Late in 1959, The Webs merge with another Vallejo High School vocal group, The Viscounts. When he is 16 Sylvester Stewart forms a vocal group, The Webs. Despite his multi-instrumental ability, during his high school years Sly mostly plays guitar. “I just enjoyed singing in the choir…I remember I wanted to become a preacher at the time.” This single is the only recorded work by The Stewart Four and the act quietly fades out as the kids grow older.Īlthough all the Stewart children display some musical aptitude, it is Sly who is considered a ‘musical prodigy.’ He learns to play piano by the time he is 7 years old and can also play guitar, bass and drums by the time he is 11. “I just remember the studio,” claims Sly. ‘On The Battlefield For My Lord’) backed with ‘Walking In Jesus’ Name’. We had no idea.” In 1952, when Sly is 8 years old, The Stewart Four records a 78 R.P.M. We thought we were just like any other family. (Loretta bows out of music after this she is the only one of the five Stewart children not to go on to a career in music.) Vet Stewart recalls, “We travelled around from church to church, all over California, performing concerts. Their elder sister, Loretta, provides piano accompaniment to the youngsters’ vocal harmonies. The four younger children in the Stewart family – Sly, Rose, Freddie and Vet – begin performing as The Stewart Four in various churches around the San Francisco Bay area. In any case, ‘Sly’ is a common nickname for people named Sylvester. A friend misspells Sylvester as ‘Slyvester’ and this is jokingly cut down to ‘Sly’. The three younger children are: a daughter, Rose (born Rosemary Stewart, 21 March 1945), a son, Freddie (born Frederick Jerome Stewart, 5 June 1947), and another daughter, Vet (born Vaetta Stewart, ).Īt grade school, young Sylvester Stewart gains the nickname ‘Sly’. The Stewart family expands with three more children born to K.C. Stewart, Sly’s father, runs a janitorial business in Vallejo and is a Deacon in the local Pentecostal Church. The Stewart family relocates to Vallejo, California, ‘a factory town on the wrong side of San Francisco Bay.’ K.C. Sylvester Stewart is still a small child when his parents leave Texas with their two kids. He is born into a ‘deeply religious middle-class household.’ His parents are parishioners at the Church of God in Christ. Sly Stone is born Sylvester Stewart on 15 March 1943 in Denton, Texas, U.S.A. The ‘disquieted’ audience inflicts one thousand dollars’ worth of damage on the venue and eighteen audience members are arrested. As it happens, the star of the show arrives five hours late on this evening. At an earlier stage of his career, Sly was an endearing oddball, but not it seems he is testing the patience of his fans and supporters. Sly Stone, the leader of Sly And The Family Stone, is beginning to develop a reputation for failing to turn up for his own concerts. Will he turn up? That’s the question on the minds of the audience at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. Greatest hits don't come better than this - in fact, music rarely does.ġ2.“You can’t take me for granted and smile / Because I promise I’ll be gone for a while” – ’If You Want Me To Stay’ (Sylvester Stewart) Music is rarely as vivacious, vigorous, and vibrant as this, and captured on one album, the spirit, sound, and songs of Sly & the Family Stone are all the more stunning. But, this isn't merely a summary (and, if it was just that, Anthology, the early-'80s comp that covers Riot and Fresh would be stronger than this), it's one of the greatest party records of all time. This summarizes their first four albums perfectly (almost all of Stand! outside of the two jams and 'Somebody's Watching You' is here), adding the non-LP singles 'Hot Fun in the Summertime,' 'Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),' and 'Everybody Is a Star,' possibly the loveliest thing they ever recorded. Technically, only four songs here reached the Top Ten, with only two others hitting the Top 40, but judging this solely on charts is misleading, since this is simply a peerless singles collection. Released in 1970 during the stopgap between Stand! and There's a Riot Goin' On, Greatest Hits inadvertently arrived at precisely the right moment, summarizing Sly & the Family Stone's joyous hit-making run on the pop and R&B charts.
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