DAILY DIRT: Sly’s gone, but he left some great music behind

June 10, 2025 | By Steve Eighinger MRN Minister of Culture and Doctor of Love

Sly Stone in 2007. He died Monday at age 82. - Wikipedia

Daily Dirt for June 10, 2025

His style and sound helped define a generation … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 1,311 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Boomers have lost another of the musical heroes of their youth.

Sylvester “Sly” Stone, described as “remarkable” and “eccentric” — and just about anything and everything in between — died Monday. He was 82.

Best known as the lead man of Sly & the Family Stone, one of the super groups of the late 1960s and early 1970s, he lost numerous battles with substance abuse and at one time was left homeless. Even during the group’s halcyon days, Stone was often as much as two hours late to concerts, absences linked to the aforementioned abuse problems.

But when on stage, Sly was electric, almost magical in his ability to win over crowds. Sly & the Family Stone’s sound was described as a dazzling fusion of psychedelic rock, soul, jazz, gospel and Latin.

The group was one of the standouts at Woodstock in 1969.”After playing some of the most euphoric and politically charged music that defined a generation, Sly and the Family Stone dissolved, in part, because of Stone’s well-documented drug abuse,” wrote Brandon Gates for NPR. “He became infamous for ghosting his own shows. By the 1980s, Sly Stone had slipped into seclusion. He was arrested for cocaine possession in 2011.”

Fittingly, Sly earned a lifetime achievement award from the Grammys in 2017.

“Sly Stone was a musical visionary whose charismatic stage presence and distinctive vocals are now woven into the fabric of American joy,” Gates said.

Here’s my top 10 Sly and the Family Stone hits:

1. “Dance To The Music” (1968)
2. “(I Want to Take You) Higher” (1969)
3. “Everyday People” (1969)
4. “Hot Fun In The Summertime” (1969)
5. “Thank You (Fa Lettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) (1969)
6. “Everybody Is A Star” (1969)
7. “Family Affair” (1971)
8. “Stand” (1969)
9. “If You Want Me To Stay” (1973)
10. “M’Lady” (1968)

2. Did you know (Part 391)

That there are 10 million cats eaten around the world each year.
That all polar bears in Iceland are shot on sight in because they’re not native to the country and are hungry after floating over on ice from Greenland.
That seagulls can live for about 50 years.
That llama droppings have been used to purify water in Bolivia. Uhhh … no thanks.
That a group of ferrets is called a “business”.

3. You can thank me for this later, or even buy me lunch.

The first three letters of “Sweden” and “Denmark” spell out … Sweden. The remaining letters of each word spell out … Denmark. You just checked, didn’t you?

Steve Thought O’ The Day – One of the most interesting comments I saw regarding the death of Sly was, “Without Sly, there would have never been a Prince”.