Family Affair - Studio Rio Version

Sly & the Family Stone was indeed a family affair, with Sly Stone's younger siblings, brother Freddie and sister Rosie, all part of the band. The rest of the group, including bass player Larry Graham, were like family, at least in the '60s, when they rose to the top with the hits "Everyday People" and "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)." But in the '70s, the group came apart as Sly Stone battled drug addiction and became rather unreliable, causing the band to miss a number of shows. It also took a while for them to produce an album to follow up their 1969 release Stand! When they delivered There's A Riot Goin' On in 1971, it was a lot darker and angrier than their previous material. The first single, "Family Affair," wasn't a celebration of family but a look at how it can go wrong, with these memorable lines that check in on the nature vs. nurture debate: One child grows up to be Somebody that just loves to learn And another child grows up to be Somebody you'd just love to burn The song was a huge hit, their third #1 in America, but it signaled an end of an era. Graham and drummer Gregg Errico left soon after, and they never landed another big hit.

Sly Stone's manager told Rolling Stone that "Family Affair" was the story of Sly's own life, which was being cut up by the factions that surrounded him in his stardom. Chief among those factions, label executive David Kapralik hinted, was Sly's own family. Sly denied this. He told the magazine, "Song's not about that. Song's about a family affair, whether it's a result of genetic processes or a situation in the environment." There was a rumor at the time that Stone had written it in response to demands made on him by black nationalist groups that didn't approve of his integrationist sensibility.

It was rumored that Sly Stone played all the instruments on this track himself. Larry Graham confirmed that Sly played at least the bass part himself - you can tell because it's played with a pick (Stone's method) and not plucking and thumping like Graham. When asked what parts of the song he played, Stone answered, "I've forgotten, man. Whatever was left."