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It in no way minimizes Sly Stone’s genius to state that the primary instrumental force of Sly and the Family Stone was Larry Graham. Larry, who turns 66 today, was a true pioneer of the bass guitar: through that instrument he invested Sly’s songs with a power unheard of in pop music, and he is credited with inventing the “bass slap,” a crucial element in all funk music. Larry is also beloved for his baritone vocal interjections: “I’m gonna add some bottom!” Here he is, far right, with the band in 1970.

The Family Stone has been touring with three of the band’s original members — saxman Jerry Martini, trumpet player Cynthia Robinson and drummer Greg Errico. Rounding out the group and helping to deliver the band’s trademark grooves are lead singer/keyboardist Alex Davis, Blaise Sison on bass, lead guitarist Nate Wingfield and vocalist Trina Johnson Finn.

During a conversation with Pollstar, Jerry Martini talked about The Family Stone’s past, how the “door is always open” for Sly Stone and what the future has in store for “Everyday People.” Read more at Pollstar.com.

Sly and the Family Stone were featured in the season premiere of “Unsung” on TV One. If you missed the show, the full episode is available at TVOne.tv.

On June 25th, the story of Sly and the Family Stone kicks off a new season of TV One’s “Unsung,” the NAACP Image Award-winning series celebrating the lives and careers of successful artists or groups who, despite great talent, have not received the level of recognition they deserve or whose stories have never been told. Read more at EURweb.com. Here is an excerpt from TV One:

Among the most influential groups in the history of popular music, Sly & The Family Stone fused funk, soul, rock, and r&b to create a sound that resonated well beyond the charts. Led by the brilliant and charismatic Sly Stone, it was a sound that by turns reflected the idealism of the sixties, and the fracturing of those ideals in the decade that followed. The band’s performance at the Woodstock festival in 1969 showed a group at the height of their powers, while suggesting a future of unlimited musical possibilities. But even while crafting great music, the group gradually disintegrated. On this ground-breaking episode of ‘Unsung’, Sly Stone emerges to tell that tale, with the help of bandmates and family members – a unique and remarkable musical journey that, after four decades, is still unfolding.