info/contact
info/contact
Friday Funk #36 – ‘Are You Ready’ by Sly & The Family Stone
Friday Funk #36 – ‘Are You Ready’ by Sly & The Family Stone
Friday Funk #36 – ‘Are You Ready’ by Sly & The Family Stone
With August spent shakin’ underwater, we’re celebrating the birthday of legendary bassist Larry Graham a month late.
Sly & The Family Stone helped formulate funk with James Brown in the late ’60s. They weren’t as big on the One as James, and their songs typically had more musical elements than funk touchstones like ‘Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag’ and ‘Cold Sweat’. Sly’s was more of a collaborative band (before he became more reclusive around the time of There’s a Riot Goin’ On) where each member’s instrument played a key part in shaping their sound. Although Sly got writing credits, the band would have likely shared credit with today’s conventions.
When brothers Sly and Freddie Stone combined their bands in 1966, Sly switched to electric organ and Freddie handled most of the guitar. Their sister Rose soon joined the band. Freddie is rarely mentioned in guitarist circles, but his percussive, bright playing was a key part of funk’s development. He found room in the mix amid Larry Graham’s often dominant basslines, Sly’s organ, and Cynthia Robinson’s trademark kinetic trumpeting.
Graham is primarily known for his slapping and popping, and is said to have invented the technique, at least on electric bass. His sound was partly born out of necessity as a teenager in his mother’s band after she decided they’d play without a drummer. Larry used his thumb to slap his bottom bass string, imitating a kick drum, and his finger popping acted as a snare.
In the Family Stone, there was a drummer in Greg Errico, but for many songs Graham retained his slapping and popping. In songs like ‘Are You Ready’, though, he played more subtly.
‘Are You Ready’ features band members—Sly, Larry, Freddie, and Rose—taking turns on the mic in the manner of ‘Dance To The Music’, the single that helped them break big. Sly wrote in his memoir that ‘Are You Ready’ “argued against seeing things as a matter of color and instead seeing them as matters of what mattered” – and race didn’t matter. The Family Stone were America’s first interracial group to hit the charts and their unity changed pop forever.
Graham’s driving bassline is a reliable anchor to the song, with just a few earcatching higher pitched notes thrown in, while Errico plays around the meter with heavy syncopation. In fact, the song is a chance for Errico to shine in a band of virtuoso performers. There are several bars where only Errico and Graham play and the song is more about Errico’s rhythms than Cynthia’s trumpet or Freddie’s poppy chords (the latter solely in the right speaker – a great example of ’60s stereo mixing).
In the verses Errico plays mainly on the kick drum, snare, and hi-hat, then in the chorus his crash cymbals make the song feel bigger and more celebratory as Cynthia’s main trumpet riff comes in. In the moments where only Errico and Graham play, the constant offbeat snare and hi-hat keep the energy up even in a barebones arrangement. Errico’s drum rolls perfectly usher in each verse and chorus. After Freddie’s played some scratchy guitar, higher-pitched slides (1:45) call for the return of Sly and Rose calls of “Are you ready?”, then Freddie’s guitar retreats to the background. Jerry Martini’s saxophone comes in on an offbeat, his foreboding notes giving “Are you ready?” an ambiguous tone. (Is it a call to action? A warning?) After another drumroll from Errico from 2:20—another section with only drums–Graham comes back for a particularly satisfyingly beat on the One.
Sly songs were brilliantly arranged. The band was full of expert players, but they didn’t step on each other’s toes. Often playing less meant they made a bigger impact when they did play.
With August spent shakin’ underwater, we’re celebrating the birthday of legendary bassist Larry Graham a month late.
Sly & The Family Stone helped formulate funk with James Brown in the late ’60s. They weren’t as big on the One as James, and their songs typically had more musical elements than funk touchstones like ‘Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag’ and ‘Cold Sweat’. Sly’s was more of a collaborative band (before he became more reclusive around the time of There’s a Riot Goin’ On) where each member’s instrument played a key part in shaping their sound. Although Sly got writing credits, the band would have likely shared credit with today’s conventions.
When brothers Sly and Freddie Stone combined their bands in 1966, Sly switched to electric organ and Freddie handled most of the guitar. Their sister Rose soon joined the band. Freddie is rarely mentioned in guitarist circles, but his percussive, bright playing was a key part of funk’s development. He found room in the mix amid Larry Graham’s often dominant basslines, Sly’s organ, and Cynthia Robinson’s trademark kinetic trumpeting.
Graham is primarily known for his slapping and popping, and is said to have invented the technique, at least on electric bass. His sound was partly born out of necessity as a teenager in his mother’s band after she decided they’d play without a drummer. Larry used his thumb to slap his bottom bass string, imitating a kick drum, and his finger popping acted as a snare.
In the Family Stone, there was a drummer in Greg Errico, but for many songs Graham retained his slapping and popping. In songs like ‘Are You Ready’, though, he played more subtly.
‘Are You Ready’ features band members—Sly, Larry, Freddie, and Rose—taking turns on the mic in the manner of ‘Dance To The Music’, the single that helped them break big. Sly wrote in his memoir that ‘Are You Ready’ “argued against seeing things as a matter of color and instead seeing them as matters of what mattered” – and race didn’t matter. The Family Stone were America’s first interracial group to hit the charts and their unity changed pop forever.
Graham’s driving bassline is a reliable anchor to the song, with just a few earcatching higher pitched notes thrown in, while Errico plays around the meter with heavy syncopation. In fact, the song is a chance for Errico to shine in a band of virtuoso performers. There are several bars where only Errico and Graham play and the song is more about Errico’s rhythms than Cynthia’s trumpet or Freddie’s poppy chords (the latter solely in the right speaker – a great example of ’60s stereo mixing).
In the verses Errico plays mainly on the kick drum, snare, and hi-hat, then in the chorus his crash cymbals make the song feel bigger and more celebratory as Cynthia’s main trumpet riff comes in. In the moments where only Errico and Graham play, the constant offbeat snare and hi-hat keep the energy up even in a barebones arrangement. Errico’s drum rolls perfectly usher in each verse and chorus. After Freddie’s played some scratchy guitar, higher-pitched slides (1:45) call for the return of Sly and Rose calls of “Are you ready?”, then Freddie’s guitar retreats to the background. Jerry Martini’s saxophone comes in on an offbeat, his foreboding notes giving “Are you ready?” an ambiguous tone. (Is it a call to action? A warning?) After another drumroll from Errico from 2:20—another section with only drums–Graham comes back for a particularly satisfyingly beat on the One.
Sly songs were brilliantly arranged. The band was full of expert players, but they didn’t step on each other’s toes. Often playing less meant they made a bigger impact when they did play.
With August spent shakin’ underwater, we’re celebrating the birthday of legendary bassist Larry Graham a month late.
Sly & The Family Stone helped formulate funk with James Brown in the late ’60s. They weren’t as big on the One as James, and their songs typically had more musical elements than funk touchstones like ‘Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag’ and ‘Cold Sweat’. Sly’s was more of a collaborative band (before he became more reclusive around the time of There’s a Riot Goin’ On) where each member’s instrument played a key part in shaping their sound. Although Sly got writing credits, the band would have likely shared credit with today’s conventions.
When brothers Sly and Freddie Stone combined their bands in 1966, Sly switched to electric organ and Freddie handled most of the guitar. Their sister Rose soon joined the band. Freddie is rarely mentioned in guitarist circles, but his percussive, bright playing was a key part of funk’s development. He found room in the mix amid Larry Graham’s often dominant basslines, Sly’s organ, and Cynthia Robinson’s trademark kinetic trumpeting.
Graham is primarily known for his slapping and popping, and is said to have invented the technique, at least on electric bass. His sound was partly born out of necessity as a teenager in his mother’s band after she decided they’d play without a drummer. Larry used his thumb to slap his bottom bass string, imitating a kick drum, and his finger popping acted as a snare.
In the Family Stone, there was a drummer in Greg Errico, but for many songs Graham retained his slapping and popping. In songs like ‘Are You Ready’, though, he played more subtly.
‘Are You Ready’ features band members—Sly, Larry, Freddie, and Rose—taking turns on the mic in the manner of ‘Dance To The Music’, the single that helped them break big. Sly wrote in his memoir that ‘Are You Ready’ “argued against seeing things as a matter of color and instead seeing them as matters of what mattered” – and race didn’t matter. The Family Stone were America’s first interracial group to hit the charts and their unity changed pop forever.
Graham’s driving bassline is a reliable anchor to the song, with just a few earcatching higher pitched notes thrown in, while Errico plays around the meter with heavy syncopation. In fact, the song is a chance for Errico to shine in a band of virtuoso performers. There are several bars where only Errico and Graham play and the song is more about Errico’s rhythms than Cynthia’s trumpet or Freddie’s poppy chords (the latter solely in the right speaker – a great example of ’60s stereo mixing).
In the verses Errico plays mainly on the kick drum, snare, and hi-hat, then in the chorus his crash cymbals make the song feel bigger and more celebratory as Cynthia’s main trumpet riff comes in. In the moments where only Errico and Graham play, the constant offbeat snare and hi-hat keep the energy up even in a barebones arrangement. Errico’s drum rolls perfectly usher in each verse and chorus. After Freddie’s played some scratchy guitar, higher-pitched slides (1:45) call for the return of Sly and Rose calls of “Are you ready?”, then Freddie’s guitar retreats to the background. Jerry Martini’s saxophone comes in on an offbeat, his foreboding notes giving “Are you ready?” an ambiguous tone. (Is it a call to action? A warning?) After another drumroll from Errico from 2:20—another section with only drums–Graham comes back for a particularly satisfyingly beat on the One.
Sly songs were brilliantly arranged. The band was full of expert players, but they didn’t step on each other’s toes. Often playing less meant they made a bigger impact when they did play.