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"Sing a Simple Song"
Single by Sly and the Family Stone
from the album Stand!
A-side"Everyday People"
Released1968
Recorded1968
GenreFunk[1]
Length3:57
LabelEpic
5-10407
Songwriter(s)Sly Stone
Producer(s)Sly Stone
Sly and the Family Stone singles chronology
"Life" / "M'Lady"
(1968) 		"Everyday People" / "Sing a Simple Song"
(1968) 		"Stand!" / "I Want to Take You Higher"
(1969)

"Sing a Simple Song" is a 1968 song by the soul/funk band Sly and the Family Stone, the B-side to their #1 hit "Everyday People". The song is sung in turn by Sly Stone, Freddie Stone, Rose Stone, and Larry Graham, with shouted spoken word sections by Cynthia Robinson. As with nearly all of Sly and the Family Stone's songs, Sylvester "Sly Stone" Stewart was credited as the sole songwriter.

The song is one of Sly and the Family Stone's signature songs, and has been covered by a number of acts, including Dusty Springfield, Diana Ross & the Supremes, The Temptations, The Jackson 5, The Commodores, Miles Davis, The Meters, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Prince, The Budos Band, Maceo Parker and others.

It has also been sampled by numerous artists, including Ike & Tina Turner, 2Pac, Jodeci, Wu-Tang Clan, Public Enemy, De La Soul, Digital Underground ("Humpty Dance"), Cypress Hill, Gorillaz, Arrested Development, Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, Alanis Morissette, and Adina Howard. Jimi Hendrix plays the song's main riff on "We Gotta Live Together" from his 1970 live album Band of Gypsys. The song's "yah-yah-yah" refrain was referenced in The Illusion's 1969 hit "Did You See Her Eyes".

The song's title is referenced in the band's 1969 hit "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)."

Personnel

Samples

This is not an exhaustive list; a more comprehensive list can be found here.

See also

References

  1. ^ Segretto, Mike (2022). "1969". 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Minute - A Critical Trip Through the Rock LP Era, 1955–1999. Backbeat. p. 222. ISBN 9781493064601.
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