Showing posts with label Sly and the Family Stone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sly and the Family Stone. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

The Top 100 R&B/Soul Albums of All Time

First posted 8/11/2011; last updated 12/2/2020.

R&B/Soul:

The Top 100 Albums

This list was devised by aggregating more than 50 best-of lists focused on R&B and soul albums. These figures were averaged with the albums’ overall status in Dave’s Music Database to create this list. Note: there are references in the comments section to albums no longer on this list because of revisions.

Check out other best-of-genre/category lists here.

1. Marvin Gaye What’s Going On (1971)
2. Stevie Wonder Songs in the Key of Life (1976)
3. Stevie Wonder Innervisions (1973)
4. Lauryn Hill The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998)
5. Michael Jackson Thriller (1982)
6. James Brown Live at the Apollo Volume 1 (live, 1962)
7. Aretha Franklin I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967)
8. Michael Jackson Off the Wall (1979)
9. Sly & the Family Stone There’s a Riot Goin’ On (1971)
10. Prince & the Revolution Purple Rain (1984)

11. Otis Redding Otis Blue (1965)
12. Prince Sign ‘O’ the Times (1987)
13. Aretha Franklin Lady Soul (1968)
14. Curtis Mayfield Superfly (1972)
15. Stevie Wonder Talking Book (1972)
16. Whitney Houston Whitney Houston (1985)
17. Usher Confessions (2004)
18. Boyz II Men II (1994)
19. Alicia Keys Songs in A Minor (2001)
20. Marvin Gaye Let’s Get It On (1973)

21. Various artists (Whitney Houston et al) The Bodyguard (soundtrack, 1992)
22. Ray Charles Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music (1962)
23. TLC Crazy Sexy Cool (1994)
24. Frank Ocean Channel Orange (2012)
25. Parliament Mothership Connection (1976)
26. Janet Jackson Control (1986)
27. Bobby Brown Don’t Be Cruel (1988)
28. D’Angelo Voodoo (2000)
29. Isaac Hayes Hot Buttered Soul (1969)
30. Al Green I’m Still in Love with You (1972)

31. Michael Jackson Dangerous (1991)
32. Sly & the Family Stone Stand! (1969)
33. Janet Jackson Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989)
34. Michael Jackson Bad (1987)
35. Earth, Wind & Fire That’s the Way of the World (1975)
36. Mariah Carey The Emancipation of Mimi (2005)
37. Lionel Richie Can’t Slow Down (1983)
38. D’Angelo Brown Sugar (1995)
39. Erykah Badu Baduizm (1997)
40. Prince 1999 (1982)

41. Anita Baker Rapture (1986)
42. Beyoncé Lemonade (2016)
43. Toni Braxton Toni Braxton (1993)
44. Funkadelic One Nation Under a Groove (1978)
45. Beyoncé Beyoncé (2013)
46. Beyoncé Dangerously in Love (2003)
47. Al Green Let’s Stay Together (1972)
48. Alicia Keys The Diary of… (2003)
49. Al Green Call Me (1973)
50. Destiny’s Child The Writing’s on the Wall (1999)

51. Various Artists (Bee Gees et al) Saturday Night Fever (soundtrack, 1977)
52. Stevie Wonder Fulfillingness’ First Finale (1974)
53. War The World Is a Ghetto (1972)
54. Mary J. Blige What’s the 411? (1992)
55. Various Artists (Whitney Houston et al) Waiting to Exhale (soundtrack, 1995)
56. Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (1990)
57. Toni Braxton Secrets (1996)
58. D’Angelo & the Vanguard Black Messiah (2014)
59. Janet Jackson janet. (1993)
60. Isaac Hayes Shaft (soundtrack, 1971)

61. Mary J. Blige My Life (1994)
62. R. Kelly 12 Play (1993)
63. Curtis Mayfield Curtis (1970)
64. Funkadelic Maggot Brain (1971)
65. Etta James Tell Mama (1968)
66. Stevie Wonder Hotter Than July (1980)
67. Maxwell Urban Hang Suite (1996)
68. Rick James Street Songs (1981)
69. Boyz II Men Cooleyhighharmony (1991)
70. The Isley Brothers 3 + 3 (1973)

71. Mariah Carey Daydream (1995)
72. Dusty Springfield Dusty in Memphis (1969)
73. Sly & the Family Stone Fresh (1973)
74. En Vogue Funky Divas (1992)
75. Mariah Carey Butterfly (1997)
76. Mary J. Blige The Breakthrough (2005)
77. Sam Cooke Live at the Harlem Square Club (aka “One Night Stand”) (live, 1963)
78. The Weeknd Beauty Behind the Madness (2015)
79. Al Green Greatest Hits (1975)
80. Natalie Cole Unforgettable…With Love (1991)

81. Gladys Knight & the Pips Imagination (1973)
82. Beyoncé I Am…Sasha Fierce (2008)
83. Bill Withers Still Bill (1972)
84. Prince Dirty Mind (1980)
85. Jill Scott Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 (2000)
86. James Brown Sex Machine (live, 1970)
87. Sade Diamond Life (1984)
88. Sade Promise (1985)
89. The O’Jays Ship Ahoy (1973)
90. Bruno Mars 24K Magic (2016)

91. The Miracles Going to a Go-Go (1965)
92. Jodeci Forever My Lady (1991)
93. Soul II Soul Club Classics Vol. I (aka “Keep on Movin’”) (1989)
94. Otis Redding The Dock of the Bay (1968)
95. Diana Ross Diana (1980)
96. Guy Guy (1988)
97. Donny Hathaway Everything Is Everything (1970)
98. Sam Cooke Night Beat (1963)
99. Maxwell Black Summer’s Night (2009)
100. Marvin Gaye Here, My Dear (1978)

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Saturday, June 6, 2020

The Top 100 Funk Songs of All Time

First posted 6/6/2020.

Funk:

Top 100 Songs

Funk was an R&B sub-genre which emerged in African-American communities in the 1960s and became especially popular in the 1970s. The music was marked by an emphasis on strong, rhythmic grooves supported by bass and drum. It was instrumental in the development of the even more dance-oriented disco music of the 1970s.

19 lists were aggregated to create this list. Click here to see other genre-specific song lists.

1. Stevie Wonder “Superstition” (1972)
2. Parliament “Flashlight” (1977)
3. Funkadelic “One Nation Under a Groove” (1978)
4. Parliament “Tear the Roof Off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk)” (1975)
5. Rick James “Super Freak” (1981)
6. Sly & the Family Stone “Thank You Falettin Me Be Mice Elf Again” (1969)
7. Zapp “More Bounce to the Ounce” (1980)
8. Kool & the Gang “Jungle Boogie” (1973)
9. Average White Band “Pick Up the Pieces” (1974)
10. George Clinton “Atomic Dog” (1982)

11. The Commodores “Brick House” (1977)
12. Earth, Wind & Fire “Shining Star” (1975)
13. Herbie Hancock “Chameleon” (1973)
14. Curtis Mayfield “Superfly” (1972)
15. Wild Cherry “Play That Funky Music” (1976)
16. Marvin Gaye “Got to Give It Up” (1977)
17. Kool & the Gang “Get Down on It” (1982)
18. The Isley Brothers “It’s Your Thing” (1969)
19. War “Low Rider” (1975)
20. The Gap Band “You Dropped a Bomb on Me” (1982)

21. James Brown “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine)” (1970)
22. Funkadelic “Not Just Knee Deep” (1979)
23. Ohio Players “Fire” (1974)
24. Cameo “Word Up!” (1986)
25. The Staple Singers “I’ll Take You There” (1972)
26. Stevie Wonder “Higher Ground” (1973)
27. James Brown “The Payback” (1974)
28. Aretha Franklin “Rock Steady” (1971)
29. Brick “Dazz” (1976)
30. Slave “Slide” (1977)

31. The Brothers Johnson “Get the Funk Out of Ma Face” (1976)
32. Dazz Band “Let It Whip” (1982)
33. James Brown “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” (1965)
34. Michael Jackson “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” (1979)
35. Lipps Inc. “Funkytown” (1980)
36. The Meters “Cissy Strut” (1969)
37. Rufus with Chaka Khan “Tell Me Something Good” (1974)
38. Stevie Wonder “Living for the City” (1973)
39. Jean Knight “Mr. Big Stuff” (1971)
40. Rose Royce “Car Wash” (1976)

41. James Brown “Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud” (1968)
42. Ohio Players “Love Rollercoaster” (1975)
43. Kool & the Gang “Funky Stuff” (1973)
44. The Temptations “Cloud Nine” (1968)
45. Rick James “Give It to Me Baby” (1981)
46. Isaac Hayes “Theme from Shaft” (1971)
47. Prince “When Doves Cry” (1984)
48. Prince “Kiss’ (1986)
49. James Brown “Get Up Offa That Thing” (1976)
50. James Brown “Cold Sweat” (1967)

51. Edwin Starr “War” (1970)
52. Sly & the Family Stone “Dance to the Music” (1968)
53. The Isley Brothers “That Lady’ (1973)
54. Mtume “Juicy Fruit” (1982)
55. Prince “Little Red Corvette” (1983)
56. Sly & the Family Stone “(Family Affair” (1971)
57. The Isley Brothers “Fight the Power” (1975)
58. Hot Chocolate “You Sexy Thing” (1975)
59. Carl Carlton “She’s a Bad Mama Jama (She’s a Built, She’s Stacked)” (1981)
60. Tom Browne “Funkin’ for Jamaica (N.Y.)” (1980)

61. Carl Douglas “Kung Fu Fighting” (1974)
62. The O’Jays “For the Love of Money” (1974)
63. Prince “Sign ‘O’ the Times” (1987)
64. Ann Peebles “I Can’t Stand the Rain” (1973)
65. Instant Funk “I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl)” (1978)
66. Kool & the Gang “Hollywood Swinging” (1973)
67. Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers “Bustin’ Loose” (1979)
68. The Gap Band “Burn Rubber on Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)” (1980)
69. The Temptations “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” (1972)
70. Earth, Wind & Fire “Let’s Groove” (1981)

71. The Gap Band “I Don’t Believe You Want to Get Up and Dance (Oops, Up Side Your Head)” (1980)
72. B.T. Express “Do It ‘Til You’re Satisfied” (1974)
73. James Brown “Out of Sight” (1964)
74. Con Funk Shun “Ffun” (1977)
75. Lynn Collins “Think About It” (1972)
76. James Brown “Get on the Good Foot” (1972)
77. Eddie Kendricks “Keep on Truckin’” (1973)
78. Rufus with Chaka Khan “Ain’t Nobody” (1983)
79. The Meters “Just Kissed My Baby” (1974)
80. Betty Wright “Clean Up Woman” (1971)

81. The Temptations “Shakey Ground” (1975)
82. Diana Ross “Upside Down” (1980)
83. King Floyd “Groove Me” (1970)
84. The Temptations “Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World Is Today)” (1970)
85. Tower of Power “What Is Hip?” (1973)
86. Lakeside “Fantastic Voyage” (1980)
87. Bill Withers “Use Me” (1972)
88. Dr. John “Right Time, Wrong Place” (1973)
89. Taana Gardner “Heartbeat” (1981)
90. Bill Withers “Lovely Day” (1977)

91. KC & the Sunshine Band “Get Down Tonight” (1975)
92. Chic “Good Times” (1979)
93. Mandrill “Fencewalk” (1973)
94. The Commodores “Machine Gun” (1974)
95. Dyke & the Blazers “Funky Broadway” (1967)
96. The Brothers Johnson “Stomp!” (1980)
97. Graham Central Station “The Jam” (1976)
98. Prince “Controversy” (1981)
99. Herbie Hancock “Rock-It” (1983)
100. L.T.D. “Back in Love Again” (1977)

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Friday, February 15, 2019

50 years ago: “Everyday People” hit #1

Everyday People

Sly & the Family Stone

Writer(s): Sly Stone (see lyrics here)

First Charted: November 30, 1968

Peak: 14 US, 12 CB, 11 HR, 12 RB, 1 CL, 36 UK, 2 CN, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.)

Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.2 UK

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 2.0 radio, 7.1 video, 201.89 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

Sylvester Stewart, aka “Sly Stone,” was musical from the start. He saw a recording studio for the first time when he was four years old, singing “On the Battlefield for My Lord” with his family’s gospel group the Stewart Four. In regards to growing up with music, he said, “That’s all I had to play with. No toys.” FB

In high school, he recorded the song “Yellow River” as a member of the vocal quintet the Viscanes. In junior college, he learned music composition, which led to work with Autumn Records FB producing hits “Laugh Laugh” and “Just a Little” for white pop group the Beau Brummels RS500 and Bobby Freeman’s “Come on and Swim.” FB He then worked as a DJ in San Francisco saying of the time, “I was into everyone’s records. I’d play Dylan, Hendrix, James Brown back to back so I didn’t get stuck in any one groove.” RS500

That taste for diversity played out when he formed the racially-integrated Family Stone. In a time when jeans and tie-dye ruled the psychedelic scene in San Francisco, Stone’s stage act was marked by elaborate costumes, glitter, and stage movements. FB He found a wide audience with “Everyday People,” a song with a “gospel message of brotherhood, couched in dance funk” FB which preached that “everyone is essentially the same, regardless of race or background.” SF It is “one of the most beguiling and literate songs about racial harmony.” TC As he said, “What I write is people’s music.” RS500

That message was drilled home with the main line of the chorus: “I am everyday people,” a line sung by himself, his sister Rosie, his brother Freddie, and Larry Graham – echoing the idea that “each of them (and each listener as well) should consider himself or herself as parts of one whole.” WK

The song’s diverse appeal is echoed by the wide range of acts to cover the song: Belle & Sebastian, Jeff Buckley, Aretha Franklin, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Peggy Lee, Dolly Parton, Billy Paul, Pearl Jam, the Staple Singers, the Supremes & Four Tops. In 1992, rap group Arrested Development had a top ten hit with an adapted version of the song called “People Everyday.” WK

Musically, the song featured what member Larry Graham said was the first use of the slap bass technique, in which the player slapped the strings with his thumb so that they collided with the frets, which became a staple of funk. WK/sup>

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Last updated 7/11/2023.

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Saturday, December 18, 1971

Sly & the Family Stone hit #1 with There’s a Riot Goin’ On

First posted 3/28/2008; updated 12/1/2020.

There’s a Riot Goin’ On

Sly & the Family Stone

Charted: November 13, 1971

Peak: 12 US, 12 RB, 31 UK, 4 CN, -- AU

Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, -- UK, 1.0 world (includes US and UK)

Genre: R&B/funk

Tracks:

Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts.

  1. Luv N’ Haight
  2. Just Like a Baby
  3. Poet
  4. Family Affair (11/6/71, 1 US, 15 UK, 1 RB, gold single)
  5. Africa Talks to You “The Asphalt Jungle”
  6. Brave and Strong
  7. You Caught Me Smilin’ (4/22/72, 42 US, 21 RB)
  8. Time
  9. Spaced Cowboy
  10. Runnin’ Away (2/5/72, 23 US, 17 UK, 15 RB)
  11. Thank You for Talkin’ to Me Africa

Total Running Time: 47:15

The Players:

  • Sly Stone (vocals, multiple instruments)
  • Rose Stone (vocals, keyboards)
  • Billy Preston (keyboards)
  • Jerry Martini (tenor saxophone)
  • Cynthia Robinson (trumpet) Freddie Stone, Ike Turner, Bobby Womack (guitar)
  • Lary Graham (bass, backing vocals)
  • Greg Errico, Gerry Gibson (drums)
  • Little Sister (backing vocals)

Rating:

4.115 out of 5.00 (average of 17 ratings)

Quotable: “One of the great radical albums, and definitely the funkiest.” – Blender Magazine

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album:

“It’s easy to write off There’s a Riot Goin’ On as one of two things – Sly Stone’s disgusted social commentary or the beginning of his slow descent into addiction. It’s both of these things, of course.” STE “Riotis one of the great radical albums, and definitely the funkiest” BL even as “Stone was teetering on the brink of self-destruction.” BL “His music never sounded more eclectic and expressive” BL and “civil disobedience never sounded like so much fun.” BL

“Pigeonholing it as either winds up dismissing the album as a whole, since it is so bloody hard to categorize. What’s certain is that Riot is unlike any of Sly & the Family Stone’s other albums, stripped of the effervescence that flowed through even such politically aware records as Stand!. This is idealism soured, as hope is slowly replaced by cynicism, joy by skepticism, enthusiasm by weariness, sex by pornography, thrills by narcotics.” STE

“Joy isn’t entirely gone – it creeps through the cracks every once and awhile and, more disturbing, Sly revels in his stoned decadence. What makes Riot so remarkable is that it’s hard not to get drawn in with him, as you’re seduced by the narcotic grooves, seductive vocals slurs, leering electric pianos, and crawling guitars. As the themes surface, it’s hard not to nod in agreement, but it’s a junkie nod, induced by the comforting coma of the music. And damn if this music isn’t funk at its deepest and most impenetrable.” STE “Every subsequent beat revolutionary, from De La Soul to Beck, owes him.” BL “This is dense music, nearly impenetrable, but not from its deep grooves, but its utter weariness.” STE

“Sly’s songwriting remains remarkably sharp, but only when he wants to write – the foreboding opener Luv N’ Haight, the scarily resigned Family Affair, the cracked cynical blues Time, and You Caught Me Smilin’. Ultimately, the music is the message and while it’s dark music, it’s not alienating – it’s seductive despair, and that’s the scariest thing about it.” STE

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