Black History Music Pt. 16

In celebration of Black History Month, the Ear Candy Update intends to celebrate landmark recordings by black artists that have shaped the collective consciousness, mentality, and sense of cool the world over. Next, Sly and The Family Stone's "Stand!"

"Stand!" exists at a nexus in popular culture in America. Fresh off their blistering performance at Woodstock and riding a creative high of togetherness and good vibes, but also staring in the face of racial tension and political awareness, the band created an album that is both a plea and a demand. 

Built on sometimes dizzying contradictions and mindblowing layers of psychedelicized funk, "Stand!" is a document of a complex era created by an even more complex man in Sly Stone.

"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"

The call to arms of the titular track is boosted by the upbeat gospel tones and is juxtaposed immediately with the fierceness of "Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey." Make no mistake, there's a clear observational message in the song.

"Well, I went down across the country
And I heard two voices ring
They were talkin' funky to each other
And neither other could change a thing
Don't call me nigga, whitey
Don't call me whitey, nigga"

Then we move into the irrepressible, irresistible boogie of "I Want to Take You Higher," which had an unmistakable effect on George Clinton's P-Funk collective. The band coalesces into a pulsating groove that incorporates gospel, funk, soul, and the Blues into a five-minute monster that pushes the nonsense of racism and politics aside in favor of enlightenment.

A higher calling drove this band, and while they felt compelled to address social issues of the day, (The band's follow up "There's a Riot Goin' On" would prove this) "I Want to Take You Higher" emerges as one of the finest audio documents of the most explosive and most-documented period of the 20th Century's second half. It is essential to the careers of Parliament, Funkadelic, Outkast, Earth, Wind, & Fire, Prince, Public Enemy, War, Lenny Kravitz, Fishbone, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

I say all that knowing full well that "Everyday People," the album's sixth track, might be the friendliest and most unifying track in the history of funk and soul.