(Sly Stone, 1982 - Creative Commons)

My favorite song by Sly and the Family Stone is “Everybody Is A Star.” There is no song like that song. This is a cliche, I know, but it doesn’t matter because it is true. Sure, there are pieces of the song that come right out of the African American traditions of corner doo wop groups, gospel music, and soul but the song remains unique and is one of the now late, great Sylvester Stewart’s shining moments as an artist and band leader.

I grew up listening to Sly and the Family Stone. I was but a boy when he rose high with his group that was the embodiment of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). The group was “racially” mixed and had women. Everyone was a star in the group even though Sly, as we know, is the star of the band.

My older sister and brother bought all of his records and tried to attend his shows. I am sure my brother, when he was quite young but much older than me, made it to one. Yet, there were dozens of people in the old neighborhood, in post-war America who obsessed over Sly Stone.

In the late 1960s, and early 1970s, Sly Stone was in his moment. He was “it” and the band he organized into a phenomenon, was also “it.” He had music and a message that was for the times. The 1960s had been rough and Sly was there to say - calm down and lets unify and be good to one another. And let us, respect each other.

The late 1960s and early 1970s was the last time the country came together and tried to be better. It tried to change completely into something else. The people exerted the pressure to change basic rights for African Americans, women, and immigrants. Sly Stone’s songs with deeply rooted concerted feelings of hope rang loud and true for many of us.

Songs like “Stand” which directed people to stand up seems to be the inspiration of Bob Marley’s own classic anthem, “Get Up, Stand Up.” Or, “Sing A Simple Song,” a song full of many singing parts with many singers and spoken word parts worked into the overall composition. It was, at the time, a pretty radical departure from what was coming out at the time.

Yet, like those amazing times did not last forever. Sly Stone fell apart personally through drug use which led to personal failures and ultimately it impacted the group and his stature in the music world. George Clinton recently noted in the QuestLove film about Sly Stone that he and Sly were crack addicts.

But, it started in the early 1970s. The music was good, the band was internationally famous but the drugs took over. Sly began missing performance dates. His reputation fell apart and he eventually collapsed into obscurity. His songs remained on the radio but Sly was, according to many reports, homeless and living in a trailer.

Years ago, the late Georgetown University Men’s Division I Basketball coach, John Thompson, got into sports talk radio in D.C. He would open the show with, Sly’s famous anthem, “Everyday People.” I would always want to hear the start of the show so I could hear the song come on.

The song fit Thompson’s professional values: he wanted to help educate young people using basketball. He wanted to use his platform to speak out on racial justice. He did. Sly’s song has come to mean many things but we know it is positive and this is how I will remember Sly Stone. The verse that says it all goes:

“There is a blue one who can't accept the green one
For living with a fat one, trying to be a skinny one
Different strokes for different folks
And so on and so on and scooby-dooby-dooby”

(Everyday People - Sly and the Family Stone)

Even Dr. Cornel West years ago used the song, “Everyday People” to speak to the humanity of the people on this planet. “Everyday People” is all of us. The working class. The working poor. The poor. The disabled. The lumpen proletariat. That terminology is enduring for all time.

Sly might have had a tough time since his heyday ended but no one can take away the art he produced and gave to the world. We will be singing his songs into eternity, we everyday people. Down here on a planet where everybody is a star if you try to live a life of dignity, joy, purpose, and humanity.