Matthew Adams
Assistant Editor
“Summer of Soul” producer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson released a documentary on the genre-shifting band leader Sylvester “Sly Stone” Stewart. “Sly Lives!” premiered on Feb. 13 and the almost 2-hour long documentary encapsulated a wealth of knowledge about the eccentric band leader.
The documentary highlighted everything from his early life to where he is now as an 81-year-old grandfather. It gives viewers who are not from the generation of Sly Stone or do not have parents who listened to Sly Stone, a look into the highs and lows of Sly and the Family Stone.
Watching this documentary, I was very pleased to see that every point in time in Sly’s life was highlighted. With Questlove being such a music nerd, I did not expect a lackluster film.
One instance that was highlighted well was his early life. Every single detail was not given but enough was given to learn something new.
I thought it was very interesting to find out that he was a disc jockey for a radio station in San Francisco. This adds a layer to Sly Stone as an artist because all the music that he was listening to may have aided him as an artist through the things that he did during his career.
Another period in his life that was documented skillfully was his life as a musician. Even though this may seem easy, I believe that the amount of research one has to do to get the correct information is tough. There was not any “he say/she say” information included.
Fortunately, this documentary was able to include Stone himself, which helped the credibility of the documentary.
During this portion of the film, I thoroughly enjoyed the backstory and creation of 1971’s “There’s a Riot Goin’ On”.
Stone was going through an arduous time in his life. He was coming off the success of the band’s past albums, touring, and the Civil Rights Movement.
According to the documentary, the drugs were stopping him from being present in the studio and most importantly in the lives of his loved ones. Stone was also missing album deadlines. As band members left, Stone replaced them.
The label was trying its best to keep the band’s name alive so they put out a greatest hits album which featured the hit single “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin).”
During recording, Stone would rarely use his band and instead used a drum machine which was frowned upon at the time but would soon revolutionize the musical landscape.
This would hold off the masses for only so long but two years later “There’s a Riot Goin’ On” was released in 1971. The album was released in response to Marvin Gaye’s critically acclaimed “What’s Goin’ On”.
Throughout the documentary, archival footage was used amazingly. There were so many moments that helped convey different emotions and provided amazing context to the storyline.
The documentary was filled with interviews throughout different periods. One interview that I felt was the most important and conveyed the most emotion was an interview with David Letterman where Stone was musically declining and the drugs were more a part of his life than the music.
I felt that Stone was such a great musician but it made me realize that the higher you are (no pun intended) the harder you fall and Sly Stone was a great example of that adage. Seeing this interview made me emotional because it’s tough to see someone so influential to the culture fall like that and never recover.
Finally, this documentary included great interviews with amazing people who answered the questions tastefully. The interviews showed the love that people had for Stone and also the trials and tribulations that Stone went through.
Two interviews that provided context on both sides were the Andre 3000 interview and the interview with Stone’s daughter, Phunne Stone. In the Andre 3000 interview, he essentially articulated the impact that Sly has had on him and the people around him.
The interview with his daughter was able to provide context into the life of a child of Sly Stone. She told a story about how he would do cocaine in front of her and how she would imitate him by snorting lines of chalk.
If you like immersive and in-depth documentaries, this is something that you should watch. Questlove did an excellent job with a reclusive figure that many were influenced by. I give this documentary a 9.5 out of 10.
“Sly Lives!” is available for streaming on Disney Plus and Hulu.
