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Family Affair (Sly and the Family Stone song)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Family Affair
| cover = Sly-family-affair-single2.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Sly and the Family Stone
| album = There's a Riot Goin' On
| B-side = Luv N' Haight
| released = November 6, 1971
| recorded = 1971
| studio =
| venue =
| genre =
| length = 3:06
| label = Epic
5-10805
| writer = Sly Stone
| producer = Sly Stone
| prev_title = Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)
| prev_title2 = Everybody Is a Star
| prev_year = 1969
| next_title = Runnin' Away
| next_year = 1972
| misc =
}}
"'Family Affair'" is a 1971 number-one hit single recorded by Sly and the Family Stone for the Epic Records label. Their first new material since the double A-sided single "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"/ "Everybody Is a Star" nearly two years prior, "Family Affair" became the third and final number-one pop single for the band. In 2021, 'Rolling Stone' magazine ranked the song 57th on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The cover version by John Legend, Joss Stone, and Van Hunt, won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at 49th Annual Grammy Awards.
Overview
Released on November 6, 1971, "Family Affair" was markedly different from the earlier Sly & the Family Stone hits. Engineering consultant Richard Tilles muted most of Sly Stone's guitar parts while emphasizing the electric piano played by Billy Preston and "edit[ing] the rhythm box to sound like a heartbeat," according to David Hepworth.
"Family Affair" was the most successful hit of Sly & the Family Stone's career, peaking at number-one on the 'Billboard' Hot 100 for three weeks, while achieving the same on the Billboard R&B Singles chart for five weeks. 'Billboard' ranked it as the No. 79 song for 1972.Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1972
Chart history
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Notable covers and derivative recordings
"Family Affair" has been heavily covered, with versions by Tyrone Davis, The Brothers Johnson, MFSB, Iggy Pop, Bunny Wailer, Andrew Roachford, and many more. The song's drum machine-created rhythm was duplicated in several early to mid-1970s recordings, in particular The Temptations' "Let Your Hair Down" (1973), and Stevie Wonder's "You Haven't Done Nothin'" (1974).
Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers performed a Go-go rendition for the album 'Go Go Swing Live' (1986).
Madonna featured this song as an intro to "Keep It Together" on her Blond Ambition Tour in 1990.
Australian singer Stephen Cummings released a version as the second single from his fifth studio album, 'Good Humour'. A rap-infused, danceable cover was released by German Milli Vanilli spinoff band Try 'N' B in 1992. Another retooled cover was done in 1993 by Shabba Ranks featuring Patra and Terri & Monica as a single for the 'Addams Family Values' soundtrack. This version charted on the 'Billboard' pop chart at number 84, number 16 on the R&B chart, and number-six on the Hot Rap Tracks chart. Prince sampled the song on his track "Y Should Eye Do That When Eye Can Do This?".
Janet Jackson sampled the song on the track "And On and On", the B-side to her single "Any Time, Any Place".
Shola Ama referenced the song on the track "Lovely Affair" from her 1999 second album 'In Return'
The Black Eyed Peas song "Weekends" from their 2000 album 'Bridging the Gap' samples "Family Affair".
In 2005, John Legend, Joss Stone and Van Hunt recorded a cover featuring elements of the original recording for 'Different Strokes by Different Folks', a Sly & the Family Stone tribute/remix album. This version of "Family Affair" won the 2007 Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.
Jazz bassist Christian McBride recorded a cover on his album 'A Family Affair'.
MFSB version
MFSB recorded an instrumental version of the song as their debut single, from their 1973 debut album 'MFSB'.
Personnel
* Sly Stone vocals, bass guitar, electric guitar and rhythm machine pre-set
*Rose Stone vocals
* Billy Preston Hohner Pianet
* Bobby Womack rhythm guitar
Chart history
Sly & the Family Stone original
Shabba Ranks version
See also
*Hot 100 number-one hits of 1971 (USA)
*R&B number-one hits of 1971 (USA)
*R&B number-one hits of 1972 (USA)
References
Category:Songs about families
Category:1971 singles
Category:1991 singles
Category:1993 singles
Category:Funk songs
Category:Psychedelic soul songs
Category:Sly and the Family Stone songs
Category:1973 debut singles
Category:MFSB songs
Category:Stephen Cummings songs
Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Category:Cashbox number-one singles
Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles
Category:Song recordings produced by Sly Stone
Category:Songs written by Sly Stone
Category:1971 songs
Category:Epic Records singles
Category:Philadelphia International Records singles
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