Not many memoirs are generational events. But when Sly Stone, one
of the few true musical geniuses of the last century, decides to
finally tell hislife story, it can’t be called anything else.
As the front man for
the sixties pop-rock-funk band Sly and the Family Stone, a songwriter
who created some of the most memorable anthems of the 1960s and 1970s
(“Everyday People,” “Family Affair”), and a performer who
electrified audiences at Woodstock and elsewhere, Sly Stone’s
influence on modern music and culture is indisputable. But as much as
people know the music, the man remains a mystery. After a rapid rise
to superstardom, Sly spent decades in the grips of addiction.
Now he is ready to
relate the ups and downs and ins and outs of his amazing life in his
memoir, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin). The book
moves from Sly’s early career as a radio DJ and record producer
through the dizzying heights of the San Francisco music scene in the
late 1960s and into the darker, denser life (and music) of 1970s and
1980s Los Angeles. Set on stages and in mansions, in the company of
family and of other celebrities, it’s a story about flawed humanity
and flawless artistry.
Written with Ben
Greenman, who has also worked on memoirs with George Clinton and
Brian Wilson, and in collaboration with Arlene Hirschkowitz, Thank
You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) is a vivid, gripping, sometimes
terrifying, and ultimately affirming tour through Sly’s life and
career. Like Sly, it’s honest and playful, sharp and blunt,
emotional and analytical, always moving and never standing still.