0

Sly & The Family Stone

The First Family is an unprecedented live performance by the original Family Stone personnel, recorded just prior to their signing to Epic Records.  This is where it all began.

 

An after-hours set captured in March 1967 in Redwood City, just south of San Francisco, this fascinating recording explicates Sly Stone’s genius on a tremendously exciting and atmospheric set of vintage soul covers, peppered with the arrangements, motifs and intoxicating energy that would soon become familiar during the group’s ascent.

 

The band had burst forth on the Bay Area scene in late 1966 seemingly fully formed, but all its constituents were already seasoned veterans of the local scene: Sly’s brother Freddie Stone on guitar, Larry Graham on bass, Greg Errico on drums along with Jerry Martini on saxophone and Cynthia Robinson on trumpet, and led by the enigmatic, charismatic Sly who brainstormed this band of bands.

 

SLY & THE FAMILY STONE

THE FIRST FAMILY:
LIVE AT WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL 1967

Sly & The Family Stone were true pioneers on so many levels: black/white, male/female, rock/soul, the act shattered all preconceptions of what popular music<br>could be and would go on to become one of the most innovative and influential groups the world has ever witnessed.  The First Family: Live at Winchester Cathedral 1967 is an electrifying live performance by the original Family Stone line-up, a full year before their chart breakthrough with “Dance To The Music.”

Buy Album

Sly & The Family Stone served as the house band at Redwood City, CA’s Winchester Cathedral from December 16, 1966, to April 28, 1967, lighting up the club with their dynamic, crowd-pleasing performances. The First Family: Live at Winchester Cathedral 1967 was recorded in the early hours of March 26, 1967, by Sly & The Family Stone’s first manager, Rich Romanello. Upon the group’s signing to Epic Records later that year, Romanello put the 7-inch analog tapes into storage where they sat for thirty-five years. The reels were rediscovered in 2002 by Dutch twins Edwin and Arno Konings, renowned Sly & The Family Stone archivists, and carefully restored by their co-producer Palao for this set.

 

With mastering by Dan Hersch and a lacquer cut by Kevin Gray, the result is an electrifying fifty-minutes that proves that the genius and skill of Sly & The Family Stone came fully formed. Indeed, this is where it all began.

 
2025 © High Moon Records

SAVE 20% OFF EVERYTHING IN OUR LOVE SALE