SLY & THE FAMILY STONE: FAMILY AFFAIR
One-hour music intensive radio documentary about Sly & the Family Stone, their music, their turbulent history, and the indelible marks they left behind.
Host: Ben Fong-Torres
Producer: Paul Chuffo & Joshua Jackson, Joyride Media
Broadcast Window: Beings May 2007
Length: 54/59 minutes with breaks for local spots
Terms: Available to all USA-based broadcasters at no cost
Contacts:
Eric Molk, 212-833-5389, eric.molk@sonybmg.com
Andy Cahn, 212-833-6279, andy.cahn@sonybmg.com
Preview/download audio online from the PRX.
Request a broadcast CD of this program
Seven musicians walked on the stage, some were black, some white, some were men, some women, and all of them were dressed in bright, colorful outfits. That was Sly and the Family Stone, and for seven wild years (1967-1974), they left a mark on music and culture that continues to inspire countless musicians - both black and white. Members changed, times got rough, but Sly and the Family Stone's sound and message of love and unity still speaks to the world today.
FAMILY AFFAIR is hosted by Ben Fong-Torres, and includes a wide range of Sly & the Family Stone tracks - from the big hits ("Dance to the Music," Everyday People," and others) to deep cuts from all their albums. Some songs accentuate the points made by the many interview subjects, others speak for themselves. All of them stand up as examples of Sly Stone's "watershed point in the development of rhythm and blues," as detailed by biographer and journalist Joel Selvin.
Band members Rose Stone, Larry Graham, Greg Errico and Andy Newmark provide rarely-heard, first-hand accounts of the zeniths and nadirs of Sly Stone's universe, taking us from their family roots to their mainstream success to later sessions "surrounded by really crazy people...out there in the twilight zone." Musicians Isaac Hayes and Chuck D, however, break down how music from all those episodes influence d Sly's contemporaries as well as future generations of musicians.
