"Family Affair" is a 1971 number-one hit single recorded by

Sly and the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band from San Francisco. Active from 1966 to 1983, it was pivotal in the development of funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic music. Its core line-up was led by singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi-i ...

for the

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

label. Their first new material since the double A-sided single "

Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" is a 1969 song recorded by Sly and the Family Stone. The song, released as a double A-side single with "Everybody Is a Star", reached number one on the soul single charts for five weeks, and reached numb ...

"/ "

Everybody Is a Star "Everybody Is a Star", released in December 1969, is song written by Sylvester Stewart and recorded by Sly and the Family Stone. The song, released as the B-side to the band's 1970 single "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)", reached number ...

" nearly two years prior, "Family Affair" became the third and final number-one pop single for the band. In 2021, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine ranked the song 57th on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The cover version by

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Ever ...

Joss Stone Joscelyn Eve Stoker (born 11 April 1987), known professionally as Joss Stone, is an English singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to prominence in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, ''The Soul Sessions'', which made the 2004 Merc ...

, and

Van Hunt Van Hunt (born March 8, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He released his debut album, ''Van Hunt'', in 2004, and a follow-up, ''On the Jungle Floor'', in 2006, both on Capitol Records. He won the ...

, won the

Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals The Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded between 1970 and 2011. From 1967 to 1969 and in 1971 the award included instrumental performances. The award had several minor name changes: *From 1967 to 1968 the ...

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 Sylvester Stewart (born March 15, 1943), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer who is most famous for his role as frontman for Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the ...

's guitar parts while emphasizing the

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

played by

Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, during which he ba ...

and "edit ngthe 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 This is a list of ''Billboard'' magazine's Top Hot 100 songs of 1972. The Top 100, as revealed in the year-end edition of ''Billboard'' dated December 30, 1972, is based on Hot 100 charts from the issue dates of December 4, 1971 through November 18 ...

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Notable covers and derivative recordings

"Family Affair" has been heavily covered, with versions by

Tyrone Davis Tyrone Davis (born Tyrone D. Fettson or Tyrone D. Branch, October 3, 1937 – February 9, 2005) was an American blues and soul singer with a long list of hit records over more than 20 years. Davis had three number 1 hits on the '' Billboard'' ...

, The Brothers Johnson,

MFSB MFSB, officially standing for "Mother Father Sister Brother", was a pool of more than 30 studio musicians based at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios. They worked closely with the production team of Gamble and Huff and producer/arranger Thom Bel ...

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...

Bunny Wailer Neville O'Riley Livingston (10 April 1947 – 2 March 2021), known professionally as Bunny Wailer, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and percussionist. He was an original member of reggae group The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. ...

, 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 The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

' "Let Your Hair Down" (1973), and

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

's "

You Haven't Done Nothin' "You Haven't Done Nothin" is a 1974 funk single by Stevie Wonder, taken from his album '' Fulfillingness' First Finale'' and featuring background vocals by The Jackson 5. The politically aware song became Wonder's fourth Number 1 pop hit and his ...

" (1974).

Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers Charles Louis Brown (August 22, 1936 – May 16, 2012) was an American guitarist, bandleader and singer known as "The Godfather of Go-Go". Go-go is a subgenre of funk music developed around the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area in the mid-197 ...

performed a

Go-go Go-go is a music subgenre, subgenre of funk music with an emphasis on specific rhythmic patterns, and live audience Call and response (music), call and response. Go-go was originated by African-American musicians in the Washington, D.C. area du ...

rendition for the album ''

Go Go Swing Live ''Go Go Swing Live'' is a live album recorded and released in 1986 by the Washington, D.C.-based go-go band Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers. The album was recorded at the Crystal Skate (in Temple Hills, Maryland) and at the RSVP (a defunct nigh ...

'' (1986).

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

featured this song as an intro to " Keep It Together" on her

Blond Ambition Tour The Blond Ambition World Tour (billed as Blond Ambition World Tour 90) was the third concert tour by American singer Madonna. It supported her fourth studio album '' Like a Prayer'' (1989), and the soundtrack album to the 1990 film '' Dick Tra ...

in 1990. Australian singer

Stephen Cummings Stephen Donald Cummings (born 13 September 1954) is an Australian rock singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of Melbourne-based rock band the Sports from 1976 to 1981, followed by a solo career which has met with critical acclaim but ha ...

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 Milli Vanilli were a German-French R&B duo from Munich. The group was founded by Frank Farian in 1988 and consisted of Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus. Their debut album, '' All or Nothing'' in Europe, reconfigured as ''Girl You Know It's True'' in ...

spinoff band Try 'N' B in 1992. Another retooled cover was done in 1993 by

Shabba Ranks Shabba Ranks (born Rexton Rawlston Fernando Gordon; 17 January 1966) is a Jamaican dancehall musician. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was one of the most popular Jamaican musicians in the world. Throughout his prominence in his home cou ...

featuring Patra and

Terri & Monica Terri & Monica was an R&B duo from the early 1990s which featured Terri Robinson (August 12, 1970) and Monica Payne (February 22, 1969), who were members of the short-lived late 1980s New Jack Swing R&B group The Gyrlz along with third member Tar ...

as a single for the ''

Addams Family Values ''Addams Family Values'' is a 1993 American supernatural black comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by Paul Rudnick, based on the characters created by Charles Addams. It is the sequel to '' The Addams Family'' (1991). The fil ...

'' 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 Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stati ...

chart.

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

sampled the song on his track "Y Should Eye Do That When Eye Can Do This?".

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

sampled the song on the track "And On and On", the B-side to her single " Any Time, Any Place".

Shola Ama Shola Ama (born 8 March 1979) is a British singer from London, who scored her biggest hits with "You Might Need Somebody" (1997), a cover of Randy Crawford's 1981 hit, " You're the One I Love" and "Still Believe" (1999) which was one of the fi ...

referenced the song on the track "Lovely Affair" from her 1999 second album '' In Return''

The Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim Hil ...

song "

Weekends The weekdays and weekend are the complementary parts of the week devoted to labour and rest, respectively. The legal weekdays (British English), or workweek (American English), is the part of the seven-day week devoted to working. In most of th ...

" from their 2000 album '' Bridging the Gap'' samples "Family Affair". In 2005,

and

recorded a cover featuring elements of the original recording for ''

Different Strokes by Different Folks ''Different Strokes by Different Folks'' is a remix and cover album by American funk, and soul band Sly and the Family Stone. Description Released first as a Starbucks-exclusive in 2005, this version (recognizable by its black background cover) ...

'', a Sly & the Family Stone tribute/remix album. This version of "Family Affair" won the 2007

. Jazz bassist

Christian McBride Christian McBride (born May 31, 1972) is an American jazz bassist, composer and arranger. He has appeared on more than 300 recordings as a sideman, and is an eight-time Grammy Award winner. McBride has performed and recorded with a number of j ...

recorded a cover on his album '' A Family Affair''.

MFSB version

recorded an instrumental version of the song as their debut single, from their 1973 debut album ''

''.

Personnel

— vocals, bass guitar, electric guitar and rhythm machine pre-set *

Rose Stone Rose Stone (born Rosemary Stewart, March 21, 1945) is an American singer and keyboardist. She is best known as one of the lead singers in Sly and the Family Stone, a popular psychedelic soul/funk band founded by her brothers, Sly Stone and ...

— vocals *

—

Hohner Pianet The Hohner Pianet is a type of electro-mechanical piano built by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany and designed by Ernst Zacharias. The Pianet was a variant of his earlier reed-based Hohner electric piano, the Cembalet, which, like ...

Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne Womack (; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guit ...

— rhythm guitar

Chart history

Sly & the Family Stone original

Shabba Ranks version

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Family Affair (Sly And The Family Stone song) Songs about families 1971 singles 1991 singles 1993 singles Funk songs Psychedelic soul songs Sly and the Family Stone songs 1973 debut singles MFSB songs Stephen Cummings songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Sly Stone Songs written by Sly Stone 1971 songs Epic Records singles Philadelphia International Records singles

Overview

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Notable covers and derivative recordings

MFSB version

Personnel

Chart history

Sly & the Family Stone original

Shabba Ranks version

See also

References