ON THIS DATE (43 YEARS AGO) November 6, 1971 - Sly And The Family Stone: Family Affair b/w Luv N Haight (Epic 5-10805) 45 single is released in the US. Family Affair is a 1971 number-one hit single recorded by Sly and the Family Stone for the Epic Records label. Their first new material since the double a-sided single Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)/ Everybody is a Star nearly two years prior, Family Affair became the fourth and final number-one pop hit for the band. Rolling Stone magazine later ranked the song #138 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song version by John Legend, Joss Stone, and Van Hunt, won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at 49th Grammy Awards. Released on November 6, 1971, Family Affair was markedly different from the earlier Sly & the Family Stone hits. Family Affair is a somber, Hohner Pianet electric piano based record with a rhythm box (or drum machine) providing the rhythm, making it the first number-one hit to feature a programmed rhythm track. Sly Stone and his sister Rose sing lead on the song. The lyrics reflect the good and bad aspects of being family, with Sly delivering his part in a low funk-styled tone instead of his earlier gospel-based shout, sounding off rhythm and off key. Slys screams is a variation of a child crying. Partially recorded in a Winnebago, Sly Stone did not utilize the Family Stone for this recording, with the exception of his sister Rose. His friends Billy Preston and Bobby Womack played the keyboard and guitar lines, respectively, for the song, with Sly playing the bass and programming the rhythm box. According to the biography Sly and the Family Stone: An Oral History, Sly Stone felt that this song wasnt strong enough to be released as a single. His manager and Epic Records had to convince him otherwise. Sly & The Family Stone
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 21:50:02 +0000