December 29, 2025 – Sly and the Family Stone lit up the stage in Woodstock, then blazed like a meteor through the late 1960s and 70s before flaming out in 1983. The cause of the flameout? Much like other musical flameouts, drugs, burnout and changing musical trends. But the leader of the band, Sly Stone? He was anything but ordinary.

According to this documentary movie, directed by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson (“Summer of Soul ...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised”) Sly Stone was a multi-talented musical genius who blazed a musical trail that is still being followed today, influencing hip hop artists, and many others. According to Wikipedia: “In the making of [this] film, some interviews from Greg Zola's Small Talk About Sly and Michael Rubinstone's On the Sly: In Search of the Family Stone were used.”

According to the movie, Sly (born Sylvester Stewart) was a musical prodigy as a child, and first became known as a radio DJ at KSOL in San Francisco as a record producer and studio musician for Autumn Records. Then he moved on to making his own music with his band Sly and the Stoners. His brother, Freddie had his own band, Freddie and the Stone Souls. They fused the two bands to form Sly and the Family Stone in 1967, and soon hit the big time.

Sly's first album, “ A Whole New Thing,” was a flop. They needed a hit, and they made one to order with “Dance to the Music” in 1967, which was a pop sensation. Sly's appearance at Woodstock in 1969 made the band iconic. Even though the band was enormously popular, it could not be pinned down to a specific category.

Even though Sly had spun records at a soul station, he played a much wider variety of music. Likewise, the band had hit songs that blended musical stylings across boundaries. The band itself reflected this diversity, with males and females, whites and blacks. The documentary features extensive interviews with Sly and band members who provide a vivid portrait of the rise and fall of Sly Stone and the band.

Interviews in the movie include band members Greg Errico, Larry Graham, Jerry Martini, Cynthia Robinson and numerous other musicians, including Chaka Khan and George Clinton, as well as record producers and executives. A picture emerges of a musical genius under enormous pressure to produce hit after hit, but whose real passions followed a different path. Drug addiction and substance abuse are but a symptom of deeper problems.

Sly's own family members talk about the dysfunction in the family, something that is the subject of Sly's song, “Family Affair” (1971). The dysfuntion within Sly and the Family Stone led to members starting to leave the band before its final breakup. According to the movie Sly did reconcile with his family members later in life, and even got off the drugs.

Generally, in this kind of movie, I expected some of it to be dedicated to the death of Sly Stone, with some footage of the funeral and tributes to him, but there is none of that in this movie, hence the title, “Sly Lives.” It turns out this film was released early this year, prior to the death of Sly on June 9. Fortunately, there are plenty of tributes to him the film, to go along with the talk about his many faults.

This is a well-rounded account of the man and his band, and it includes some performance footage as well. I am a fan of the band. To me, the music of Sly and the Family Stone is joyful, energetic, exciting music. It is nice to see that music still lives on in many ways. This film rates a B+.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff (no extra charges apply). I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

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