"All of the squares go home!"
My favorite part of church was always the music. And I didn't go to a tambourine-banging drum and bass soul church, either. At my church, music was always a fairly solemn affair. But it was the part I always looked forward to - the part that legitimately moved and inspired me.
That's the magic and the mystery of music. A person can read the lyrics of a song out loud and they can seem trite and contrived, even silly. But read them slowly, melodically, and it's called singing, and you can move people to tears. It's a special and sacred thing.
It's the closest I've ever come to what my understanding of God is.
It's why I try to carry a song in my heart at all times. Why I have been known to whistle, sing, and even dance at inopportune moments. I don't have to dig deep - it's always bubbling just under the surface. It's a good way to live life, or so I believe.
I've said before that I am more moved by dark music than light - for example, Lesley Gore's "You Don't Own Me" affects me far more deeply than "It's My Party." And it's true. I get a real thrill listening to artists exorcise their demons through song. It seems more genuine, for some reason, than writing just another throwaway dance track. It's hard to do "happy" with real gravity.
But when it's done well, it's truly transcendent. Everyone has a list of their favorite empowerment anthems - from "I Will Survive" to Katy Perry's "Roar," these tracks manage to be both incredibly uplifting and deeply resonant. My go-to empowerment music is Sly & The Family Stone.
For nearly three years in the late 60's, the message of the band was ceaselessly upbeat and optimistic. From 1967's lead-off album "A Whole New Thing" through the "Thank You (Falletin Me Be Mice Elf Agin)" single in December of 1969, everything was "love yourself, love each other, and let's dance," reaching progressively more dizzying heights along the way.
The group's fortunes paralleled society in the late 60's, leading literally from San Francisco during the "Summer of Love," to a crowning performance at Woodstock in August, 1969, arguably the zenith of the "peace and love generation," which gave way to the winter of discontent heralded by the Rolling Stones' ill-advised free concert at Altamont, and then wore into the militant pessimism of the 70's. Fame and bottomless wealth took their toll on the band, and Sly in particular, by 1970, leading to a long, bitter fading away that continues to this day.
But for a brief and glorious window of time, I believe Sly and the band were privileged to tap into something truly beautiful. Consider the group - multi-racial, multi-gender, a true melting pot. They weren't just preaching, they were living the message of acceptance they espoused in those turbulent times.
"Don't hate the black, don't hate the white - if you get bit, just hate the bite." from "Are You Ready"
At least once a week, I take a trip to the church of Sly, and worship at the alter of his sunny funk. All are welcome (although Cynthia and Jerry got a message for the squares - they can stay home), which in itself is revolutionary. The music dares you not to dance. You may start out sitting quietly, overwhelmed by the freedom being offered, but by the second drum break in "Dance to the Music," you will no longer be able to resist. By the end of the show, you will look around at the diverse crowd sharing the dance floor and realize something about them. But more importantly, you will realize something about yourself.
They want to take you higher, and they do it. They don't judge, nor do they ask anything from you but what you already have hidden deep within yourself - a primal reaction to the groove.
"Look into the future. Tell me what you see. Brothers and sisters holding hands - you sitting next to me." from "Love City"
There is no sacrifice required to worship at the church of Sly. There is no stairway to heaven available for purchase - blessings are offered freely and openly to all who seek them.
"Sock it unto others, as you would have them sock it to you." from "Fun"
They love you for who you are, not the one you feel you need to be. They know you may feel overwhelmed by the pressures of the world, but they want you to know that you can make it if you try.
"My own beliefs are in my song. Fear is the blue one who can't accept the green one for living with the fat one who's trying to be a skinny one. Different strokes for different folks. And so on and so on..." from "Everyday People"
The band's ultimate prayer, and one of my favorite songs, is the title track from 1969's album, "Stand." The track perfectly encapsulates everything the band was about in the early part of its career:
Stand
In the end you'll still be you - one that's done all the things you set out to do.
Stand
There's a cross for you to bear - things to go through if you're going anywhere
Stand
For the things you know are right - it's the truth that the truth makes them so uptight
Stand
All the things you want are real - you have you to complete and there is no deal
Stand!
You've been sitting much too long - there's a permanent crease in your right and wrong
Stand
There's a midget standing tall - and a giant beside him about to fall
Stand!
They will try to make you crawl - and they know what you're saying makes sense and all
Stand
Don't you know that you are free? Well, at least in your mind, if you want to be.
Everybody STAND!
Sly built his fortune and glory on the power of his positive message; however, I can't help but think that his motivations were deeper. Forming a band with black people, white people, men, and women in 1967 was a ballsy move, for sure, with no guarantee it wouldn't kill the band's commercial potential. But the music transcended all of these things, and seemed to make the diversity of the group an even more powerful statement than it already was. That they quickly became one of the biggest attractions in the country is proof-positive that Sly knew exactly what people needed at that time.
It's sad to think of the last four decades of near-hits and tragic misses that have led Sly to where he is today. But he had his moment, and in three years, across four albums, he created a legacy that continues to get booties shaking even today.
I find my clearest evidence of God not in churches, preaching doctrines of guilt, suppression and damnation, but in the great works and deeds of mankind. Those works and deeds that speak to man's greatest, most noble instincts, and seem to be touched by an almost preternatural grace. The silver lining to any tragedy is that it allows people the chance to rise beyond themselves and their petty concerns, if only for a little while. And the power of great art is that it can do the same.
Rock and roll is a powerful beast. It has the power to unite disparate elements of society into a cohesive whole working towards a common goal. It's a tremendous responsibility for the artist who creates it. Few have done it quite as deftly, or beautifully, as Sly Stone. The amazing thing about his music is that I believe it truly does make me a better person. I commune with it for however long and the positive energy I feel radiates out into every aspect of my life. I try to keep it close to my heart at all times.
I believe the purpose of this amazing thing called life is to try to make the most of it. Grow in our understanding of the world, and of humanity. But above all, to enjoy it. To not spend it in fear of the unknowable infinite or in judgment of those who look, think, and feel differently than we do, but to try and make as positive a difference as we can while we are here. Sly knew that, and he tried to use his chosen medium to inspire greatness in others. Judgment is bred through believing that you are right, and others are wrong. And that rightness inherently makes you better. But in the end we are all just everyday people. There is no one course of belief that is greater, or more true than any other. It's all relative to the positive works and impact you leave behind.
It's all relative to the groove. And in Sly's hands, salvation truly is found on the dance floor.
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