Sly and the Family Stone

USA, 1966–1983

San Francisco band formed in 1966 by Sly Stone, integrated by both race and gender at a time when few bands were. Stand! and There's a Riot Goin' On combined soul, rock and psychedelia and shaped later funk.

MusicRoots documents 3 artists who influenced Sly and the Family Stone and 12 artists Sly and the Family Stone influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced Sly and the Family Stone?

• James Brown — James Brown is the funk foundation that Sly Stone took and radically exploded into psychedelic soul.
• Ray Charles — Ray Charles's synthesis of gospel and pop was a foundational influence on Sly Stone's musical vision.
• The Beatles — The Beatles' studio experimentation gave Sly Stone the freedom to experiment on There's a Riot Goin' On.

Which artists did Sly and the Family Stone influence?

• Prince — Sly and the Family Stone's psychedelic funk-rock fusion — integrated band, genre-blur — was a direct model for Prince.
• Happy Mondays — Sly Stone's funk groove was the rhythmic foundation Happy Mondays laid beneath their rock guitars.
• Parliament-Funkadelic — Sly Stone was Clinton's model of psychedelic funk and of a racially integrated band.
• Red Hot Chili Peppers — Sly and the Family Stone's psychedelic funk-rock fusion was a direct model for the Chili Peppers' mix of funk, rock and positivity.
• Teddy Riley — Sly Stone's funk is named by Riley among the sources he fused with hip-hop to make new jack swing.
• The Jackson 5 — Sly and the Family Stone's funk energy fed the propulsive groove of the Jackson 5's early hits.
• Earth, Wind & Fire — Sly & the Family Stone's inventive, integrated funk arrangements were a direct model for EWF's grooves.
• Isaac Hayes — The psychedelic funk of Sly and the Family Stone shaped the expansive, groove-driven side of Hayes's music.
• Cake — John McCrea cites Sly and the Family Stone as a key influence — their funk grooves underpin Cake's deadpan alt-funk.
• Jamiroquai — Sly and the Family Stone's psychedelic funk is part of the '70s soul-funk foundation of Jamiroquai's sound.
• Heatwave — Sly and the Family Stone's psychedelic funk is part of the groove foundation beneath Heatwave.
• Commodores — The Commodores' hard early funk draws on Sly and the Family Stone's groove.