the '80s.
858
00:44:52,150 --> 00:44:54,401
[♪ "1999" by Prince playing]
859
00:44:54,402 --> 00:44:57,447
Sly's influence on Prince is infinite.
860
00:44:58,573 --> 00:45:00,783
[Jimmy]
Prince had a female keyboard player,
861
00:45:00,784 --> 00:45:02,868
eventually a female guitarist.
862
00:45:02,869 --> 00:45:04,119
It was multiracial.
863
00:45:04,120 --> 00:45:08,540
♪ I was dreaming when I wrote this,
forgive me if it goes astray ♪
864
00:45:08,541 --> 00:45:11,752
The vocals in 1999 gave everyone a part.
865
00:45:11,753 --> 00:45:17,007
♪ But when I woke up this morning,
could have sworn it was Judgment Day ♪
866
00:45:17,008 --> 00:45:19,593
♪
867
00:45:19,594 --> 00:45:24,431
♪ So tonight I'm gonna party
like it's 1999 ♪
868
00:45:24,432 --> 00:45:25,516
Whoo!
869
00:45:25,517 --> 00:45:27,893
[Terry] Prince, being our mentor,
used to always say
870
00:45:27,894 --> 00:45:30,854
we should all be trying
to make visual records.
871
00:45:30,855 --> 00:45:34,108
Just like how Sly's music
took you someplace.
872
00:45:34,109 --> 00:45:37,236
It took you to a place
apart from where you were
873
00:45:37,237 --> 00:45:40,114
and dropped you off into a place
that you might have dreamed of.
874
00:45:40,115 --> 00:45:42,449
[cheering and applause]
875
00:45:42,450 --> 00:45:45,078
[♪ "Hot Fun in the Summertime" playing]
876
00:45:46,287 --> 00:45:49,748
♪ Them summer days ♪
877
00:45:49,749 --> 00:45:53,670
♪ Those summer days ♪
878
00:45:54,796 --> 00:45:57,507
♪ I cloud nine when I want to ♪
879
00:46:00,218 --> 00:46:04,304
♪ Out of school, yeah, yeah ♪
880
00:46:04,305 --> 00:46:08,809
♪ A county fair in the country sun ♪
881
00:46:08,810 --> 00:46:14,189
♪ And everything is cool ♪
882
00:46:14,190 --> 00:46:16,358
♪ Oh, yeah, yeah ♪
883
00:46:16,359 --> 00:46:21,113
♪ Hot fun in the summertime,
oh, yeah ♪
884
00:46:21,114 --> 00:46:25,452
Sly post-Woodstock
is the darling of the rock world.
885
00:46:26,745 --> 00:46:30,330
♪ First of the fall
and there she goes ♪
886
00:46:30,331 --> 00:46:33,500
[Dream]
There was an idea that a big rock band
887
00:46:33,501 --> 00:46:36,337
wasn't necessarily a Black thing.
888
00:46:36,338 --> 00:46:38,797
And Sly comes into that space
and owns it.
889
00:46:38,798 --> 00:46:41,884
That's not him
crossing over into that sound.
890
00:46:41,885 --> 00:46:45,262
He's crossing other audiences
over to him.
891
00:46:45,263 --> 00:46:47,931
[Mark] Little Richard, Chuck Berry,
even Ray Charles
892
00:46:47,932 --> 00:46:51,226
never had access to both white mainstream
893
00:46:51,227 --> 00:46:54,897
and the Black audiences
the way that Sly does by 1970.
894
00:46:54,898 --> 00:46:57,150
He found himself
on the cover of Rolling Stone.
895
00:46:58,693 --> 00:47:01,487
[Larry]
By that time, the focus was on Sly,
896
00:47:01,488 --> 00:47:04,740
because he's the up-front person,
he's the spokesman.
897
00:47:04,741 --> 00:47:09,453
So, he had a tremendous pressure
and weight on his shoulders.
898
00:47:09,454 --> 00:47:12,456
[host] The money must be sort of
pouring in on you people at this point.
899
00:47:12,457 --> 00:47:14,208
What is the main thing you're doing now?
900
00:47:14,209 --> 00:47:16,627
[Sly] Doing an album,
and we're gonna do concerts.
901
00:47:16,628 --> 00:47:19,463
And we're getting a lot of money,
and it's nice to have a lot of money.
902
00:47:19,464 --> 00:47:24,301
But I don't want to turn into the kind of
person that, because of an extra dollar,
903
00:47:24,302 --> 00:47:27,304
turned into the kind of person
because of an extra dollar.
904
00:47:27,305 --> 00:47:31,141
[Questlove] Oftentimes when Black artists
are held in the limelight,
905
00:47:31,142 --> 00:47:35,062
they're automatically expected
to represent their people.
906
00:47:35,063 --> 00:47:38,274
Yeah, man, some people do want
to put you on that pedestal.
907
00:47:39,275 --> 00:47:42,778
Like you are the spokesperson
for all Black people.
908
00:47:42,779 --> 00:47:46,365
They're depending on you,
and they're counting on you.
909
00:47:46,366 --> 00:47:52,121
It's enough just, um, navigating
and coping
910
00:47:52,122 --> 00:47:54,957
through the change
in your life that happens
911
00:47:54,958 --> 00:47:57,710
when you become a celebrity,
912
00:47:57,711 --> 00:48:01,381
or somebody that is, you know,
quote-unquote, "famous."
913
00:48:02,465 --> 00:48:06,927
Just that within itself
is a huge paradigm shift.
914
00:48:06,928 --> 00:48:08,721
- [chanting indistinctly]
- [Al DeMarino] At one point,
915
00:48:08,722 --> 00:48:11,765
the Black Panthers
approached Sly for his involvement.
916
00:48:11,766 --> 00:48:14,018
[chanting continues]
917
00:48:14,019 --> 00:48:16,770
They were trying
to make us be one of them.
918
00:48:16,771 --> 00:48:21,817
We weren't a political band,
but we were singing about racial issues.
919
00:48:21,818 --> 00:48:26,572
So, I can see why people labeled us
as a political movement.
920
00:48:26,573 --> 00:48:31,243
♪ Don't call me nigga, whitey ♪
921
00:48:31,244 --> 00:48:35,789
♪ Don't call me whitey, nigga ♪
922
00:48:35,790 --> 00:48:38,167
[Al] With the Panthers,
what does involvement mean?
923
00:48:38,168 --> 00:48:40,461
Does it mean contributing
to the food pantry?
924
00:48:40,462 --> 00:48:43,672
Does it mean showing up
somewhere for a rally?
925
00:48:43,673 --> 00:48:45,216
All power to the people.
926
00:49:05,612 --> 00:49:06,945
[Sly laughing]
927
00:49:06,946 --> 00:49:09,823
[Mark] Sly's getting these pressures
from the Black Panther Party,
928
00:49:09,824 --> 00:49:11,658
but he's not a Black nationalist.
929
00:49:11,659 --> 00:49:14,620
He doesn't believe that
at face value, right?
930
00:49:14,621 --> 00:49:20,125
So, he presents a song, a sound, right,
that just speaks palpably to Blackness.
931
00:49:20,126 --> 00:49:22,336
Sly and the Family Stone.
932
00:49:22,337 --> 00:49:24,338
[cheering and applause]
933
00:49:24,339 --> 00:49:27,342
[♪ "Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin"
playing]
934
00:49:32,806 --> 00:49:35,100
♪ Looking at the devil ♪
935
00:49:37,394 --> 00:49:39,396
♪ Grinning at his gun ♪
936
00:49:41,439 --> 00:49:43,190
♪ Fingers start shaking ♪
937
00:49:43,191 --> 00:49:45,818
[Vernon]
Sly is in this incredibly creative space.
938
00:49:45,819 --> 00:49:48,445
Nobody is coming up
with funk like this.
939
00:49:48,446 --> 00:49:50,239
♪
940
00:49:50,240 --> 00:49:55,077
That was the first time you would hear
the thumping and plucking on the bass.
941
00:49:55,078 --> 00:49:57,287
♪ I begin to stop ♪
942
00:49:57,288 --> 00:50:03,168
I didn't realize the impact that would
have on other bass players.
943
00:50:03,169 --> 00:50:06,547
And little by little, more and more
bass players are doing it
944
00:50:06,548 --> 00:50:09,508
because folks could physically see
what's happening,
945
00:50:09,509 --> 00:50:13,053
'cause by now,
we've done a lot of live shows.
946
00:50:13,054 --> 00:50:14,346
We're on television.
947
00:50:14,347 --> 00:50:17,683
Here are Sly and the Family
known as Stone.
948
00:50:17,684 --> 00:50:22,814
♪ Thank you
falettinme be mice elf agin ♪
949
00:50:24,107 --> 00:50:26,192
♪ Ooh, ooh ♪
950
00:50:26,609 --> 00:50:32,490
♪ Thank you falettinme
be mice elf agin, yeah ♪
951
00:50:36,327 --> 00:50:39,747
Thank You felt like it was just
moving things forward.
952
00:50:39,748 --> 00:50:44,460
It's just all these intricately beautiful
little moments all working together.
953
00:50:44,461 --> 00:50:46,588
♪ Stiff all in the collar ♪
954
00:50:47,505 --> 00:50:49,256
People love riffs, you know.
955
00:50:49,257 --> 00:50:51,343
[♪ singing melody]
956
00:50:52,927 --> 00:50:54,595
People know that.
957
00:50:54,596 --> 00:50:57,097
[Jimmy]
In 1989, when we were working
958
00:50:57,098 --> 00:50:59,600
on the song Rhythm Nation with Janet,
959
00:50:59,601 --> 00:51:02,227
we had the concept that
Rhythm Nation should be an anthem.
960
00:51:02,228 --> 00:51:06,440
People uniting under the banner
of music to heal the world.
961
00:51:06,441 --> 00:51:10,110
We had the concept,
but what we didn't have was a track.
962
00:51:10,111 --> 00:51:13,072
[Terry] So, I think Jimmy
and Janet went to dinner.
963
00:51:13,073 --> 00:51:16,367
[Jimmy] At a little
Italian restaurant in Minneapolis.
964
00:51:16,368 --> 00:51:18,994
And, you know, there's always music
playing in the background.
965
00:51:18,995 --> 00:51:22,247
They're in the middle of dinner,
and Thank You came on.
966
00:51:22,248 --> 00:51:25,876
[Jimmy] And I think to myself,
oh, I love this record.
967
00:51:25,877 --> 00:51:29,546
But then all of a sudden,
when the little bridge part comes in.
968
00:51:29,547 --> 00:51:33,218
[♪ Terry and Jimmy singing melody]
969
00:51:39,474 --> 00:51:42,059
- And I just said...
- Jimmy said...
970
00:51:42,060 --> 00:51:44,228
"Can I get the check? Can I get the--"
I mean, I was out of there.
971
00:51:44,229 --> 00:51:47,106
[Terry] Went back to the studio
and he started to sample...
972
00:51:47,107 --> 00:51:48,273
♪
973
00:51:48,274 --> 00:51:50,859
...just that piece of it and cut it up.
974
00:51:50,860 --> 00:51:52,778
♪
975
00:51:52,779 --> 00:51:55,864
And I remember putting it into
a little AMS sampler that only--
976
00:51:55,865 --> 00:51:57,908
I think the sampler
might have had six seconds
977
00:51:57,909 --> 00:52:01,203
of sampling time.
978
00:52:01,204 --> 00:52:04,498
But it was enough to get in...
[♪ singing melody]
979
00:52:04,499 --> 00:52:07,292
And I literally would trigger--
I just triggered it off the drums.
980
00:52:07,293 --> 00:52:09,962
I just would go...
[♪ singing melody]
981
00:52:09,963 --> 00:52:12,256
[♪ repeating melody]
982
00:52:12,257 --> 00:52:13,799
♪
983
00:52:13,800 --> 00:52:16,677
- ...over this beat.
- [♪ music loop playing]
984
00:52:16,678 --> 00:52:18,887
It was amazing.
985
00:52:18,888 --> 00:52:22,182
Janet walked into the studio
and I said, listen to this.
986
00:52:22,183 --> 00:52:23,475
And I just played it.
987
00:52:23,476 --> 00:52:25,687
♪
988
00:52:29,357 --> 00:52:31,443
- And she said...
- [both] Is that Rhythm Nation?
989
00:52:32,360 --> 00:52:35,195
And I said, yes. And she said...
990
00:52:35,196 --> 00:52:36,613
[both]
Yes. [laughing]
991
00:52:36,614 --> 00:52:40,492
♪ With music by our side
to break the color lines ♪
992
00:52:40,493 --> 00:52:44,663
Sly created this musical unity
for my generation.
993
00:52:44,664 --> 00:52:47,333
And to be able to sample that,
and then create that
994
00:52:47,334 --> 00:52:51,086
for the next generation of listeners
is an amazing thing.
995
00:52:51,087 --> 00:52:53,547
It was everything the song needed.
996
00:52:53,548 --> 00:52:56,550
So, thank you... [chuckles]
for making that lick.
997
00:52:56,551 --> 00:53:01,181
♪ We are a part
of the rhythm nation, whoo! ♪
998
00:53:03,141 --> 00:53:05,143
♪ Mama's so happy ♪
999
00:53:07,812 --> 00:53:09,439
♪ Mama start to cry ♪
1000
00:53:10,440 --> 00:53:13,067
At that time, the white world
was starting, "You know what?
1001
00:53:13,068 --> 00:53:14,818
That Sly Stone is doing something."
1002
00:53:14,819 --> 00:53:18,030
But if he was gonna keep
the large audience,
1003
00:53:18,031 --> 00:53:21,575
he was in a position where he couldn't
show any cracks in the media.
1004
00:53:21,576 --> 00:53:25,579
♪ Dyin' young is hard to take,
sellin' out is harder ♪
1005
00:53:25,580 --> 00:53:27,456
[Vernon]
As a Black man in America,
1006
00:53:27,457 --> 00:53:30,292
when you have the microphone
in front of you, what you gonna do?
1007
00:53:30,293 --> 00:53:33,962
Are you gonna embarrass us?
What do you have to say for yourself?
1008
00:53:33,963 --> 00:53:37,800
His appearance on The Dick Cavett Show,
it's extraordinary,
1009
00:53:37,801 --> 00:53:41,470
because Dick Cavett
had this habit of one-upsmanship.
1010
00:53:41,471 --> 00:53:43,430
He's gonna be
the smartest guy in the room.
1011
00:53:43,431 --> 00:53:46,558
Mister S-- Mister--
What do I call you, actually?
1012
00:53:46,559 --> 00:53:49,395
Just Misters Misters.
1013
00:53:49,396 --> 00:53:51,230
[Dick Cavett]
Just, you like the way I did.
1014
00:53:51,231 --> 00:53:52,981
[laughter]
1015
00:53:52,982 --> 00:53:56,735
There's this whole mind game
that's being played.
1016
00:53:56,736 --> 00:53:59,029
Sly is high as a Georgia pine.
1017
00:53:59,030 --> 00:54:01,448
He's high as a Georgia pine,
but his mind is right.
1018
00:54:01,449 --> 00:54:03,951
I know you're responsible
for all the music that you do
1019
00:54:03,952 --> 00:54:07,579
and you-- that you write it,
but do you sit down and write it?
1020
00:54:07,580 --> 00:54:09,707
- Do you...
- Sometimes I stand up.
1021
00:54:09,708 --> 00:54:13,043
[laughter and applause]
1022
00:54:13,044 --> 00:54:16,505
And in the middle of this thing,
Sly says to him,
1023
00:54:16,506 --> 00:54:20,426
"You know, I'm not-- I'm not going
into a battle of wits with you."
1024
00:54:20,427 --> 00:54:23,220
You know that Hemingway wrote
on the top of the icebox.
1025
00:54:23,221 --> 00:54:25,723
- I'm not trying to match wits.
- No, no, I know.
1026
00:54:25,724 --> 00:54:27,433
I say there are writers
who write standing,
1027
00:54:27,434 --> 00:54:29,519
- and there are those who write--
- I write in the mirror.
1028
00:54:31,062 --> 00:54:32,813
- [Dick] Meaning?
- Looking at a mirror.
1029
00:54:32,814 --> 00:54:35,149
[scattered laughter]
1030
00:54:35,150 --> 00:54:37,235
[laughter and applause]
1031
00:54:38,778 --> 00:54:40,904
- Is there something I don't get about...
- [Sly] No, do--
1032
00:54:40,905 --> 00:54:45,284
The reason why I do that is because, uh,
I can somehow, uh,
1033
00:54:45,285 --> 00:54:48,912
uh, be a great critique,
you know, for myself.
1034
00:54:48,913 --> 00:54:51,582
- [Dick] Yeah.
- You know, I can react spontaneously
1035
00:54:51,583 --> 00:54:54,877
before I realize that I'm going along
with what I'm doing.
1036
00:54:54,878 --> 00:54:57,713
- [scattered laughter]
- And, uh, dislike it or like it
1037
00:54:57,714 --> 00:55:00,090
before I realize that I'm doing it.
1038
00:55:00,091 --> 00:55:03,344
[Vernon] Sly, as high as he is,
is completely aware
1039
00:55:03,345 --> 00:55:05,262
of the game that's being played.
1040
00:55:05,263 --> 00:55:08,140
And he's like, uh, "I know what
you're trying to say about me,
1041
00:55:08,141 --> 00:55:09,641
but, you know,
I'm not taking the bait."
1042
00:55:09,642 --> 00:55:12,478
This is kind of a serious question,
kind of a silly question at the same time.
1043
00:55:12,479 --> 00:55:14,313
Could I dress like this
and play with your group?
1044
00:55:14,314 --> 00:55:16,690
- [Sly] Any way you like.
- Wouldn't it look funny, though?
1045
00:55:16,691 --> 00:55:19,109
I mean, to see somebody
dressed with a tie?
1046
00:55:19,110 --> 00:55:21,403
With the people that were judging
the way you were dressing.
1047
00:55:21,404 --> 00:55:22,821
[Dick] Yeah.
1048
00:55:22,822 --> 00:55:25,449
There'd probably be a certain
pressure on me, I suppose, to...
1049
00:55:25,450 --> 00:55:27,409
- [Sly] There's a pressure on all of us.
- Oh, right.
1050
00:55:27,410 --> 00:55:30,038
[applause]
1051
00:55:34,417 --> 00:55:37,294
[Mark] In America at that time,
with Black artists,
1052
00:55:37,295 --> 00:55:40,714
no one else has ever been
elevated to these heights
1053
00:55:40,715 --> 00:55:43,008
as Sly Stone was being elevated,
1054
00:55:43,009 --> 00:55:46,553
not just musically,
but broadly in American culture.
1055
00:55:46,554 --> 00:55:51,392
If you're Sly Stone,
there is no blueprint
1056
00:55:51,393 --> 00:55:53,602
for what comes next.
1057
00:55:53,603 --> 00:55:55,312
There's nobody for you
to go talk to, right?
1058
00:55:55,313 --> 00:55:57,690
There's never been a Black Elvis, right?
1059
00:55:57,691 --> 00:56:00,442
So, you can't go
to this mythical Black Elvis
1060
00:56:00,443 --> 00:56:02,778
and ask, "What do I do next?"
1061
00:56:02,779 --> 00:56:07,533
[Dream] For Black artists,
a big part of success is guilt.
1062
00:56:07,534 --> 00:56:10,661
The guilt of not just being chosen,
1063
00:56:10,662 --> 00:56:15,040
but you're necessarily
going to be leaving the hood.
1064
00:56:15,041 --> 00:56:17,167
You're gonna be leaving your family.
1065
00:56:17,168 --> 00:56:21,422
You're-- you're, you're about to go
on this journey.
1066
00:56:21,423 --> 00:56:23,298
If you're in a band,
maybe some of your bandmates
1067
00:56:23,299 --> 00:56:26,093
are gonna come with you,
but you're about to go on a journey
1068
00:56:26,094 --> 00:56:28,387
that's about to be pretty lonely.
1069
00:56:28,388 --> 00:56:31,057
♪
1070
00:56:32,058 --> 00:56:35,019
[Greg] Around that period,
we were all still living in the Bay area
1071
00:56:35,020 --> 00:56:38,064
when Sly announced
that he was gonna move to LA.
1072
00:56:39,107 --> 00:56:41,608
His rationalization for it made sense.
1073
00:56:41,609 --> 00:56:43,944
It was the center
of the music business.
1074
00:56:43,945 --> 00:56:45,822
Go down there, meet all the right people.
1075
00:56:47,741 --> 00:56:51,326
[Stephani Swanigan] When he decided to
take up residency in Los Angeles,
1076
00:56:51,327 --> 00:56:54,747
we got a big house, Bel Air.
1077
00:56:54,748 --> 00:56:56,415
[Jerry]
Bel Air. It was amazing.
1078
00:56:56,416 --> 00:56:58,125
It was huge, it was six acres.
1079
00:56:58,126 --> 00:57:01,795
[Stephani] So, we ended up
with people staying for a week,
1080
00:57:01,796 --> 00:57:04,131
two weeks, just hangers-on.
1081
00:57:04,132 --> 00:57:08,302
Also, Sly brought in friends
who came from the streets
1082
00:57:08,303 --> 00:57:11,638
that he'd known for a long time
that he was loyal to,
1083
00:57:11,639 --> 00:57:13,766
and that were loyal to him.
1084
00:57:13,767 --> 00:57:16,435
[Bubba Banks]
Sly was my friend from way back.
1085
00:57:16,436 --> 00:57:19,480
And when I got out of jail,
Sly called me.
1086
00:57:19,481 --> 00:57:22,191
He said, "Man, why don't you
come down here?"
1087
00:57:22,192 --> 00:57:25,111
He said, "You can have
anything you want."
1088
00:57:26,154 --> 00:57:29,114
We get to Los Angeles, man,
the house is full.
1089
00:57:29,115 --> 00:57:31,367
This is Sly's newfound set.
1090
00:57:31,368 --> 00:57:33,911
And I haven't been around no white dudes.
1091
00:57:33,912 --> 00:57:37,247
Now, I look like
I'm at a Klu Klux Klan meeting,
1092
00:57:37,248 --> 00:57:39,501
and I done came in the wrong fucking door.
1093
00:57:40,502 --> 00:57:43,837
But somebody say, "Bub!"
Me and Sly, we embrace each other.
1094
00:57:43,838 --> 00:57:45,923
And he said, "Bub, take over."
1095
00:57:45,924 --> 00:57:49,093
I came with a crew,
and we did take over.
1096
00:57:49,094 --> 00:57:53,347
And from that point, Sly knew he can do
whatever the fuck he wanted to.
1097
00:57:53,348 --> 00:57:55,724
[Questlove]
Is that a form of separation anxiety?
1098
00:57:55,725 --> 00:57:57,976
Like being separate
from your-- your roots?
1099
00:57:57,977 --> 00:58:00,521
Yeah, that-- that is a form
of, uh, separation anxiety,
1100
00:58:00,522 --> 00:58:04,274
because, especially as Black people,
we have this thing
1101
00:58:04,275 --> 00:58:07,277
where you always kind of
want to be good in your hood.
1102
00:58:07,278 --> 00:58:10,155
You know, you kind of always
want to be understood,
1103
00:58:10,156 --> 00:58:11,699
acc-- accepted in a way.
1104
00:58:11,700 --> 00:58:14,368
So, I think that's always on your mind,
1105
00:58:14,369 --> 00:58:16,662
and I think sometimes
it's detrimental to some artists.
1106
00:58:16,663 --> 00:58:19,707
[Freddie] There were a lot of people
all the time, always partying,
1107
00:58:19,708 --> 00:58:21,041
a lot of drugs.
1108
00:58:21,042 --> 00:58:23,335
[Greg] I can remember the rest of us
looking at each other
1109
00:58:23,336 --> 00:58:25,671
and thinking, this might not be good.
1110
00:58:25,672 --> 00:58:28,257
Sly was a vulnerable individual.
1111
00:58:28,258 --> 00:58:31,093
He had incredible
creative capabilities.
1112
00:58:31,094 --> 00:58:35,973
I think to be that capable,
you have to be that vulnerable too.
1113
00:58:35,974 --> 00:58:38,350
[host] Have you gone through
different kinds of changes
1114
00:58:38,351 --> 00:58:40,102
- with all the money coming in?
- [Sly] Yeah.
1115
00:58:40,103 --> 00:58:41,311
[host]
How?
1116
00:58:41,312 --> 00:58:45,524
[Sly]
Well, um, the values change a little bit.
1117
00:58:45,525 --> 00:58:49,445
The values change a little bit.
Uh, I know...
1118
00:58:49,446 --> 00:58:51,238
Ask me that question later, okay?
1119
00:58:51,239 --> 00:58:52,531
- [host] Okay.
- [Sly] Would you do that?
1120
00:58:52,532 --> 00:58:54,451
- [host] Alright.
- [Sly] Alright. Okay.
1121
00:58:56,453 --> 00:58:59,246
[Greg] Sly still had the pressure
of making the next record,
1122
00:58:59,247 --> 00:59:01,541
so the label did Greatest Hits.
1123
00:59:21,019 --> 00:59:23,896
[Stephani] He started collaborating
with different people.
1124
00:59:23,897 --> 00:59:26,565
Not much got produced.
1125
00:59:26,566 --> 00:59:29,068
They did music
and got high at the same time.
1126
00:59:29,069 --> 00:59:31,278
[Bobby Womack]
Me and Sly, Billy Preston,
1127
00:59:31,279 --> 00:59:34,907
Buddy Miles, and Ike Turner,
that was the crew.
1128
00:59:34,908 --> 00:59:37,826
We'd come in.
You know, we can get high.
1129
00:59:37,827 --> 00:59:41,956
But we create some shit that we can say,
"Okay, let that play."
1130
00:59:42,832 --> 00:59:47,170
[Greg] At the same time,
the touring got pretty intense.
1131
00:59:48,046 --> 00:59:49,421
[interviewer]
You were on tour.
1132
00:59:49,422 --> 00:59:53,801
You were doing thousands of cities.
Every day, you were somewhere different.
1133
00:59:53,802 --> 00:59:55,552
Something started to go.
1134
00:59:55,553 --> 00:59:57,638
- Mm-hmm.
- What went?
1135
00:59:57,639 --> 01:00:00,474
Um, uh, being late for concerts.
1136
01:00:00,475 --> 01:00:02,852
[crowd shouting and booing]
1137
01:00:07,607 --> 01:00:10,859
Uh, where's Sly?
[indistinct]
1138
01:00:10,860 --> 01:00:12,946
[crowd continues shouting]
1139
01:00:13,863 --> 01:00:17,991
[Ruth Copeland] Around that time, I was
on tour with Sly and the Family Stone.
1140
01:00:17,992 --> 01:00:22,079
My band were the original members
of Funkadelic,
1141
01:00:22,080 --> 01:00:27,001
Bernie Worrell, Tiki Fulwood,
Eddie Hazel, and Billy Bass Nelson.
1142
01:00:27,002 --> 01:00:33,173
♪ You had everything, babe,
a man could want ♪
1143
01:00:33,174 --> 01:00:35,718
Did a gig in Paterson, New Jersey.
1144
01:00:35,719 --> 01:00:37,803
We were supposed to go on
right before Sly,
1145
01:00:37,804 --> 01:00:40,139
and it started to rain,
and we had done one set.
1146
01:00:40,140 --> 01:00:44,059
And Sly's promoter
came over to us and said,
1147
01:00:44,060 --> 01:00:45,853
"Sly is in the toilet.
1148
01:00:45,854 --> 01:00:49,565
You're gonna have to go on again
if you want to do the rest of the tour."
1149
01:00:49,566 --> 01:00:50,649
[crowd booing]
1150
01:00:50,650 --> 01:00:54,028
That was really scary because the crowd
was getting a little upset
1151
01:00:54,029 --> 01:00:55,946
and they started to boo.
1152
01:00:55,947 --> 01:01:01,243
And I just screamed into the mic
out of nowhere, like, "Shut up!"
1153
01:01:01,244 --> 01:01:02,995
I was pissed off at Sly.
1154
01:01:02,996 --> 01:01:07,499
I said, "Sly has been in the toilet
for an hour and a half,
1155
01:01:07,500 --> 01:01:09,752
and he's not coming out."
1156
01:01:09,753 --> 01:01:14,506
So, we played for another 20 minutes
and then we figured we'd hang around
1157
01:01:14,507 --> 01:01:17,217
and see how he handles this,
Mr. Big Sly.
1158
01:01:17,218 --> 01:01:20,679
Sly came out
and the crowd was booing.
1159
01:01:20,680 --> 01:01:23,432
[Sly]
It was my fault that we late.
1160
01:01:23,433 --> 01:01:26,143
I am sorry, I apologize.
[chuckles]
1161
01:01:26,144 --> 01:01:28,520
[Ruth]
But he was so sure of himself.
1162
01:01:28,521 --> 01:01:30,731
[Jerry]
Sly had a special power.
1163
01:01:30,732 --> 01:01:31,940
He could control our audience.
1164
01:01:31,941 --> 01:01:35,110
[Sly laughing]
1165
01:01:35,111 --> 01:01:37,154
[Sly]
Yeah. [laughing]
1166
01:01:37,155 --> 01:01:39,907
He can make you sit down,
he can make you stand up.
1167
01:01:39,908 --> 01:01:42,534
[Sly] Stand your booty up.
You know what I mean?
1168
01:01:42,535 --> 01:01:44,078
He could cause a riot.
1169
01:01:44,079 --> 01:01:47,247
The Chicago riot show.
[laughing]
1170
01:01:47,248 --> 01:01:49,166
I was really too young to be there.
1171
01:01:49,167 --> 01:01:51,543
I snuck down there some kind of way,
yeah, I worked it out.
1172
01:01:51,544 --> 01:01:54,171
[reporter] It was one of a series
of free rock concerts
1173
01:01:54,172 --> 01:01:56,715
put on by Mayor Daley
in the park district.
1174
01:01:56,716 --> 01:01:57,966
But all hell broke loose.
1175
01:01:57,967 --> 01:01:59,968
[reporter]
The crowd surged toward the stage,
1176
01:01:59,969 --> 01:02:03,263
angry because the featured group
had not yet appeared.
1177
01:02:03,264 --> 01:02:05,599
[interviewer]
Did you lose the desire to perform?
1178
01:02:05,600 --> 01:02:07,851
Was it not as much fun
as it had been in the early days?
1179
01:02:07,852 --> 01:02:09,812
Well, it's not as much fun if you get,
you know,
1180
01:02:09,813 --> 01:02:11,940
accused of, uh, doing things like that.
1181
01:02:12,941 --> 01:02:16,653
I was there when it was
advertised that I wasn't.
1182
01:02:18,071 --> 01:02:20,615
And a few of those kind of times
can get on your nerves.
1183
01:02:22,200 --> 01:02:27,288
[Ruth] After that, the real inclination
to be late became a habit.
1184
01:02:28,331 --> 01:02:29,957
And of course,
then it progressed from there
1185
01:02:29,958 --> 01:02:31,251
to where he didn't show up at all.
1186
01:02:32,252 --> 01:02:35,295
[Stephani]
More than anything, it was anxiety.
1187
01:02:35,296 --> 01:02:38,465
He would get nervous.
And I'm like, "What is wrong with you?
1188
01:02:38,466 --> 01:02:41,720
How can you be nervous
and you do this all the time?"
1189
01:02:42,887 --> 01:02:46,140
[Greg]
He wasn't one to let on to being anxious.
1190
01:02:46,141 --> 01:02:50,978
He always seemed to handle it,
like, "Okay, I got this," you know?
1191
01:02:50,979 --> 01:02:55,858
When the drugs became more dominant,
it wasn't the case.
1192
01:02:55,859 --> 01:02:58,193
- [band member] I'm relaxing, man.
- Okay, what about you?
1193
01:02:58,194 --> 01:02:59,820
- [band member indistinct]
- Huh?
1194
01:02:59,821 --> 01:03:01,864
- [band member] Otto.
- Otto?
1195
01:03:01,865 --> 01:03:03,365
- Otto... [indistinct]
- Otto.
1196
01:03:03,366 --> 01:03:05,826
- [band member] Right.
- Oh, you came-- you came from Kenya.
1197
01:03:05,827 --> 01:03:07,912
[people chattering]
1198
01:03:09,122 --> 01:03:11,165
- Are you the boss?
- [speaker] I'm the boss.
1199
01:03:11,166 --> 01:03:12,791
You ain't no boss.
1200
01:03:12,792 --> 01:03:15,044
- [people chattering]
- [Sly chuckles]
1201
01:03:15,045 --> 01:03:17,338
[Jerry] Sly kind of stayed
in his bedroom a lot,
1202
01:03:17,339 --> 01:03:21,008
and there were pounds of blow
coming in.
1203
01:03:21,009 --> 01:03:24,720
[Bubba]
But when Sly was on that PCP shit,
1204
01:03:24,721 --> 01:03:26,805
that's when it started fucking up.
1205
01:03:26,806 --> 01:03:29,224
[announcer]
Angel dust, PCP.
1206
01:03:29,225 --> 01:03:32,895
There are severe
and sometimes lasting reactions.
1207
01:03:32,896 --> 01:03:35,898
[Ruth]
At that time, I was living with Sly.
1208
01:03:35,899 --> 01:03:39,068
He was a really good guy
who had a big heart,
1209
01:03:39,069 --> 01:03:41,820
and he was generous and kind.
1210
01:03:41,821 --> 01:03:45,491
But at that point, he would take
barbiturates to go to sleep,
1211
01:03:45,492 --> 01:03:46,742
and still do coke.
1212
01:03:46,743 --> 01:03:49,119
It was like watching something
fall over slowly.
1213
01:03:49,120 --> 01:03:52,956
You basically were his mother,
watching out for him,
1214
01:03:52,957 --> 01:03:55,042
making him eat
when he would wake up.
1215
01:03:55,043 --> 01:03:58,337
You had to get some food into him,
because if he got the coke into him
1216
01:03:58,338 --> 01:04:00,422
before the food, he wouldn't eat.
1217
01:04:00,423 --> 01:04:03,050
And then, you know, I was like
all the other women in his life
1218
01:04:03,051 --> 01:04:08,223
who loved him, tried to get him to stop--
to stop the drugs.
1219
01:04:13,269 --> 01:04:16,021
I couldn't stop him.
I couldn't.
1220
01:04:16,022 --> 01:04:18,691
Nothing-- the drugs
were more important.
1221
01:04:18,692 --> 01:04:20,735
The most important thing in his life.
1222
01:04:21,736 --> 01:04:24,655
[Questlove] So, you've had
personal experience with this.
1223
01:04:24,656 --> 01:04:29,827
Um, why would someone turn to,
say cocaine,
1224
01:04:29,828 --> 01:04:32,287
as a coping mechanism?
1225
01:04:32,288 --> 01:04:34,415
[Chaka Khan]
This is the '60s and '70s.
1226
01:04:34,416 --> 01:04:37,918
Those were pivotal times
in the use of certain drugs.
1227
01:04:37,919 --> 01:04:42,256
Um, but, um, to self-medicate,
1228
01:04:42,257 --> 01:04:46,552
and to self-soothe,
1229
01:04:46,553 --> 01:04:50,931
and to try-- trying to attain
a false sense
1230
01:04:50,932 --> 01:04:54,643
of everything's okay, when it's not,
1231
01:04:54,644 --> 01:04:57,939
you know, um, that's dangerous.
1232
01:05:00,734 --> 01:05:03,152
[Greg]
With the no-shows and the drugs,
1233
01:05:03,153 --> 01:05:04,945
it was just chaos.
1234
01:05:04,946 --> 01:05:09,534
The existence of the band
was a little bit over five-year period.
1235
01:05:10,535 --> 01:05:14,497
In the beginning,
it was all about the music, period.
1236
01:05:16,374 --> 01:05:19,085
And then, it became
all about other things.
1237
01:05:20,295 --> 01:05:21,963
Those weren't all good things.
1238
01:05:23,423 --> 01:05:25,592
And then, when I felt that I just...
1239
01:05:28,219 --> 01:05:30,722
that I couldn't affect that any longer...
1240
01:05:31,931 --> 01:05:34,350
I just-- and that, that you know,
wasn't comfortable,
1241
01:05:34,351 --> 01:05:37,186
and things were--
weren't happening good,
1242
01:05:37,187 --> 01:05:40,356
and, um, that's--
1243
01:05:40,357 --> 01:05:43,275
so I made my decision to leave,
and that's what I did.
1244
01:05:43,276 --> 01:05:47,279
Matter of fact, I didn't leave
to go do something else.
1245
01:05:47,280 --> 01:05:52,117
I took off a year.
I was-- I just would-- had to stop.
1246
01:05:52,118 --> 01:05:54,371
- [♪ keyboard music playing]
- [engine revving]
1247
01:05:56,498 --> 01:05:59,875
[Cynthia] Greg leaving, I mean,
I got sick to my stomach.
1248
01:05:59,876 --> 01:06:01,920
[Jerry]
We were all brokenhearted over it.
1249
01:06:04,589 --> 01:06:08,509
[Ruth] At that point, Sly was doing
a lot of the tracks himself.
1250
01:06:08,510 --> 01:06:10,928
He played all the instruments,
and he would lay down tracks
1251
01:06:10,929 --> 01:06:13,305
upstairs in his studio,
which was in the attic,
1252
01:06:13,306 --> 01:06:17,309
and then he would bring in some
of the guys to put in some extra stuff.
1253
01:06:17,310 --> 01:06:19,812
[Sly] Okay, man, you splice
the best way you can.
1254
01:06:19,813 --> 01:06:21,438
[Jerry] Freddie'd come down there
and knock it out.
1255
01:06:21,439 --> 01:06:23,232
Larry would fly in, knock it out.
1256
01:06:23,233 --> 01:06:25,651
I was already there.
I'd go do my horn part.
1257
01:06:25,652 --> 01:06:29,405
[Sly] Hey, can we splice something in?
Hey, man, play the last thing, okay?
1258
01:06:29,406 --> 01:06:31,240
[Ruth]
They were demoralized.
1259
01:06:31,241 --> 01:06:32,825
They were feeling
like they weren't needed.
1260
01:06:32,826 --> 01:06:35,536
[Sly] Hey, hey, hey, hey.
What are you doing?
1261
01:06:35,537 --> 01:06:40,541
After I left, Sly kept calling,
and I didn't-- I didn't participate.
1262
01:06:40,542 --> 01:06:43,085
So, he started using
a drum machine.
1263
01:06:43,086 --> 01:06:46,338
- [♪ electronic drumbeat playing]
- It was called the Rhythm King.
1264
01:06:46,339 --> 01:06:49,091
Drum machines weren't sophisticated
like they are today.
1265
01:06:49,092 --> 01:06:52,928
It was a pretty simple
and uninspiring thing.
1266
01:06:52,929 --> 01:06:55,472
It had cha-chas and stuff like that.
1267
01:06:55,473 --> 01:06:58,643
It would-- you'd hear it in a lounge
in a Holiday Inn.
1268
01:07:16,953 --> 01:07:19,955
[Greg]
So, Sly took this little rhythm machine,
1269
01:07:19,956 --> 01:07:22,458
and he started using it
very cleverly, actually.
1270
01:07:22,459 --> 01:07:27,129
He took the rhythm, which wasn't anything
sophisticated, or funky, or fun,
1271
01:07:27,130 --> 01:07:29,423
he turned it around,
and he would start the one--
1272
01:07:29,424 --> 01:07:32,926
instead of on one, two, three, four,
1273
01:07:32,927 --> 01:07:36,388
he'd start the one on two,
or on three,
1274
01:07:36,389 --> 01:07:39,016
which took the rhythm
that it was producing
1275
01:07:39,017 --> 01:07:40,684
and turned it inside out.
1276
01:07:40,685 --> 01:07:44,855
It made it s--
"Oh, that's interesting now," you know?
1277
01:07:44,856 --> 01:07:48,650
And so, he actually created
an iconic thing with it.
1278
01:07:48,651 --> 01:07:53,280
It became... [chuckles]
a game-changer again.
1279
01:07:53,281 --> 01:07:55,408
[♪ "Family Affair" playing]
1280
01:07:58,244 --> 01:08:01,706
♪ It's a family affair ♪
1281
01:08:02,707 --> 01:08:06,169
♪ It's a family affair ♪
1282
01:08:07,170 --> 01:08:10,465
♪ It's a family affair ♪
1283
01:08:11,466 --> 01:08:15,261
♪ It's a family affair ♪
1284
01:08:16,805 --> 01:08:20,933
♪ One child grows up to be ♪
1285
01:08:20,934 --> 01:08:23,352
♪ Somebody that just loves to learn ♪
1286
01:08:23,353 --> 01:08:29,608
♪ And another child
grows up to be ♪
1287
01:08:29,609 --> 01:08:32,404
♪ Somebody you'd just love to burn ♪
1288
01:08:34,155 --> 01:08:38,659
♪ Mom loves the both of them ♪
1289
01:08:38,660 --> 01:08:40,995
♪ You see, it's in the blood ♪
1290
01:08:42,789 --> 01:08:47,167
♪ Both kids are good to Mom ♪
1291
01:08:47,168 --> 01:08:51,213
♪ Blood's thicker than the mud,
it's a family affair ♪
1292
01:08:51,214 --> 01:08:55,718
- ♪ It's a family affair ♪
- ♪ It's a family affair ♪
1293
01:08:55,719 --> 01:08:59,054
- ♪ It's a family affair ♪
- ♪ Over there ♪
1294
01:08:59,055 --> 01:09:02,725
I had always heard Sly
on the pop white radio, basically.
1295
01:09:02,726 --> 01:09:07,187
But when Family Affair came out,
the R&B stations went on it right away.
1296
01:09:07,188 --> 01:09:09,898
The Frankie Crockers
and the Georgie Woods,
1297
01:09:09,899 --> 01:09:13,485
they went on that one right out the box,
and it was one of them club records.
1298
01:09:13,486 --> 01:09:15,821
You know, you go by the bar
any time of day.
1299
01:09:15,822 --> 01:09:20,367
♪ Newlywed a year ago ♪
1300
01:09:20,368 --> 01:09:24,580
♪ But you're still checking
each other out, hey ♪
1301
01:09:24,581 --> 01:09:26,457
♪ Nobody ♪
1302
01:09:26,458 --> 01:09:28,751
It was like that anthem
that everybody would sing,
1303
01:09:28,752 --> 01:09:33,213
but lyrically, what he was trying to say
is a little sad for me.
1304
01:09:33,214 --> 01:09:36,258
[Vernon] He was just laying out
the dysfunction of family.
1305
01:09:36,259 --> 01:09:37,634
Talking about it's a family affair.
1306
01:09:37,635 --> 01:09:39,094
You know, you don't understand it,
you don't get it.
1307
01:09:39,095 --> 01:09:42,014
That had never been a subject
of a popular song before.
1308
01:09:42,015 --> 01:09:46,101
♪ You can't cry
'cause you'll look broke down ♪
1309
01:09:46,102 --> 01:09:49,355
♪ But you're cryin' anyway
'cause you're all broke down ♪
1310
01:09:49,356 --> 01:09:53,192
- ♪ It's a family affair ♪
- ♪ It's a family affair ♪
1311
01:09:53,193 --> 01:09:57,363
[David] There's a Riot Goin' On.
It took two and a half years
1312
01:09:57,364 --> 01:10:01,867
for Sly to produce that album
because everything was falling apart.
1313
01:10:01,868 --> 01:10:05,496
The record company
was on my case, big-time.
1314
01:10:05,497 --> 01:10:09,875
So, I created a campaign called
"Two and a half years
1315
01:10:09,876 --> 01:10:12,544
is a short time to wait
for a work of genius."
1316
01:10:12,545 --> 01:10:15,589
[David laughing]
1317
01:10:15,590 --> 01:10:17,759
♪
1318
01:10:19,135 --> 01:10:22,596
[Vernon] With There's a Riot Goin' On,
I don't think that Sylvester Stewart
1319
01:10:22,597 --> 01:10:25,557
could face doing another
Everyday People.
1320
01:10:25,558 --> 01:10:28,144
[♪ "Luv N' Haight" playing]
1321
01:10:30,897 --> 01:10:33,399
Hippie Nation, they got co-opted.
1322
01:10:33,400 --> 01:10:35,651
The civil rights dream,
it didn't happen.
1323
01:10:35,652 --> 01:10:37,737
♪
1324
01:10:40,115 --> 01:10:42,783
The anxiety, the pressure,
the drug use
1325
01:10:42,784 --> 01:10:45,244
pushed him
into this whole other space.
1326
01:10:45,245 --> 01:10:47,496
♪ Feel so good inside myself ♪
1327
01:10:47,497 --> 01:10:50,124
♪ Don't want to move ♪
1328
01:10:50,125 --> 01:10:54,504
♪ Feel so good inside myself,
don't need to move ♪
1329
01:10:55,588 --> 01:10:59,426
♪ As I go up, I'm going down ♪
1330
01:11:00,760 --> 01:11:05,139
♪ And when I'm lost,
I know I will be found ♪
1331
01:11:05,140 --> 01:11:06,807
- ♪ Feel so good ♪
- ♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
1332
01:11:06,808 --> 01:11:10,310
- ♪ Oh, don't want to move ♪
- ♪ Yeah ♪
1333
01:11:10,311 --> 01:11:13,815
♪ Feel so good inside myself,
don't need to move ♪
1334
01:11:15,442 --> 01:11:20,446
Riot is the grime, it's dirt,
and it's him grabbing his nuts on it.
1335
01:11:20,447 --> 01:11:24,408
The title itself is an answer to
Marvin Gaye's What's Going On,
1336
01:11:24,409 --> 01:11:27,161
which was so beautifully seductive.
1337
01:11:27,162 --> 01:11:29,538
Riot is raw.
It's raw as fuck.
1338
01:11:29,539 --> 01:11:32,083
♪
1339
01:11:49,392 --> 01:11:52,686
I hear a person
that is reimagining his own music
1340
01:11:52,687 --> 01:11:56,315
at that time to stay interested
and try different things.
1341
01:11:56,316 --> 01:11:59,735
With Thank You for Talkin' to Me, Africa,
he was doing chopped and screwed
1342
01:11:59,736 --> 01:12:01,904
before chopped and screwed.
1343
01:12:01,905 --> 01:12:08,285
♪ Thank you falettinme
be mice elf agin ♪
1344
01:12:08,286 --> 01:12:12,081
[Q-Tip] 'Cause he had huge pop success
from Woodstock,
1345
01:12:12,082 --> 01:12:15,542
I could see Sly wanting to say,
"Now, wait a minute now.
1346
01:12:15,543 --> 01:12:17,670
"I'm-- I'm still a brother, you know.
1347
01:12:17,671 --> 01:12:19,546
"I'm still a nigga,
you know what I'm saying?
1348
01:12:19,547 --> 01:12:20,798
I'll still fuck y'all niggas up."
1349
01:12:20,799 --> 01:12:23,259
I can see Sly being on
some shit like that.
1350
01:12:24,969 --> 01:12:27,096
[André 3000]
There's a Riot Goin' On album cover.
1351
01:12:27,097 --> 01:12:31,892
That red, black, and white flag
inspired the Stankonia album cover.
1352
01:12:31,893 --> 01:12:35,521
To wrap that flag around you
is interesting
1353
01:12:35,522 --> 01:12:39,483
when you see a Black person do it,
because you know our version of America
1354
01:12:39,484 --> 01:12:43,654
is-- is different from the rest
of the world's view of America.
1355
01:12:43,655 --> 01:12:47,282
We're in an America,
but then we're in a Black America too.
1356
01:12:47,283 --> 01:12:48,992
We're in two different realities.
1357
01:12:48,993 --> 01:12:54,373
♪ My only weapon is my pen ♪
1358
01:12:54,374 --> 01:12:58,877
♪ And the frame of mind I'm in ♪
1359
01:12:58,878 --> 01:13:03,465
With Riot, some people felt
fundamentally betrayed, you know?
1360
01:13:03,466 --> 01:13:06,093
They said,
"Oh, well, we thought you were--
1361
01:13:06,094 --> 01:13:09,096
"We thought you were an integrationist.
We thought you were an accommoda--
1362
01:13:09,097 --> 01:13:12,182
Uh, we thought we were-- we thought
we were good, we were cool," right?
1363
01:13:12,183 --> 01:13:15,310
And there's some shocking things
that critics had to say about him.
1364
01:13:15,311 --> 01:13:19,231
♪ Yeah, a poet ♪
1365
01:13:19,232 --> 01:13:22,277
The sharpness of those critiques
says that he was being punished.
1366
01:13:23,987 --> 01:13:27,156
♪ Said the things I flash on every day ♪
1367
01:13:27,157 --> 01:13:31,118
Black musicians were still,
in the eyes of many, just entertainers.
1368
01:13:31,119 --> 01:13:34,080
♪ Reflect on what I say ♪
1369
01:13:35,373 --> 01:13:36,832
[Mark]
And part of what the critics are saying
1370
01:13:36,833 --> 01:13:40,127
in their critique of Riot
is, "Just entertain us."
1371
01:13:40,128 --> 01:13:44,132
What is this self-indulgent,
uppity nigga shit?
1372
01:13:44,841 --> 01:13:46,550
[Questlove] Do you think
there's a double standard
1373
01:13:46,551 --> 01:13:49,678
where some artists are allowed
to change, and grow, and evolve,
1374
01:13:49,679 --> 01:13:51,555
and then some artists
aren't allowed to do that?
1375
01:13:51,556 --> 01:13:54,266
Well, if you think about somebody
like David Bowie,
1376
01:13:54,267 --> 01:13:59,104
he was allowed to have the space
and the comfort to be able to go
1377
01:13:59,105 --> 01:14:04,443
through his chameleon-like
creative and artistic changes.
1378
01:14:04,444 --> 01:14:07,780
That space is not the same for Sly.
1379
01:14:07,781 --> 01:14:11,367
I think with Black innovation,
you're risking people looking at you,
1380
01:14:11,368 --> 01:14:14,745
thinking that you're weird and you're odd,
and you're on to some other shit.
1381
01:14:14,746 --> 01:14:16,498
It may fuck with you.
1382
01:14:17,499 --> 01:14:21,210
[Vernon] Sly was starting to sing
about unsettling things
1383
01:14:21,211 --> 01:14:23,921
in a way that would creep up on you.
1384
01:14:23,922 --> 01:14:27,966
♪ Runnin' away to get away ♪
1385
01:14:27,967 --> 01:14:30,469
♪ Ha-ha, ha-ha ♪
1386
01:14:30,470 --> 01:14:35,683
♪ You're wearin' out your shoes ♪
1387
01:14:35,684 --> 01:14:39,436
He's really talking about, "Yo, yo, dude,
the walls are closing in on you, ha-ha."
1388
01:14:39,437 --> 01:14:44,108
♪ The deeper in debt,
the harder you bet ♪
1389
01:14:44,109 --> 01:14:49,488
♪ He-he, he-he,
you need more room to play ♪
1390
01:14:49,489 --> 01:14:52,282
[D'Angelo]
"The deeper in debt, the harder you bet."
1391
01:14:52,283 --> 01:14:55,327
That in particular always gets to me.
1392
01:14:55,328 --> 01:14:58,288
- ♪ Look at you foolin' you ♪
- [D'Angelo] "Look at you foolin' you."
1393
01:14:58,289 --> 01:15:01,084
It's like you're speaking
to your own subconscious.
1394
01:15:02,127 --> 01:15:05,963
[Ruth] I think he had a lot
of insecurity, a lot of fear.
1395
01:15:05,964 --> 01:15:10,050
He never talked to me about fear,
because he was very proud.
1396
01:15:10,051 --> 01:15:13,679
But I think his fear started
when Greg left the band,
1397
01:15:13,680 --> 01:15:18,018
because he never thought anybody
in the band would leave.
1398
01:15:18,977 --> 01:15:22,938
[Bubba] Paranoia might have set in.
You know, people start losing it.
1399
01:15:22,939 --> 01:15:25,441
Little petty things start happening.
1400
01:15:25,442 --> 01:15:28,944
Anything that's negative.
I always have a tendency
1401
01:15:28,945 --> 01:15:31,196
to, you know, drift away from that.
1402
01:15:31,197 --> 01:15:36,452
[Stephani] I didn't see any issues with
Sly and Larry at the beginning,
1403
01:15:36,453 --> 01:15:41,999
but there were people around
that stirred up stuff.
1404
01:15:42,000 --> 01:15:45,836
[Rustee Allen] There was rumors
that Larry was afraid for his life,
1405
01:15:45,837 --> 01:15:48,631
'cause, you know, Bubba and some--
some other stuff.
1406
01:16:00,685 --> 01:16:02,686
[Larry]
When you're in a family,
1407
01:16:02,687 --> 01:16:07,525
there just comes a point
where you leave home.
1408
01:16:08,818 --> 01:16:12,405
When it was time to go, I just left.
1409
01:16:13,698 --> 01:16:16,033
It wasn't complicated.
[laughing]
1410
01:16:16,034 --> 01:16:18,578
It's just, I'm gone.
1411
01:16:24,042 --> 01:16:26,878
[Questlove]
What's your definition of self-sabotage?
1412
01:16:28,338 --> 01:16:31,507
There are a million ways
to self-sabotage as an artist.
1413
01:16:31,508 --> 01:16:34,593
Some of them are self-harming,
1414
01:16:34,594 --> 01:16:39,306
you know, through overuse
of drugs and alcohol.
1415
01:16:39,307 --> 01:16:42,601
Not showing up for shows,
not showing up on time.
1416
01:16:42,602 --> 01:16:45,979
The biggest way, though,
is to ruin relationships,
1417
01:16:45,980 --> 01:16:49,942
because most art
requires collaboration.
1418
01:16:49,943 --> 01:16:52,069
[cheering and applause]
1419
01:16:52,070 --> 01:16:54,155
♪
1420
01:16:57,200 --> 01:16:59,828
After that, I felt like,
what more could happen?
1421
01:17:01,204 --> 01:17:02,871
Sly would bring in new members.
1422
01:17:02,872 --> 01:17:05,708
Rustee learned all of Larry's parts.
He's a hell of a bass player.
1423
01:17:05,709 --> 01:17:07,668
♪ Bullets start chasin' ♪
1424
01:17:07,669 --> 01:17:10,379
[Jerry] He hired Pat Rizzo.
He was a great jazz player.
1425
01:17:10,380 --> 01:17:11,755
♪ I begin to stop, ow ♪
1426
01:17:11,756 --> 01:17:15,551
Andy Newmark came in.
He was a badass drummer.
1427
01:17:15,552 --> 01:17:20,305
♪ Thank you falettinme
be mice elf agin ♪
1428
01:17:20,306 --> 01:17:22,225
[Jerry]
We were still a great band.
1429
01:17:23,893 --> 01:17:27,104
But the original band
could not be duplicated.
1430
01:17:27,105 --> 01:17:28,939
All you can do is just make shit work.
1431
01:17:28,940 --> 01:17:31,026
♪
1432
01:17:33,153 --> 01:17:35,988
[Stephen Paley] Sly didn't need the band.
He needed the band to tour
1433
01:17:35,989 --> 01:17:38,742
because the audience
needed to hear the hits.
1434
01:17:39,951 --> 01:17:42,036
But for the music
that Sly had in his head,
1435
01:17:42,037 --> 01:17:44,204
the band wasn't necessary.
1436
01:17:44,205 --> 01:17:47,333
[Vernon] The sense of collectivism
had completely vanished,
1437
01:17:47,334 --> 01:17:51,253
and he had become
the subject of the music.
1438
01:17:51,254 --> 01:17:55,215
His self-inflicted wounds,
the ways in which he messed up,
1439
01:17:55,216 --> 01:17:59,053
the ways in which he could
have died of a drug overdose.
1440
01:17:59,054 --> 01:18:01,055
♪ Yeah, oh ♪
1441
01:18:01,056 --> 01:18:04,768
♪ Sunday morning,
I forgot my prayer ♪
1442
01:18:05,894 --> 01:18:10,106
♪ I should have been happy,
yeah, I still be there ♪
1443
01:18:11,483 --> 01:18:13,567
- ♪ Something could have come ♪
- ♪ Thankful ♪
1444
01:18:13,568 --> 01:18:15,945
♪ And taken me away ♪
1445
01:18:17,113 --> 01:18:18,822
- ♪ But the main man felt ♪
- ♪ Thoughtful ♪
1446
01:18:18,823 --> 01:18:21,492
♪ Syl should be here another day ♪
1447
01:18:21,493 --> 01:18:25,788
The words and the music are indicative
of the life that I live.
1448
01:18:25,789 --> 01:18:30,209
So, it's the truth, so--
and you can't really get around the people
1449
01:18:30,210 --> 01:18:31,877
when they hear the truth.
1450
01:18:31,878 --> 01:18:34,588
If you live long enough,
they'll find out
1451
01:18:34,589 --> 01:18:37,549
whether you're telling the truth
or whether you're jiving.
1452
01:18:37,550 --> 01:18:42,012
♪ There's a mickey
in the tasting of disaster ♪
1453
01:18:42,013 --> 01:18:44,223
- ♪ In time ♪
- ♪ In time ♪
1454
01:18:44,224 --> 01:18:45,683
♪ You get faster ♪
1455
01:18:45,684 --> 01:18:49,812
[Vernon] Fresh is the last great
Sly and the Family Stone record.
1456
01:18:49,813 --> 01:18:51,231
♪ As if he has to ♪
1457
01:18:52,482 --> 01:18:54,900
In many ways,
that's the purest Sly that we hear.
1458
01:18:54,901 --> 01:18:57,945
Not driven by the market,
looking inward.
1459
01:18:57,946 --> 01:19:00,155
♪ Something moving in the brain ♪
1460
01:19:00,156 --> 01:19:02,074
[Stephen] But the music was going
in a different direction,
1461
01:19:02,075 --> 01:19:04,159
and it was not reaching
white people anymore.
1462
01:19:04,160 --> 01:19:05,536
♪ Feel a little newer ♪
1463
01:19:05,537 --> 01:19:08,997
[Vernon] Even with all of his
sophistication and his charm,
1464
01:19:08,998 --> 01:19:13,002
he was so isolated with his virtuosity.
1465
01:19:13,003 --> 01:19:15,462
One, two, three, unh.
1466
01:19:15,463 --> 01:19:17,589
[♪ "If You Want Me to Stay" playing]
1467
01:19:17,590 --> 01:19:19,633
Faster! Faster! Faster!
1468
01:19:19,634 --> 01:19:22,762
[grunting rhythm]
Yeah, alright, uh-huh.
1469
01:19:24,431 --> 01:19:28,726
♪ If you want me to stay,
I'll be around today ♪
1470
01:19:28,727 --> 01:19:32,605
♪ To be available for you to see ♪
1471
01:19:33,815 --> 01:19:37,985
♪ I'm about to go,
and then you'll know ♪
1472
01:19:37,986 --> 01:19:41,947
♪ Want me to stay here?
I got to be all me ♪
1473
01:19:41,948 --> 01:19:45,034
By that time,
Sly became a little less relevant.
1474
01:19:45,035 --> 01:19:47,953
He had influenced
so many different artists,
1475
01:19:47,954 --> 01:19:50,539
but new supersedes old, always.
1476
01:19:50,540 --> 01:19:54,418
So now, the same musicians
influenced by Sly Stone
1477
01:19:54,419 --> 01:19:56,128
became his competition.
1478
01:19:56,129 --> 01:19:58,840
So, he had to figure out
how to stay on the train.
1479
01:20:00,342 --> 01:20:03,886
[reporter] Guests were here
at Madison Square Garden last night
1480
01:20:03,887 --> 01:20:06,013
where 30-year-old Sylvester Stewart,
1481
01:20:06,014 --> 01:20:09,350
better known as Sly Stone
of Sly and the Family Stone,
1482
01:20:09,351 --> 01:20:11,894
was married to his 20-year-old sweetheart,
Kathy Silva.
1483
01:20:11,895 --> 01:20:15,065
Sly and Kathy already have
a nine-month-old son.
1484
01:20:16,399 --> 01:20:18,985
[Ruth] As a publicity thing,
I thought it was stupid.
1485
01:20:20,070 --> 01:20:22,654
In all reality, I don't know
if I should even say this on here,
1486
01:20:22,655 --> 01:20:25,699
but that's the only way we could
still sell out the Garden.
1487
01:20:25,700 --> 01:20:28,160
By the power that is invested in me,
1488
01:20:28,161 --> 01:20:29,870
I pronounce that
they are husband and wife.
1489
01:20:29,871 --> 01:20:31,622
In the name of the Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost.
1490
01:20:31,623 --> 01:20:33,624
[cheering and applause]
1491
01:20:33,625 --> 01:20:36,794
[♪ band playing]
1492
01:20:36,795 --> 01:20:38,338
♪ My baby ♪
1493
01:20:39,547 --> 01:20:42,383
[Stephen] The wedding was the height
of Sly's celebrity,
1494
01:20:42,384 --> 01:20:45,761
but his career
was on a downward trajectory.
1495
01:20:45,762 --> 01:20:49,431
His appearances on talk shows,
hosting music awards.
1496
01:20:49,432 --> 01:20:51,517
♪
1497
01:20:51,518 --> 01:20:55,896
♪ Oh, they still do the polka
In Milwaukee ♪
1498
01:20:55,897 --> 01:20:58,649
♪ Still do the waltz in Tennessee ♪
1499
01:20:58,650 --> 01:21:01,068
All this ridiculous shit
that we see him doing.
1500
01:21:01,069 --> 01:21:04,405
We're standing here with the table tennis
men's doubles champion.
1501
01:21:04,406 --> 01:21:06,615
Get him, Sly, get him.
Get him, Sly.
1502
01:21:06,616 --> 01:21:10,202
It's part of the spectacle of him
trying to remain relevant
1503
01:21:10,203 --> 01:21:14,373
when the culture
has passed him by, musically.
1504
01:21:14,374 --> 01:21:16,459
[slapping]
1505
01:21:18,545 --> 01:21:20,462
[laughing]
1506
01:21:20,463 --> 01:21:22,549
[applause]
1507
01:21:32,350 --> 01:21:35,144
[Cynthia]
When the band officially broke up?
1508
01:21:35,145 --> 01:21:38,981
Probably Radio City Music Hall,
New York.
1509
01:21:38,982 --> 01:21:41,067
♪
1510
01:21:42,569 --> 01:21:43,944
[laughing]
1511
01:21:43,945 --> 01:21:46,113
- Okay, come on, man.
- Okay, we shooting?
1512
01:21:46,114 --> 01:21:49,074
We're gonna-- you're gonna be
at the, uh, hall, right?
1513
01:21:49,075 --> 01:21:52,661
We're gonna play.
We got the best group in the world.
1514
01:21:52,662 --> 01:21:55,122
- [chuckles]
- [laughing] Okay?
1515
01:21:55,123 --> 01:21:57,750
I heard that! [laughing]
1516
01:21:57,751 --> 01:22:00,627
Aren't you gonna ask me about Kathy,
or the baby, or something?
1517
01:22:00,628 --> 01:22:03,589
Exactly. What is happening
with the wife and the baby?
1518
01:22:03,590 --> 01:22:05,759
They're doing what I tell 'em to do.
1519
01:22:07,552 --> 01:22:09,136
'Cause there's rumors that you broke up.
1520
01:22:09,137 --> 01:22:10,596
Tell me how you felt
when you were at the Garden--
1521
01:22:10,597 --> 01:22:12,890
There were rumors that I wasn't
gonna be at Radio City Music Hall.
1522
01:22:12,891 --> 01:22:14,099
[interviewer laughing]
1523
01:22:14,100 --> 01:22:16,268
[sing-songy]
♪ But you got that wrong ♪
1524
01:22:16,269 --> 01:22:18,937
[laughing] Okay?
1525
01:22:18,938 --> 01:22:22,441
Those performances ended up
being pretty disastrous.
1526
01:22:22,442 --> 01:22:24,109
- [electrical buzzing]
- [Jerry] It was empty.
1527
01:22:24,110 --> 01:22:26,028
There was maybe 200 people.
1528
01:22:26,029 --> 01:22:28,864
It was the worst show
that Sly and the Family Stone,
1529
01:22:28,865 --> 01:22:30,784
in my opinion, ever played.
1530
01:22:31,785 --> 01:22:34,828
It was a lousy gig.
My chops weren't up.
1531
01:22:34,829 --> 01:22:36,373
We hadn't been playing.
1532
01:22:37,374 --> 01:22:38,999
[Sly laughing]
1533
01:22:39,000 --> 01:22:43,630
I went back to my hotel
and Sly left, he-- he got out of town.
1534
01:22:44,631 --> 01:22:47,966
But I never got paid,
and so, uh, I was stuck.
1535
01:22:47,967 --> 01:22:49,511
I couldn't pay my hotel bill.
1536
01:22:50,595 --> 01:22:53,430
[Cynthia]
I didn't think that anybody in this crew
1537
01:22:53,431 --> 01:22:55,642
would ever want to not play
with each other.
1538
01:22:56,935 --> 01:22:59,437
But everybody walked away from it.
1539
01:23:03,233 --> 01:23:05,526
[Questlove]
As a Black artist, how hard is it
1540
01:23:05,527 --> 01:23:09,989
to be vulnerable in front
of a world watching you?
1541
01:23:10,990 --> 01:23:14,118
It's really hard.
It's-- it's the hardest thing to do.
1542
01:23:14,119 --> 01:23:18,497
The hang-ups, baggage, guilt,
1543
01:23:18,498 --> 01:23:23,085
and the pain and the shame
that comes with it, you know?
1544
01:23:23,086 --> 01:23:25,755
And if you don't know how to handle it,
if you don't...
1545
01:23:26,881 --> 01:23:30,009
have your soul centered,
1546
01:23:30,010 --> 01:23:34,346
and people around you
that you really trust,
1547
01:23:34,347 --> 01:23:37,183
and people that really know you
and that's really down for you...
1548
01:23:38,268 --> 01:23:39,894
Yeah, man, it can be...
1549
01:23:41,187 --> 01:23:44,189
could be unbearable, man.
Yeah.
1550
01:23:44,190 --> 01:23:48,069
You-- It'll make-- it'll turn you
into an unwilling participant.
1551
01:23:49,362 --> 01:23:51,781
And that's-- that's equivalent to hell.
1552
01:23:57,996 --> 01:24:01,457
[reporter] Sly Stone was on the top
of the music scene for ten years.
1553
01:24:01,458 --> 01:24:04,418
He had eight gold records,
toured the world several times,
1554
01:24:04,419 --> 01:24:07,629
caused mob scenes
wherever he went, sold out concerts,
1555
01:24:07,630 --> 01:24:10,299
and packed Madison Square Garden
for his wedding.
1556
01:24:10,300 --> 01:24:14,345
But for the past few years, Sly has become
less than a household word.
1557
01:24:14,346 --> 01:24:17,349
Well, whatever happened to Sly Stone?
1558
01:24:18,516 --> 01:24:20,309
[Sly]
It's nice to be missed.
1559
01:24:20,310 --> 01:24:22,144
It makes you feel like
you're on the right track
1560
01:24:22,145 --> 01:24:24,313
if somebody says,
"Well, where is Sly?"
1561
01:24:24,314 --> 01:24:25,815
I've been relaxing.
1562
01:24:28,276 --> 01:24:31,487
- You mean, you've sort of been on a break?
- Yes.
1563
01:24:31,488 --> 01:24:35,240
If you were just a disc jockey,
say at KSOL still,
1564
01:24:35,241 --> 01:24:40,245
and not Sly Stone, rock star,
do you think that pressures in the--
1565
01:24:40,246 --> 01:24:43,582
in lifestyle would be less, maybe?
1566
01:24:43,583 --> 01:24:47,796
I think that I was-- if I were doing
anything else, I'd be bored.
1567
01:24:49,089 --> 01:24:53,217
So, I just take it-- it all in stride.
1568
01:24:53,218 --> 01:24:56,387
You know, I-- I have to do
what I do anyway,
1569
01:24:56,388 --> 01:24:57,930
'cause that's what I want to do.
1570
01:24:57,931 --> 01:24:59,807
[chuckles]
So much, you know?
1571
01:24:59,808 --> 01:25:03,644
So, it's like, I'm trapped
doing what I want to do anyway.
1572
01:25:03,645 --> 01:25:05,354
Okay, play it.
1573
01:25:05,355 --> 01:25:08,774
[♪ singing melody]
1574
01:25:08,775 --> 01:25:10,860
♪
1575
01:25:12,195 --> 01:25:14,697
[Stephen] At this point,
when Sly would try to recreate
1576
01:25:14,698 --> 01:25:17,616
what he did in the past, it was pathetic.
1577
01:25:17,617 --> 01:25:20,953
It's like a woman or a man
dyeing their hair.
1578
01:25:20,954 --> 01:25:23,831
You can't bring it back.
I mean, it looks dyed.
1579
01:25:23,832 --> 01:25:27,084
♪ Feels like family again ♪
1580
01:25:27,085 --> 01:25:30,963
[Vernon] It sounds like Sly's struggling
to make optimistic records.
1581
01:25:30,964 --> 01:25:33,424
But to make an optimistic record
1582
01:25:33,425 --> 01:25:35,634
when you don't feel optimism
is the worst.
1583
01:25:35,635 --> 01:25:40,055
[Suzanne] Toward the end of the '70s,
we almost signed him to Motown.
1584
01:25:40,056 --> 01:25:42,766
His gift was abundant,
1585
01:25:42,767 --> 01:25:46,021
but he was damaged goods
at that point.
1586
01:25:46,980 --> 01:25:49,982
[Questlove] How does that make you feel
to see other artists become addicts
1587
01:25:49,983 --> 01:25:53,193
in order to cope
with what they're going through?
1588
01:25:53,194 --> 01:25:58,323
If you've been on this heightened,
explosive life,
1589
01:25:58,324 --> 01:26:01,410
your body
has taken in so much energy,
1590
01:26:01,411 --> 01:26:05,540
you've given out so much energy,
and you stop.
1591
01:26:07,292 --> 01:26:09,919
Where does that go?
Where's that energy go?
1592
01:26:11,046 --> 01:26:12,963
Or what are you feeding from?
1593
01:26:12,964 --> 01:26:15,133
What's taking up that space now?
1594
01:26:16,259 --> 01:26:18,636
[interviewer] Sly Stone, where have you
been the last few years, man?
1595
01:26:20,180 --> 01:26:21,388
[laughing]
1596
01:26:21,389 --> 01:26:23,224
You haven't been doing much.
Are you-- you gonna--
1597
01:26:35,320 --> 01:26:37,072
Are you guys gonna be working out
together now, or what?
1598
01:26:38,365 --> 01:26:39,365
- Really?
- Yeah.
1599
01:26:39,366 --> 01:26:40,449
[Sly]
No.
1600
01:26:40,450 --> 01:26:42,493
[George]
Me and Sly, we was tight.
1601
01:26:42,494 --> 01:26:45,496
So, when it came time
for P-Funk to go on tour,
1602
01:26:45,497 --> 01:26:50,376
we got Sly to open up for us
on the very first Mothership tour.
1603
01:26:50,377 --> 01:26:54,421
♪ Time is passing, I grow older,
things are happening fast ♪
1604
01:26:54,422 --> 01:26:57,675
♪ All I have to hold onto
is a simple song at last ♪
1605
01:26:57,676 --> 01:27:02,096
- ♪ Well, let me hear you say ♪
- ♪ Ya ♪
1606
01:27:02,097 --> 01:27:06,809
- ♪ Ya-ya-ya, ya ♪
- ♪ Yeah, whoo, sing a simple song ♪
1607
01:27:06,810 --> 01:27:09,103
[George]
We still had fun until we didn't.
1608
01:27:09,104 --> 01:27:10,854
But he did his same habits.
1609
01:27:10,855 --> 01:27:13,232
If the promoters got him
pissed off enough,
1610
01:27:13,233 --> 01:27:14,651
you know, he might not come on.
1611
01:27:16,236 --> 01:27:18,570
- Yeah, we got...
- [George] Sly.
1612
01:27:18,571 --> 01:27:20,739
♪ Ya-ya-ya ♪
1613
01:27:20,740 --> 01:27:22,533
Hey, Sly, shake what
you brought with you.
1614
01:27:22,534 --> 01:27:24,284
♪ Ya-ya-ya, ya ♪
1615
01:27:24,285 --> 01:27:26,495
- Everybody...
- I'll be-- I'll be back.
1616
01:27:26,496 --> 01:27:28,497
[George]
Yeah, yeah!
1617
01:27:28,498 --> 01:27:30,874
Yeah, Sly Stone, y'all!
1618
01:27:30,875 --> 01:27:33,794
[Questlove] You and Sly are hanging out
a lot in the '70s and '80s.
1619
01:27:33,795 --> 01:27:35,838
What was that relationship like?
1620
01:27:35,839 --> 01:27:39,550
90% of the time,
chasing the drugs.
1621
01:27:39,551 --> 01:27:42,720
♪ I know you want to ♪
1622
01:27:42,721 --> 01:27:45,889
By then, the crack thing come
and Me and Sly,
1623
01:27:45,890 --> 01:27:49,476
well, I'll put it like that.
We were crackheads.
1624
01:27:49,477 --> 01:27:52,646
[reporter] Crack-- the cheap,
highly addictive form of cocaine.
1625
01:27:52,647 --> 01:27:54,189
[Questlove]
What is that feeling like?
1626
01:27:54,190 --> 01:27:56,734
Like, what's the-- what's the power
you feel, the rush you feel?
1627
01:27:56,735 --> 01:27:59,028
Almost like getting a nut.
1628
01:27:59,029 --> 01:28:01,113
[Questlove laughing]
1629
01:28:01,114 --> 01:28:03,157
[George chuckling]
1630
01:28:03,158 --> 01:28:05,617
[George]
And the fact is that after that first one,
1631
01:28:05,618 --> 01:28:08,162
it don't happen no more like that.
1632
01:28:08,163 --> 01:28:09,747
You are hooked at that time.
1633
01:28:09,748 --> 01:28:12,291
[Questlove]
Would you ever talk to him about like,
1634
01:28:12,292 --> 01:28:14,835
"Maybe we should slow down
a little bit or..."?
1635
01:28:14,836 --> 01:28:17,296
[laughing]
Why?
1636
01:28:17,297 --> 01:28:20,507
No, no, hell, no.
I mean, that was-- that--
1637
01:28:20,508 --> 01:28:22,676
I think that might have been our problem.
1638
01:28:22,677 --> 01:28:24,970
We was like two kids.
1639
01:28:24,971 --> 01:28:28,140
Once we got together,
when we got busted together...
1640
01:28:28,141 --> 01:28:29,641
[Questlove]
You guys got busted together?
1641
01:28:29,642 --> 01:28:32,728
[George] Yeah, the police,
before they even said anything to us,
1642
01:28:32,729 --> 01:28:36,858
"Oh, no, Sly Stone and Dr. Funkenstein.
Oh, hell no."
1643
01:28:37,901 --> 01:28:41,820
[Vernon] Sly was a master
at transmitting parables,
1644
01:28:41,821 --> 01:28:44,281
and it had to be incredibly difficult
1645
01:28:44,282 --> 01:28:48,452
to find yourself in the middle
of a parable yourself.
1646
01:28:48,453 --> 01:28:50,788
[Bryant Gumbel] Audiences couldn't get
enough of hits like Everyday People,
1647
01:28:50,789 --> 01:28:53,165
Dance to the Music,
I Want to Take You Higher.
1648
01:28:53,166 --> 01:28:56,752
But behind the scenes,
Sly was taking himself higher, with drugs.
1649
01:28:56,753 --> 01:28:59,171
The effect on his career
was devastating.
1650
01:28:59,172 --> 01:29:03,050
A story of incredible promise
and great success,
1651
01:29:03,051 --> 01:29:06,303
leading to a kind of,
you know, public tragedy.
1652
01:29:06,304 --> 01:29:09,848
Sly Stone of the 1970s rock group
Sly and the Family Stone,
1653
01:29:09,849 --> 01:29:11,266
who was arrested last summer
1654
01:29:11,267 --> 01:29:13,227
for possession of cocaine,
pleaded no contest.
1655
01:29:13,228 --> 01:29:16,397
[Vernon] He was an eyesore.
He was shameful.
1656
01:29:16,398 --> 01:29:19,274
This person was a renegade,
and America always loves it
1657
01:29:19,275 --> 01:29:22,319
when renegades are brought to heel.
1658
01:29:22,320 --> 01:29:26,490
[Dream] In the early '80s,
we're entering into a conservatism,
1659
01:29:26,491 --> 01:29:28,909
not just in the media,
but in the general public.
1660
01:29:28,910 --> 01:29:31,120
Drugs are menacing our society.
1661
01:29:31,121 --> 01:29:32,871
Just say no.
1662
01:29:32,872 --> 01:29:36,000
[Dream]
So, I'm not surprised that in Sly's case,
1663
01:29:36,001 --> 01:29:38,210
the reporting was so joyful and gleeful.
1664
01:29:38,211 --> 01:29:42,131
[reporter] He also lost a small fortune,
blamed on, depending who you talk to,
1665
01:29:42,132 --> 01:29:45,050
high living, bad management,
swindling promoters
1666
01:29:45,051 --> 01:29:47,052
and record producers, and drugs.
1667
01:29:47,053 --> 01:29:51,640
[Vernon] Sly was a great person
to be made an example of,
1668
01:29:51,641 --> 01:29:54,268
and he did himself no favors.
1669
01:29:54,269 --> 01:29:57,980
[Mark] By the 1980s,
Sly Stone gets totally divorced
1670
01:29:57,981 --> 01:30:03,485
from his contributions to the culture
that were so powerful and palpable
1671
01:30:03,486 --> 01:30:06,488
in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
1672
01:30:06,489 --> 01:30:08,615
- You ready to get real good and serious?
- Sure.
1673
01:30:08,616 --> 01:30:09,992
- Yeah, I want to get serious.
- [guest] Sure, anything.
1674
01:30:09,993 --> 01:30:12,870
- Any-- any way you want to go.
- [Sly sighs]
1675
01:30:12,871 --> 01:30:16,707
- Were you into the drug scene?
- Y-- A bit. A bit.
1676
01:30:16,708 --> 01:30:19,209
What did you take?
What were you into?
1677
01:30:19,210 --> 01:30:23,005
I smoked marijuana.
I tried angel dust, which is--
1678
01:30:23,006 --> 01:30:24,506
- [host whistles]
- I wanna do-- I wanna do
1679
01:30:24,507 --> 01:30:26,759
a public service spot for everybody.
1680
01:30:26,760 --> 01:30:28,510
Do it right here.
Do it on this show.
1681
01:30:28,511 --> 01:30:30,012
- Well...
- Do it right now on angel dust, please.
1682
01:30:30,013 --> 01:30:31,764
I didn't smoke a long time,
I just tried-- tried the mess.
1683
01:30:31,765 --> 01:30:33,432
- Please do it for me--
- It's about nothing.
1684
01:30:33,433 --> 01:30:35,434
It's about nothing.
1685
01:30:35,435 --> 01:30:37,978
And the worst thing
that it could be about if--
1686
01:30:37,979 --> 01:30:40,606
when I tried it,
is that there are a lot of people
1687
01:30:40,607 --> 01:30:44,777
that like to be about somebody
that they dig, you know what I mean?
1688
01:30:44,778 --> 01:30:47,071
- [guest] Mm-hmm.
- And just because maybe my brain
1689
01:30:47,072 --> 01:30:49,948
did not collapse, and thank God--
All praise is due to who?
1690
01:30:49,949 --> 01:30:51,283
You know what I mean?
1691
01:30:51,284 --> 01:30:55,287
It's too-- it's bad for other people
that may admire you.
1692
01:30:55,288 --> 01:30:58,290
My part on this Earth is to be
an example, and it's very hard.
1693
01:30:58,291 --> 01:31:01,336
It's a lonely trip sometimes.
It is.
1694
01:31:02,337 --> 01:31:04,421
[Mark]
Mike Douglas is pushing Sly,
1695
01:31:04,422 --> 01:31:08,676
"Can you say to the crowd
why angel dust is bad,"
1696
01:31:08,677 --> 01:31:12,388
but never asking him,
"Where were you in your life
1697
01:31:12,389 --> 01:31:16,392
that you felt the need
to have to take on angel dust?"
1698
01:31:16,393 --> 01:31:21,772
There's a desire for Black folks
to blow up in public.
1699
01:31:21,773 --> 01:31:23,816
And unfortunately,
it's not just white folks.
1700
01:31:23,817 --> 01:31:26,402
There are Black folks
who are complicit in this also,
1701
01:31:26,403 --> 01:31:27,861
because it's human nature.
1702
01:31:27,862 --> 01:31:31,240
[Q-Tip]
The first part of it is jokes.
1703
01:31:31,241 --> 01:31:35,327
Then the second thing is usually
some sort of just, like, tear-down.
1704
01:31:35,328 --> 01:31:39,206
And then, lastly, the finishing blow.
[chuckles]
1705
01:31:39,207 --> 01:31:41,793
It gets violent, where it's like,
"Fuck that motherfucker."
1706
01:31:42,627 --> 01:31:44,753
[Greg]
He had gone into rehab once.
1707
01:31:44,754 --> 01:31:48,924
I remember, um, hearing from a few people
I knew that were in there,
1708
01:31:48,925 --> 01:31:50,634
"Man, Sly looks great."
1709
01:31:50,635 --> 01:31:52,886
And he was doing great.
It was really happening.
1710
01:31:52,887 --> 01:31:56,598
The place is a, uh,
a rehabilitation center.
1711
01:31:56,599 --> 01:32:00,019
Uh, you get a chance to, uh...
1712
01:32:00,020 --> 01:32:04,273
to, uh, find out about getting up
early mornings, doing chores.
1713
01:32:04,274 --> 01:32:06,358
You get great therapy.
1714
01:32:06,359 --> 01:32:09,862
There's nice counseling
to find out things about yourself
1715
01:32:09,863 --> 01:32:13,198
that maybe for some reason,
you could have forgotten.
1716
01:32:13,199 --> 01:32:16,326
And, uh, and I'm straight now.
1717
01:32:16,327 --> 01:32:20,957
It lasted for, I don't know,
several months, maybe six months.
1718
01:32:22,042 --> 01:32:25,961
And then, things went back
to the way they were, unfortunately.
1719
01:32:25,962 --> 01:32:30,549
♪ I've been so high
I touched the sky ♪
1720
01:32:30,550 --> 01:32:37,139
♪ And the sky says,
Sly, won't you just try hard to get by ♪
1721
01:32:37,140 --> 01:32:40,351
[Sylvester Stewart, Jr.]
As a kid, hearing about him
1722
01:32:40,352 --> 01:32:45,106
being arrested, or, you know,
for drugs or whatever...
1723
01:32:46,191 --> 01:32:48,109
um, I didn't like it.
1724
01:32:49,277 --> 01:32:52,112
I always wanted him to be the person
1725
01:32:52,113 --> 01:32:56,116
that I was always told he was
when I was a baby.
1726
01:32:56,117 --> 01:33:00,245
My parents separated
around the time I was two.
1727
01:33:00,246 --> 01:33:02,664
They had the divorce a few years later.
1728
01:33:02,665 --> 01:33:05,000
He was a rock-and-roller,
and she didn't want me
1729
01:33:05,001 --> 01:33:06,795
to grow up in that life.
1730
01:33:07,796 --> 01:33:11,215
[Phunne Stone] I think that my dad
is really actually shy,
1731
01:33:11,216 --> 01:33:14,760
and I think drugs helped him be fearless.
1732
01:33:14,761 --> 01:33:18,097
My parents are Cynthia Robinson,
1733
01:33:18,098 --> 01:33:22,184
the original and only trumpet player
of Sly and the Family Stone
1734
01:33:22,185 --> 01:33:25,729
and Sylvester Stewart, a.k.a. Sly Stone.
1735
01:33:25,730 --> 01:33:30,776
My mom loved him
more than any man.
1736
01:33:30,777 --> 01:33:34,238
She never dated another man
after my dad.
1737
01:33:34,239 --> 01:33:36,407
But he wasn't always around.
1738
01:33:36,408 --> 01:33:39,410
And when I lived with my mom,
I was the only kid around,
1739
01:33:39,411 --> 01:33:41,995
just in an adult world,
to where I thought I was grown.
1740
01:33:41,996 --> 01:33:44,915
One time, I was playing house
with my friends,
1741
01:33:44,916 --> 01:33:47,918
and my dad had just came by,
and every time he would leave,
1742
01:33:47,919 --> 01:33:49,837
there'd be about four
or five razor blades,
1743
01:33:49,838 --> 01:33:51,130
you know, splattered around the house.
1744
01:33:51,131 --> 01:33:55,509
So, I went and grabbed me one,
and my box of chalk,
1745
01:33:55,510 --> 01:33:57,469
and I said, "We gonna do
what the grown folks do."
1746
01:33:57,470 --> 01:34:01,015
So, I got my chalk, and I chopped up
about 37 lines of chalk out there,
1747
01:34:01,016 --> 01:34:02,975
got the Monopoly money, rolled it up.
1748
01:34:02,976 --> 01:34:05,310
Okay, I had the kids out there.
We out there...
1749
01:34:05,311 --> 01:34:07,146
[snorting]
About 19 lines.
1750
01:34:07,147 --> 01:34:09,815
We sneezing and shit, and...
[laughing]
1751
01:34:09,816 --> 01:34:12,067
My mama came out and was like,
"What are you doing?"
1752
01:34:12,068 --> 01:34:13,944
We got-- I mean, it's green and pink,
1753
01:34:13,945 --> 01:34:15,696
'cause you know,
the chalk be different colors.
1754
01:34:15,697 --> 01:34:19,159
And I'm talking about, "Nothing!"
She beat the brakes off me.
1755
01:34:20,326 --> 01:34:22,745
[Novena]
I don't know when I became aware
1756
01:34:22,746 --> 01:34:26,749
of my dad's issues with the law
or with drugs.
1757
01:34:26,750 --> 01:34:30,045
I didn't have a lot of interaction
with my dad when I was a kid.
1758
01:34:30,920 --> 01:34:35,883
My mother and my dad were together
till I was only about three years old.
1759
01:34:35,884 --> 01:34:39,428
When I was maybe 10 or something,
I called his house,
1760
01:34:39,429 --> 01:34:41,805
and he was so out of it
that he didn't even know who I was,
1761
01:34:41,806 --> 01:34:44,516
and it was just like, I didn't like that.
1762
01:34:44,517 --> 01:34:47,686
It was not a good feeling,
and I wanted-- at that point,
1763
01:34:47,687 --> 01:34:49,689
I wanted something better for him.
1764
01:34:51,816 --> 01:34:54,319
[♪"Crazay" by Jesse Johnson
feat. Sly Stone playing]
1765
01:34:55,445 --> 01:34:56,571
♪ Whoo! ♪
1766
01:34:58,365 --> 01:35:02,284
In the years that I was with Sly,
he always wanted to create new music.
1767
01:35:02,285 --> 01:35:04,495
He never focused on his old songs.
1768
01:35:04,496 --> 01:35:08,415
♪ I think I wanna feel ya,
I just wanna thrill ya ♪
1769
01:35:08,416 --> 01:35:11,293
♪ Girl, gotta make you mine ♪
1770
01:35:11,294 --> 01:35:14,672
[Arlene Hirschkowitz] He thought in order
to make new money, generate new income,
1771
01:35:14,673 --> 01:35:18,008
you have to make new music,
and to make another hit record.
1772
01:35:18,009 --> 01:35:21,261
I needed attention and money,
and I-- I needed to do songs.
1773
01:35:21,262 --> 01:35:23,681
Yeah. Are you gonna be recording
again soon, or are you working--
1774
01:35:23,682 --> 01:35:25,808
- I'm gonna make some hit records.
- Make some hit records.
1775
01:35:25,809 --> 01:35:27,309
Those-- those are the kind
to make, by the way.
1776
01:35:27,310 --> 01:35:28,435
- Yeah.
- [audience laughter]
1777
01:35:28,436 --> 01:35:31,730
[Arlene]
Business-wise, it was a big mess.
1778
01:35:31,731 --> 01:35:33,732
Most of his royalties have been sold off.
1779
01:35:33,733 --> 01:35:35,943
And those old songs,
he didn't even care about anymore.
1780
01:35:35,944 --> 01:35:37,945
They meant nothing to him.
He never understood,
1781
01:35:37,946 --> 01:35:39,863
and I didn't understand
until later, myself,
1782
01:35:39,864 --> 01:35:41,907
that those old songs
could generate money today,
1783
01:35:41,908 --> 01:35:44,660
and they'd play on commercials,
or in a movie,
1784
01:35:44,661 --> 01:35:46,662
or in a television show,
and you can make money
1785
01:35:46,663 --> 01:35:48,539
using those songs.
Not a clue.
1786
01:35:48,540 --> 01:35:50,040
[dog barking]
1787
01:35:50,041 --> 01:35:52,251
[♪ music playing faintly in distance]
1788
01:35:52,252 --> 01:35:54,336
[emcee]
Say what?
1789
01:35:54,337 --> 01:35:57,381
I can't hear you.
I can't hear you.
1790
01:35:57,382 --> 01:36:00,592
[Mark] The crazy way that Black music
traditions are passed down,
1791
01:36:00,593 --> 01:36:03,637
is that very often,
younger folks are gravitating
1792
01:36:03,638 --> 01:36:05,931
to the music of older artists,
1793
01:36:05,932 --> 01:36:10,019
and older artists are absolutely oblivious
to the fact that it's occurring.
1794
01:36:10,020 --> 01:36:12,312
[emcee] Sly and the Family Stone
in the place to be,
1795
01:36:12,313 --> 01:36:14,732
the sixth annual
Zulu Nation anniversary.
1796
01:36:14,733 --> 01:36:18,068
[Mark] So, there's some irony
to the fact that at the same time
1797
01:36:18,069 --> 01:36:21,071
Sly Stone is trying
to reignite his career,
1798
01:36:21,072 --> 01:36:24,783
there are kids in the Bronx
listening to hip-hop, making hip-hop,
1799
01:36:24,784 --> 01:36:28,579
digging deep in the crates
in the archive of the music
1800
01:36:28,580 --> 01:36:30,706
that Sly had produced previously.
1801
01:36:30,707 --> 01:36:33,293
[♪ "Sing a Simple Song" by
Sly and the Family Stone playing]
1802
01:36:34,127 --> 01:36:36,253
[Q-Tip]
It was so easy for me to sample this.
1803
01:36:36,254 --> 01:36:39,131
- Right side is the drums.
- [♪ drumbeat playing]
1804
01:36:39,132 --> 01:36:42,509
Just the fucking backbone
of the whole joint, you know what I mean?
1805
01:36:42,510 --> 01:36:46,055
Sing a Simple Song
was just the break of all breaks.
1806
01:36:46,056 --> 01:36:47,806
[singing]
♪ We did it, we did it, we did it ♪
1807
01:36:47,807 --> 01:36:50,392
[♪ singing melody]
1808
01:36:50,393 --> 01:36:52,603
That drum pattern...
[imitating drumbeat]
1809
01:36:52,604 --> 01:36:54,813
like that talk between
the kick and the snare,
1810
01:36:54,814 --> 01:36:57,858
that pattern was a precursor to hip-hop.
1811
01:36:57,859 --> 01:36:58,942
Ba-dum.
1812
01:36:58,943 --> 01:37:01,070
For hip-hoppers,
Sly set us all up
1813
01:37:01,071 --> 01:37:05,074
for what we were supposed to do
for the next 40, 50 years, and today.
1814
01:37:05,075 --> 01:37:07,659
Sly, man, and Greg, man,
it's like...
1815
01:37:07,660 --> 01:37:09,787
- [♪ drumbeat playing]
- This shit's just stomping.
1816
01:37:09,788 --> 01:37:12,706
Like he putting foot
on this motherfucker.
1817
01:37:12,707 --> 01:37:14,668
♪
1818
01:37:16,711 --> 01:37:19,630
♪ Because I got it like that, whoo! ♪
1819
01:37:19,631 --> 01:37:23,717
[Vernon] Hip-hop preserves Sly's music
because DJs, crate diggers,
1820
01:37:23,718 --> 01:37:25,761
producers, they just hearing the grooves.
1821
01:37:25,762 --> 01:37:30,307
♪ Hey, hey, hey, hey,
hey, hey, hey, hey ♪
1822
01:37:30,308 --> 01:37:32,893
♪
1823
01:37:32,894 --> 01:37:35,562
- ♪ Riddle me this, my brother ♪
- ♪ Can you handle it? ♪
1824
01:37:35,563 --> 01:37:38,941
[Vernon] Hip-hop generation,
they're not connected to Sly's history.
1825
01:37:38,942 --> 01:37:42,027
They're not thinking about,
"Oh, this is a man destroying himself."
1826
01:37:42,028 --> 01:37:43,654
They're thinking,
"Oh, this is dope."
1827
01:37:43,655 --> 01:37:47,491
♪ Ah-ah-ah-ah,
ah-ah-ah-ah ♪
1828
01:37:47,492 --> 01:37:50,662
♪ Don't call it a comeback,
I've been here for years ♪
1829
01:37:50,787 --> 01:37:53,497
♪ I'm rocking my peers, putting suckers
in fear, making the tears ♪
1830
01:37:53,498 --> 01:37:57,209
[Vernon] It's a remarkable thing
when a fragment of music resonates.
1831
01:37:57,210 --> 01:38:01,338
not as nostalgia,
but maybe somebody will go back
1832
01:38:01,339 --> 01:38:04,091
and hear some of these tunes
and go, "You know what?
1833
01:38:04,092 --> 01:38:08,387
"I-- I've been waiting for somebody
to-- to say what that feeling is,
1834
01:38:08,388 --> 01:38:12,516
and this person has done it.
This band has done it."
1835
01:38:12,517 --> 01:38:14,019
[♪ song ends]
1836
01:38:18,440 --> 01:38:22,359
[Stephen] In the early '90s,
Sly became reclusive.
1837
01:38:22,360 --> 01:38:25,612
He's given so much.
He's invented an alphabet,
1838
01:38:25,613 --> 01:38:28,907
and other people have written books
with his alphabet.
1839
01:38:28,908 --> 01:38:31,201
How much more
can you expect him to do?
1840
01:38:31,202 --> 01:38:35,122
Maybe he was just embarrassed that
he wasn't up to that kind of creativity.
1841
01:38:35,123 --> 01:38:38,375
And maybe if he can't be seen
at his best or heard at his best,
1842
01:38:38,376 --> 01:38:40,420
he'd rather not be seen or heard at all.
1843
01:38:41,421 --> 01:38:44,424
[faint applause
slowly increasing]
1844
01:38:45,884 --> 01:38:47,509
The one thing I've always wanted to see,
1845
01:38:47,510 --> 01:38:50,054
like most people want to see
the Beatles back together,
1846
01:38:50,055 --> 01:38:53,849
is to see Sly and the Family Stone
just standing somewhere in the same room.
1847
01:38:53,850 --> 01:38:56,518
- [chuckles]
- [cheering and applause]
1848
01:38:56,519 --> 01:38:59,438
[indistinct chatter]
1849
01:38:59,439 --> 01:39:03,067
January 12th, 1993,
Sly and the Family Stone
1850
01:39:03,068 --> 01:39:05,402
was inducted in
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
1851
01:39:05,403 --> 01:39:10,824
Um, it-- this is really,
truly a great honor.
1852
01:39:10,825 --> 01:39:12,326
We all gave our little speeches.
1853
01:39:12,327 --> 01:39:15,996
I can't believe I'm seeing everybody
after all these years and everything.
1854
01:39:15,997 --> 01:39:17,498
It was like a happy night.
1855
01:39:17,499 --> 01:39:21,335
We became a family,
living up to the name.
1856
01:39:21,336 --> 01:39:23,087
But Sly wasn't there.
1857
01:39:23,088 --> 01:39:26,340
It was really sad
that some of the group members
1858
01:39:26,341 --> 01:39:28,634
or band members could not be here tonight.
1859
01:39:28,635 --> 01:39:30,719
All day long we were sitting
up there trying to figure out
1860
01:39:30,720 --> 01:39:33,972
whether Sly was coming to the show.
Nobody saw him.
1861
01:39:33,973 --> 01:39:35,850
As usual, it's just us.
1862
01:39:36,851 --> 01:39:39,103
[George] And then, he came
out from under the curtain,
1863
01:39:39,104 --> 01:39:41,355
and everybody went crazy.
1864
01:39:41,356 --> 01:39:43,565
[cheering and applause]
1865
01:39:43,566 --> 01:39:45,234
- [band member] Here he is.
- [Cynthia] You showed up!
1866
01:39:45,235 --> 01:39:46,819
[Rose Stone]
Oh, it's this guy here.
1867
01:39:46,820 --> 01:39:48,905
[cheering and applause continues]
1868
01:39:51,783 --> 01:39:54,034
[♪ funk music playing]
1869
01:39:54,035 --> 01:39:55,994
[band members singing]
♪ Thank you falettinme ♪
1870
01:39:55,995 --> 01:39:59,040
♪ Be mice elf agin ♪
1871
01:40:01,501 --> 01:40:02,960
- [♪ music stops]
- Thank you.
1872
01:40:02,961 --> 01:40:05,046
[cheering and applause]
1873
01:40:08,591 --> 01:40:11,969
I believe everything's
been said, probably.
1874
01:40:11,970 --> 01:40:14,430
I don't want to forget
anybody saying thanks,
1875
01:40:14,431 --> 01:40:19,226
and you know, and--
so, uh, thank you all very much.
1876
01:40:19,227 --> 01:40:21,688
I love you personally
very much, and, uh...
1877
01:40:22,814 --> 01:40:24,732
See you soon.
1878
01:40:24,733 --> 01:40:26,818
[cheering and applause]
1879
01:40:28,611 --> 01:40:30,904
[Greg]
It was great.
1880
01:40:30,905 --> 01:40:34,533
You know, I remember him saying,
"See you all soon."
1881
01:40:34,534 --> 01:40:36,578
Like, was his last comment.
1882
01:40:38,580 --> 01:40:40,540
And you know, he could have.
1883
01:40:41,499 --> 01:40:46,463
It could have happened,
but it didn't.
1884
01:40:53,386 --> 01:40:55,637
- [♪ drums playing]
- [band member laughing]
1885
01:40:55,638 --> 01:40:57,681
[Sly] For about-- let's try it
about 12 more times.
1886
01:40:57,682 --> 01:40:59,141
[producer]
Stand!, take one.
1887
01:40:59,142 --> 01:41:01,602
[♪ music begins playing]
1888
01:41:01,603 --> 01:41:06,066
[Questlove] So, I want to ask you,
is there a burden on Black genius?
1889
01:41:07,400 --> 01:41:08,984
[D'Angelo]
I think so.
1890
01:41:08,985 --> 01:41:13,280
I think the burden is that
you do have to do it for everyone,
1891
01:41:13,281 --> 01:41:16,492
you know, and that your--
everybody else's success
1892
01:41:16,493 --> 01:41:18,994
rides on your success,
1893
01:41:18,995 --> 01:41:22,456
and that's a lot of pressure
to put on one's shoulders.
1894
01:41:22,457 --> 01:41:23,625
Um...
1895
01:41:26,211 --> 01:41:28,630
Heavy is the head
that wears the crown, right?
1896
01:41:30,548 --> 01:41:33,342
It's a burden and wings.
1897
01:41:33,343 --> 01:41:36,011
I think people have two fears
when it comes to, like,
1898
01:41:36,012 --> 01:41:39,556
putting art out-- art out into the world,
or anyone who's ambitious.
1899
01:41:39,557 --> 01:41:41,725
A fear of failure and a fear of success.
1900
01:41:41,726 --> 01:41:45,479
And I think that the fear of success
should be the greater fear.
1901
01:41:45,480 --> 01:41:48,148
When things come in between
you and the work,
1902
01:41:48,149 --> 01:41:52,027
and they start becoming
more prevalent than the work,
1903
01:41:52,028 --> 01:41:56,490
the burdens will mount,
mount, become monster,
1904
01:41:56,491 --> 01:41:59,243
step on you, swallow you.
1905
01:41:59,244 --> 01:42:00,661
[Sly] Wait a minute,
wait a minute, wait a minute.
1906
01:42:00,662 --> 01:42:01,870
Who's playing the wrong notes?
1907
01:42:01,871 --> 01:42:03,831
I don't know which one of you guys
are playing the wrong note,
1908
01:42:03,832 --> 01:42:05,499
but I know that one of you
playing the wrong note.
1909
01:42:05,500 --> 01:42:07,919
- Let's try it again.
- [producer] Rolling on take two.
1910
01:42:09,087 --> 01:42:12,214
[Mark]
Americans desire spectacle,
1911
01:42:12,215 --> 01:42:15,926
and Black artists are treated
1912
01:42:15,927 --> 01:42:20,806
as expendable, in this context.
1913
01:42:20,807 --> 01:42:23,727
We're just gonna eat you up
and we don't care...
1914
01:42:24,978 --> 01:42:26,854
what happens to you.
1915
01:42:26,855 --> 01:42:29,314
We're just gonna consume
what we need to consume from you,
1916
01:42:29,315 --> 01:42:31,859
and then we'll move on
to consume somebody else.
1917
01:42:31,860 --> 01:42:33,777
Sing your song and get out of here.
1918
01:42:33,778 --> 01:42:36,321
[laughing]
Here's your $20.
1919
01:42:36,322 --> 01:42:39,074
And go.
Go-- Go home.
1920
01:42:39,075 --> 01:42:42,286
When will we ever be allowed
to-- to be vulnerable?
1921
01:42:42,287 --> 01:42:43,705
To be human?
1922
01:42:45,081 --> 01:42:48,959
[Vernon] The one question that confronts
Black artists at whatever level,
1923
01:42:48,960 --> 01:42:50,545
is who do you think you are?
1924
01:42:51,713 --> 01:42:53,797
Who do you think you are?
1925
01:42:53,798 --> 01:42:55,342
What you think you doing?
1926
01:42:56,468 --> 01:42:59,720
We see the self-inflicted
wounds of trauma
1927
01:42:59,721 --> 01:43:03,974
being played out on stage
again and again.
1928
01:43:03,975 --> 01:43:07,644
The fact you are
exceptionally gifted, talented,
1929
01:43:07,645 --> 01:43:10,647
you can sing a song and play
multiple instruments,
1930
01:43:10,648 --> 01:43:12,441
none of that protects you.
1931
01:43:12,442 --> 01:43:16,779
What a burden for a human being
to have to carry.
1932
01:43:16,780 --> 01:43:19,198
[Sly]
I-- I just can't play it no more.
1933
01:43:19,199 --> 01:43:20,992
Let's try it again.
Take three.
1934
01:43:22,285 --> 01:43:27,164
[Novena] It is hard to see
how much genius and beauty
1935
01:43:27,165 --> 01:43:30,668
can come out of a person,
but they get sidetracked
1936
01:43:30,669 --> 01:43:33,045
from drugs or some other distraction,
1937
01:43:33,046 --> 01:43:36,675
and-- and we're like,
"No, it didn't have to go that way."
1938
01:43:37,509 --> 01:43:41,136
But it's also like our projection
of what we want from a person
1939
01:43:41,137 --> 01:43:45,391
who's been turned into this thing
that means so much to people.
1940
01:43:45,392 --> 01:43:48,435
[D'Angelo] I hate to say it,
but these white rock-and-rollers,
1941
01:43:48,436 --> 01:43:50,396
motherfuckers go out in style.
1942
01:43:50,397 --> 01:43:53,232
They go out paid.
They go out with their kids around 'em
1943
01:43:53,233 --> 01:43:55,109
like the fucking Godfather movie.
1944
01:43:55,110 --> 01:43:59,613
They died in their tomato garden
with their grandson, laughing and shit.
1945
01:43:59,614 --> 01:44:02,408
Shit taken care of,
generational wealth and shit
1946
01:44:02,409 --> 01:44:03,951
passed down to the children.
1947
01:44:03,952 --> 01:44:07,621
I mean, that's what
we're supposed to be doing.
1948
01:44:07,622 --> 01:44:10,708
[Sylvester] I don't have a lot
of normal stories with my dad.
1949
01:44:10,709 --> 01:44:14,044
I know that he spent a lot of time
under a tremendous amount of pressure.
1950
01:44:14,045 --> 01:44:17,798
A lot has been taken from him
over the years.
1951
01:44:17,799 --> 01:44:21,427
But I've always felt like I know
where his soul is coming from,
1952
01:44:21,428 --> 01:44:23,221
and I know where his heart is coming from.
1953
01:44:24,097 --> 01:44:26,724
[Phunne] Missing all that time with him,
it was rough.
1954
01:44:26,725 --> 01:44:29,309
But we rekindled our relationship,
1955
01:44:29,310 --> 01:44:32,855
and when we seen each other,
it was just like...
1956
01:44:32,856 --> 01:44:35,566
He cried, I cried,
everybody around us was crying,
1957
01:44:35,567 --> 01:44:37,943
and we was hugging, and shaking,
and all that, you know.
1958
01:44:37,944 --> 01:44:42,698
These last few years are
the most normal times I've had with him.
1959
01:44:42,699 --> 01:44:46,201
It was a long journey, but he finally
got clean and got off drugs.
1960
01:44:46,202 --> 01:44:49,955
[Novena] For his birthday,
I asked him what he wanted to eat,
1961
01:44:49,956 --> 01:44:53,250
and he requested a big pizza
with, like, all of the toppings.
1962
01:44:53,251 --> 01:44:56,879
He's also a big fan of westerns and cars.
1963
01:44:56,880 --> 01:44:59,548
He's kind of just like
a standard old Black man.
1964
01:44:59,549 --> 01:45:01,718
[laughing]
1965
01:45:02,719 --> 01:45:04,053
[Vernon]
We want the best for him.
1966
01:45:04,054 --> 01:45:08,182
He's given more to us
than we could ever give back to him.
1967
01:45:08,183 --> 01:45:12,895
We all have nothing but love for Sly.
1968
01:45:12,896 --> 01:45:17,524
Multiple generations of creators
have been influenced by Sly Stone,
1969
01:45:17,525 --> 01:45:20,903
by his fearlessness,
by his insouciance,
1970
01:45:20,904 --> 01:45:23,197
by his struggles with himself.
1971
01:45:23,198 --> 01:45:26,992
You can look at Sly as a cautionary tale,
and I think that that's not it.
1972
01:45:26,993 --> 01:45:28,077
Sly...
1973
01:45:28,078 --> 01:45:29,203
- Pioneered.
- Innovated.
1974
01:45:29,204 --> 01:45:30,287
- [Novena] United.
- Struggled.
1975
01:45:30,288 --> 01:45:31,372
- Inspired.
- Survived.
1976
01:45:31,373 --> 01:45:33,208
- Transcends.
- Lives.
1977
01:45:35,251 --> 01:45:37,252
That's a beautiful thing.
1978
01:45:37,253 --> 01:45:42,966
♪ Stand, in the end,
you'll still be you ♪
1979
01:45:42,967 --> 01:45:47,012
♪ One that's done all the things
you set out to do ♪
1980
01:45:47,013 --> 01:45:52,559
♪ Stand, there's a cross
for you to bear ♪
1981
01:45:52,560 --> 01:45:57,649
♪ Things to go through
if you're going anywhere ♪
1982
01:46:00,985 --> 01:46:02,861
[interviewer] Do you think
that you were judged too harshly
1983
01:46:02,862 --> 01:46:04,823
because you were a trailblazer?
1984
01:46:07,117 --> 01:46:09,619
No. Not at all.
1985
01:46:11,121 --> 01:46:13,498
I think I-- you deserve everything.
1986
01:46:14,582 --> 01:46:18,628
We deserve everything we get
in this life.
1987
01:46:22,048 --> 01:46:24,133
[♪ "Just Like a Baby" by
Sly and the Family Stone playing]
1988
01:46:24,134 --> 01:46:27,053
♪
1989
01:46:56,166 --> 01:47:00,003
♪ Just like a baby ♪
1990
01:47:03,840 --> 01:47:09,179
♪ Sometimes I cry ♪
1991
01:47:10,764 --> 01:47:14,392
♪ Just like a baby ♪
1992
01:47:18,772 --> 01:47:24,611
♪ I can feel it when you lie to me ♪
1993
01:47:26,071 --> 01:47:30,575
- ♪ Hey ♪
- ♪ Ooh ♪
1994
01:47:32,869 --> 01:47:37,165
- ♪ Hey ♪
- ♪ Ooh, yeah ♪
1995
01:47:37,540 --> 01:47:41,002
♪ Ooh-ah-hee ♪
1996
01:47:43,004 --> 01:47:44,713
♪ Oh ♪
1997
01:47:44,714 --> 01:47:47,092
♪
1998
01:48:00,397 --> 01:48:02,898
♪ Hee-hee ♪
1999
01:48:02,899 --> 01:48:05,818
♪ Hee-yeah ♪
2000
01:48:05,819 --> 01:48:07,069
♪ Yeah ♪
2001
01:48:07,070 --> 01:48:12,491
♪ Hee-yeah, oh yeah ♪
2002
01:48:12,492 --> 01:48:15,036
♪
2003
01:48:16,746 --> 01:48:20,250
♪ Just like a baby ♪
2004
01:48:24,921 --> 01:48:28,883
♪ Everything is new ♪
2005
01:48:29,009 --> 01:48:31,011
♪ New ♪
2006
01:48:31,511 --> 01:48:35,306
♪ Just like a baby ♪
2007
01:48:39,519 --> 01:48:42,813
♪ Come to find out I'm a whole lot like ♪
2008
01:48:42,814 --> 01:48:46,943
♪ You, too ♪
2009
01:48:47,318 --> 01:48:49,946
♪ Baby ♪
2010
01:48:53,575 --> 01:48:57,328
♪ Just like a baby ♪
2011
01:49:00,623 --> 01:49:02,917
♪ See the babies growin' ♪
2012
01:49:05,420 --> 01:49:08,088
♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh ♪
2013
01:49:08,089 --> 01:49:11,676
♪ Just like a baby ♪
2014
01:49:16,306 --> 01:49:19,184
[♪ vocalizing]
2015
01:49:43,291 --> 01:49:46,752
♪ Ah, ah, oh yeah ♪
2016
01:49:46,753 --> 01:49:49,506
♪ Oh yeah ♪
2017
01:49:51,007 --> 01:49:53,300
♪ Oh yeah ♪
2018
01:49:53,301 --> 01:49:56,680
♪ Ah, well ♪
2019
01:49:57,013 --> 01:50:00,266
♪
2020
01:50:15,115 --> 01:50:17,117
[♪ vocalizing]
2021
01:50:20,453 --> 01:50:22,163
[♪ song fades out]