Sly and the family Stone

Sly Stone was very cool. Shirtless, vested, the languorous look, one eye cocked, mouth half-open as if caught laugh­ing at his own joke. Freddie, Rosie, Gregg, Larry, Cynthia and Jerry were the Family, and we were the children.

The bikers, the stoners, a butcher, a banker, the long­haired hippies and the Afro-ed blacks, we were all Everyday  People. Sly Stone alone created that mix. And when he raised two long fingers skyward at Woodstock, we went wherever he wanted to take us  —  literally, spiritually, eventually.