Sly and the Family Stone want you to stand up
“Stand!” by Sly and the Family Stone
In 1969, Sly and the Family Stone released “Stand!” — their fourth studio album. It dropped at a moment of intense cultural and political change, and the album provided a soundtrack for that fight.
“This was like a Civil Rights anthem made rock-friendly,” says Jeff Kaliss, author of “I Want to Take You Higher: The Life and Times of Sly and the Family Stone.” The band’s performance of music from the album became a highlight of the Woodstock festival. Today, the songs on “Stand!” are among the most sampled in history, and the Library of Congress added it to the National Recording Registry.
This story was produced by Devon Strolovitch for BMP Audio.
(Originally aired November 19, 2015)
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