Greatest Hits (Sly & the Family Stone album)
Encyclopedia
Greatest Hits is a greatest hits
album
by soul
/funk band Sly & the Family Stone
, released November 21, 1970 on Epic Records
. It includes all of the singles from the albums Dance to the Music
(1968), Life
(1968), and Stand!
(1969), and all of their charting b-sides. The album also includes one non-charting album track, "You Can Make It If You Try" from Stand!, and three non-album singles from 1969: "Hot Fun in the Summertime
", "Everybody Is a Star
", and "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)
". Music journalist Robert Christgau
has called Greatest Hits "among the greatest rock and roll LPs of all time." In 2003, the album was ranked number 60 on Rolling Stone
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
.
to appease consumer demand and keep the band's name and music in the public's eye. Greatest Hits peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200
, and was the band's most successful album sales-wise.
The songs from this album were remixed into Quadraphonic
format in 1970 - Once as a test mix, and then again for proper release. Both the Test mixes and released mixes contain different running times and alternate or missing vocals/instrumentation to the original versions. Sly Stone and his engineers never got around to making standard stereo
mixes of the three non-album singles. Epic had to resort to taking the mono versions and making simulated stereo versions by electronically rechannelling the mono mixes' frequencies. For years, the Quadraphonic LP of this album was the only way to find stereo mixes of "Hot Fun in the Summertime", "Everybody is a Star" and "Thank You". True stereo mixes of these three songs were finally done when the Sly & the Family Stone catalog was digitally remastered in the 1990s. The album was properly reissued by Epic/Legacy in 2007.
The surround sound information on the QUAD LP can be extracted by today's audio-video receivers using the DOLBY PRO LOGIC setting.
for Stone Flower Productions. Superscripts denote original album sources, referenced below.
Greatest hits
A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...
album
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
by soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
/funk band Sly & the Family Stone
Sly & the Family Stone
Sly and the Family Stone were an American rock, funk, and soul band from San Francisco, California. Active from 1966 to 1983, the band was pivotal in the development of soul, funk, and psychedelic music...
, released November 21, 1970 on Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
. It includes all of the singles from the albums Dance to the Music
Dance to the Music (Sly and the Family Stone album)
Dance to the Music is the second studio album by funk/soul band Sly & the Family Stone, released April 27, 1968 on Epic/CBS Records. It contains the Top Ten hit single of the same name, which was influential in the formation and popularization of the musical subgenre of psychedelic soul and helped...
(1968), Life
Life (Sly & the Family Stone album)
Life is the third studio album by funk/soul band Sly & the Family Stone, released in September of 1968 on Epic/CBS Records.-Music:Unlike its predecessor, Dance to the Music, Life was not a commercial success, although it has received mostly positive reviews from music critics over the years...
(1968), and Stand!
Stand!
Stand! is the fourth studio album by soul/funk band Sly and the Family Stone, released May 3, 1969 on Epic Records. Written and produced by lead singer and multi-instrumentalist Sly Stone, Stand! was the band's breakout album. It went on to sell over three million copies and become one of the most...
(1969), and all of their charting b-sides. The album also includes one non-charting album track, "You Can Make It If You Try" from Stand!, and three non-album singles from 1969: "Hot Fun in the Summertime
Hot Fun in the Summertime
"Hot Fun in the Summertime" is a 1969 song recorded by Sly & the Family Stone. The single was released in the wake of the band's high-profile performance at Woodstock, which greatly expanded their fanbase. The song peaked at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart and number 3 on...
", "Everybody Is a Star
Everybody Is a Star
"Everybody Is a Star", released in December 1969, is a 1970 hit single recorded by Sly & the Family Stone. The song, double a-sided with "Thank You ", reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1970 and was the final classic-era Family Stone recording...
", and "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)
Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)
"Thank You " is a 1969 hit single recorded by Sly and the Family Stone, recognized as one of the greatest and most influential funk songs of all time. The song, double a-sided with "Everybody Is a Star", reached number one on the soul single charts for five weeks, and reached number one on the...
". Music journalist Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
has called Greatest Hits "among the greatest rock and roll LPs of all time." In 2003, the album was ranked number 60 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is the title of a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005.Related news articles:...
.
History
Released in the midst of an eighteen-month stretch from late 1969 to late 1971, during which Sly & the Family Stone released no new material, Greatest Hits was designed by Epic RecordsEpic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
to appease consumer demand and keep the band's name and music in the public's eye. Greatest Hits peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, and was the band's most successful album sales-wise.
The songs from this album were remixed into Quadraphonic
Quadraphonic
Quadraphonic sound – the most widely used early term for what is now called 4.0 surround sound – uses four channels in which speakers are positioned at the four corners of the listening space, reproducing signals that are independent of one another...
format in 1970 - Once as a test mix, and then again for proper release. Both the Test mixes and released mixes contain different running times and alternate or missing vocals/instrumentation to the original versions. Sly Stone and his engineers never got around to making standard stereo
Stereophonic sound
The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective...
mixes of the three non-album singles. Epic had to resort to taking the mono versions and making simulated stereo versions by electronically rechannelling the mono mixes' frequencies. For years, the Quadraphonic LP of this album was the only way to find stereo mixes of "Hot Fun in the Summertime", "Everybody is a Star" and "Thank You". True stereo mixes of these three songs were finally done when the Sly & the Family Stone catalog was digitally remastered in the 1990s. The album was properly reissued by Epic/Legacy in 2007.
The surround sound information on the QUAD LP can be extracted by today's audio-video receivers using the DOLBY PRO LOGIC setting.
Track listing
All songs written by Sylvester Stewart, and produced and arranged by Sly StoneSly Stone
Sly Stone is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most famous for his role as frontman for Sly & the Family Stone, a band which played a critical role in the development of soul, funk and psychedelia in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1993, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of...
for Stone Flower Productions. Superscripts denote original album sources, referenced below.
Side 1
- "I Want to Take You HigherI Want to Take You Higher"I Want to Take You Higher" is a 1969 song by the soul/rock/funk band Sly & the Family Stone, the B-side to their Top 30 hit Stand!". Unlike most of the other tracks on the Stand! album, "I Want to Take You Higher" is not a message song; instead, it is simply dedicated to music and the feeling one...
" – 5:22 c - "Everybody is a StarEverybody Is a Star"Everybody Is a Star", released in December 1969, is a 1970 hit single recorded by Sly & the Family Stone. The song, double a-sided with "Thank You ", reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1970 and was the final classic-era Family Stone recording...
" – 3:00 - "Stand!Stand! (song)"Stand!" is a 1969 song by the soul/rock/funk band Sly & the Family Stone. The song's title and lyrics are a call for its listeners to "stand" up for themselves, their communities, and what they believe in...
" – 3:08 c - "Life" – 2:58 b
- "Fun" – 2:20 b
- "You Can Make It If You Try" – 3:39 c
Side 2
- "Dance To The MusicDance to the Music (song)"Dance to the Music" is a 1968 hit single by the influential soul/funk/rock band Sly & the Family Stone for the Epic/CBS Records label. It was the first single by the band to reach the Billboard Pop Singles Top 10, peaking at #8 and the first to popularize the band's sound, which would be emulated...
" – 2:58 a - "Everyday People" – 2:20 c
- "Hot Fun in the SummertimeHot Fun in the Summertime"Hot Fun in the Summertime" is a 1969 song recorded by Sly & the Family Stone. The single was released in the wake of the band's high-profile performance at Woodstock, which greatly expanded their fanbase. The song peaked at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart and number 3 on...
" – 2:37 - "M'Lady" – 2:44 b
- "Sing a Simple SongSing a Simple Song"Sing a Simple Song" is a 1968 song by the soul/rock/funk band Sly & the Family Stone, the b-side to their #1 hit "Everyday People". The song's lyrics, sung in turn by Sly Stone, Freddie Stone, Rose Stone, and Larry Graham, with spoken word sections by Cynthia Robinson, offer a simple solution for...
" – 3:55 c - "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"Thank You " is a 1969 hit single recorded by Sly and the Family Stone, recognized as one of the greatest and most influential funk songs of all time. The song, double a-sided with "Everybody Is a Star", reached number one on the soul single charts for five weeks, and reached number one on the...
" – 4:47
Album sources
- a from Dance to the MusicDance to the Music (Sly and the Family Stone album)Dance to the Music is the second studio album by funk/soul band Sly & the Family Stone, released April 27, 1968 on Epic/CBS Records. It contains the Top Ten hit single of the same name, which was influential in the formation and popularization of the musical subgenre of psychedelic soul and helped...
(1968) - b from LifeLife (Sly & the Family Stone album)Life is the third studio album by funk/soul band Sly & the Family Stone, released in September of 1968 on Epic/CBS Records.-Music:Unlike its predecessor, Dance to the Music, Life was not a commercial success, although it has received mostly positive reviews from music critics over the years...
(1968) - c from Stand!Stand!Stand! is the fourth studio album by soul/funk band Sly and the Family Stone, released May 3, 1969 on Epic Records. Written and produced by lead singer and multi-instrumentalist Sly Stone, Stand! was the band's breakout album. It went on to sell over three million copies and become one of the most...
(1969) - "Everybody is a StarEverybody Is a Star"Everybody Is a Star", released in December 1969, is a 1970 hit single recorded by Sly & the Family Stone. The song, double a-sided with "Thank You ", reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1970 and was the final classic-era Family Stone recording...
", "Hot Fun in the SummertimeHot Fun in the Summertime"Hot Fun in the Summertime" is a 1969 song recorded by Sly & the Family Stone. The single was released in the wake of the band's high-profile performance at Woodstock, which greatly expanded their fanbase. The song peaked at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart and number 3 on...
" and "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"Thank You " is a 1969 hit single recorded by Sly and the Family Stone, recognized as one of the greatest and most influential funk songs of all time. The song, double a-sided with "Everybody Is a Star", reached number one on the soul single charts for five weeks, and reached number one on the...
" are all new to album. - Tracks 1-6 make up Side One on the vinyl release, tracks 7-12 make up Side Two.
Personnel
- Sly StoneSly StoneSly Stone is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most famous for his role as frontman for Sly & the Family Stone, a band which played a critical role in the development of soul, funk and psychedelia in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1993, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of...
: vocals, organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, and more - Freddie StoneFreddie StoneFreddie Stone is an African-American musician, best known for his role as co-founder, guitarist, and vocalist in the band Sly & The Family Stone, the frontman for which was his brother Sly Stone...
: vocals, guitar - Larry GrahamLarry GrahamLarry Graham, Jr. is an African American bass guitar player, both with the popular and influential psychedelic soul/funk band Sly & the Family Stone, and as the founder and frontman of Graham Central Station...
: vocals, bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Rose StoneRose StoneRose Stone is an African-American singer and keyboardist. She is best known as one of the lead singers in Sly & the Family Stone, a popular psychedelic soul/funk band founded by her brothers, Sly Stone and Freddie Stone...
: vocals, piano, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Cynthia RobinsonCynthia RobinsonCynthia Robinson is an American musician, best known for being the trumpeter and vocalist in the popular and influential psychedelic soul/funk band Sly & the Family Stone...
: trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, vocal ad-libsAd-LibsAd-Libs is an improvisational comedy troupe based in Dallas, Texas. Combining improvisation along with video segments, Ad-Libs was conceived by Phil Larsson in 1986... - Jerry MartiniJerry MartiniJerry Martini is an American musician, best known for being the saxophonist for the popular and influential psychedelic soul/funk band Sly & the Family Stone...
: saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846... - Greg ErricoGreg ErricoGreg Errico, sometimes missspelled as Gregg Errico, is an Italian American musician/record producer, best known for being the drummer for the popular and influential psychedelic soul/funk band, Sly & the Family Stone...
: drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Little SisterLittle Sister (band)Little Sister was an American all-female vocal harmony group, which served primarily as the background vocalists for the influential rock/funk band Sly & the Family Stone in concert and on record...
(Vet StoneVet StoneVet Stewart is an African-American soul singer, the lead singer in Sly & the Family Stone's background group Little Sister Vet Stewart (born Vaetta Stewart on May 2, 1950 in Vallejo, California) is an African-American soul singer, the lead singer in Sly & the Family Stone's background group Little...
, Mary McCreary, Elva Mouton): background vocals
Chart history
| Title | Information |
|---|---|
| "Hot Fun in the Summertime Hot Fun in the Summertime "Hot Fun in the Summertime" is a 1969 song recorded by Sly & the Family Stone. The single was released in the wake of the band's high-profile performance at Woodstock, which greatly expanded their fanbase. The song peaked at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart and number 3 on... " |
|
| "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) "Thank You " is a 1969 hit single recorded by Sly and the Family Stone, recognized as one of the greatest and most influential funk songs of all time. The song, double a-sided with "Everybody Is a Star", reached number one on the soul single charts for five weeks, and reached number one on the... "/ "Everybody Is a Star Everybody Is a Star "Everybody Is a Star", released in December 1969, is a 1970 hit single recorded by Sly & the Family Stone. The song, double a-sided with "Thank You ", reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1970 and was the final classic-era Family Stone recording... " |
| Name | Chart (1969 - 1970) | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| Greatest Hits | U.S. Billboard Pop Albums | 2 |
| Greatest Hits | U.S. Top R&B Albums | 1 |
| "Hot Fun in the Summertime" | U.S. Billboard Pop Singles | 2 |
| "Hot Fun in the Summertime" | U.S. Billboard R&B Singles | 3 |
| "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"/ "Everybody Is a Star" |
U.S. Billboard Pop Singles | 1 |
| "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"/ "Everybody Is a Star" |
U.S. Billboard R&B Singles | 1 |