"If it was good in the past, it's still good."
-Sly Stone, Woodstock, 1969
Creativity is a continuum. Two good things lead to a third, and are relayed on. Everybody contributes and all benefit.
Culture is sliced in familial tones.
Prince had many parents, in terms of fashion, outlook, and sounds, including James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, and George Clinton. But none more so than Sly Stone.
SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE
-"Anthology" LP (1981)
PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION
-"Mountains" 45rpm (1986)
JESSE JOHNSON and SLY STONE
-"Crazay" 12" Single (1986)
Sly And The Family Stone personified inclusion. They were everybody, together. As such, they symbolized everything that was positive and possible about the counterculture in the late '60s and early '70s.
Sly And The Family Stone, 1969.
Prince And The Revolution consciously brought this to the fore for the 1980s, enforcing the timeless concepts of inclusion and expansion.
On this Music Player you will hear Prince songs paired with songs by Sly Stone, as well as others by James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, George Clinton, and T.Rex, to appreciate how he brought something vital and new to each.
"I Want To Take You Higher" just may be the Big Bang of Funk-Rock.
It drove half-a-million people to their feet in dancing ecstasy at Woodstock, and helped turn Funk music into the soundtrack of the '70s. From HipHop to Mixology, from Manchester to Iran to Japan, it continues to lift the world.
"I Want To Take You Higher/ Stand" 45rpm
Sly actually did it before and after he did it.
The central chant has been a work in progress across records and time. The trial run was an album track called "Higher" in 1968, and again on another epic track called "Dance To The Medley". (The Psychedelic Soul of the latter is virtually the template for Funkadelic.)
SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE -"Higher" (1968)
SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE -"Dance To The Medley" (1968) ("Higher" comes in at 7:45)
Those joyful Gospel choral chants of "Higher" finally reached fruition when the ultimate song "I Want To Take You Higher" ascended in 1969 on the essential album, STAND.
SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE -"I Want To Take You Higher" (studio version, 1969)
The roaring live performance of the song galvanized the Woodstock nation, and Sly And The Family Stone are still considered one of the crucial highlights of the Festival and the Documentary film.
SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE -"I Want To Take You Higher" (live at Woodstock, 1969)
Later he did the wry rewrite "I Get High On You" in 1975, and a playful bounce of it as "High, Y'all" in 1983.
SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE -"I Get High On You" (1975)
As the Music Player above reveals, the song became an instant classic and was either covered by everyone or referenced lyrically for years to come. The core of it is the "Higher!" chant. It summed up the utopian hopes of the progressive counterculture generation, while also winking about getting high.
If it wasn't being covered by Brian Auger, Tina Turner, or Googoosh (Iran), then the "Higher" chant was popping up in originals from The Temptations, The Chambers Brothers, War, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, and beyond.
It gets a shout-out in the rapidfire pop history novelty "Life Is A Rock", gets quoted on the trail-out of "Play That Funky Music", and may be referenced sideways in Paul McCartney's banned single "Hi Hi Hi".
Into the '80s and '90s, it rises up in Grandmaster Flash's "White Lines", an unreleased song with the same name by Roger Taylor (Queen), a Curtis Mayfield homage by Lenny Kravitz, a Madchester trip-out by raving Moonflowers, a namecheck by Public Enemy, a pot anthem by Cypress Hill, and an electro resurge from Future Funk.
"I Want to Take You Higher: The Psychedelic Era 1965-1969",
The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Museum (1997)
B O O M
S H A C K A
L A C K A
L A C K A
B O O M
As also heard on the Music Player, another key ingredient of the song that keeps coming back up is the lyric "Boom shacka lacka lacka, boom shacka lacka lacka, boom shacka lacka lacka boom". Everybody uses it, even if by now they don't know where it came from.
This chant has become a classic Reggae song, a Reggae band, and a Reggae magazine.
It jumps up in HipHop songs like "Whoomp! There It is!" and Pop hits like Was (Not Was)' "Walk The Dinosaur" and Brianna's "Boom Shaka Laka".
It's become slang in Basketball and in HipHop.
It's even been the name of a Bollywood film and an Indian fantasy TV series for kids!
"Liberation for all. Everything must be rethought." ______________
Two great things hybrid a third great thing. ROCK SEX is a metaphor for the creative connections that link our shared culture together. This Pop Culture hub explores the roots and branches of Music, Film, Art, Comics, and more. _______________
Rock'n'Soul music is a baton relayed by everyone. Learn the holistic history with the most advanced Music Playlists online!:
BLUES, MAMBO, JAZZ, ROCKABILLY, SURF, BEAT, SOUL, GARAGE, PSYCHEDELIA, FUNK, GLAM, PUNK, NEW WAVE, HIPHOP, POSTPUNK, GRUNGE, RIOT GRRRL, ELECTRO, next! _______________
This is our party and everyone is invited!
Posts
