August 18, 2023Scott Goldfine

TIR 50: Family Stone’s Greg Errico Tells How He Helped Sly Take It Higher

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Brought to you by FUNKNSTUFF.NET and hosted by Scott Goldfine — musicologist and author of “Everything Is on THE ONE: The First Guide of Funk” ― “TRUTH IN RHYTHM” is the interview show that gets DEEP into the pocket with contemporary music’s foremost masters of the groove.

Featured in TIR Episode 50 (two segments): Greg Errico, original drummer for the group many consider the greatest and certainly one of the innovative funk-rock-soul band of all time, Sly & the Family Stone. He sat behind the kit for Sly from 1966 to 1971 and was featured on the group’s landmark five landmark albums, plus a compilation.

They were: A Whole Nother Thang; Dance to the Music; Life; Stand!; Greatest Hits; and There’s a Riot Going On. In addition to the title hits of some of those records, they also included the classic tracks “You Can Make It if You Try,” “Everyday People,” “I Want to Take You Higher,” “Hot Fun in the Summertime,” “Everybody Is a Star,” “Family Affair,” “Sing a Simple Song” and “Thank You (Falletinme Be Mice Elf Agin).” With their mixed race and gender lineup, ferocious grooves, and positive and socially relevant lyrics, Sly & the Family Stone surged to the head of the pack as a late 1960s supergroup and rivaled Jimi Hendrix as the showstopper at the legendary Woodstock music festival.

While the group blended many musical styles, their biggest influence was in the funk, further building on concepts first put forth by James Brown to take the genre to new places and levels. Those sounds echoed throughout the 1970s and beyond through the voices and instruments of just about every funk-oriented band that followed in Sly & the Family Stone’s wake.

Here. Errico reflects back on sitting front and center for that amazing ride and the majesty of it all, as well as the drug-fueled downfall, his subsequent career playing with other legends like the Grateful Dead, Santana, Weather Report and David Bowie, and reunited with some old band mates to bring that amazing music back to audiences as The Family Stone. So journey all the way back to the mid-1960s for some Hot Fun in the TRUTH IN RHYTHM time with Mr. Greg Errico!

Recorded March 2018

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Scott Goldfine

As a fervid lifelong music & film enthusiast / student, I grew up in and around the Los Angeles entertainment industry. I have worked and held many positions in various media realms, since 1998 serving as Editor-in-Chief and now Associate Publisher for Security Sales & Integration, a trade publication serving the electronic security industry. I love several genres of music & film. The former includes funk (Parliament-Funkadelic, Prince, Ohio Players, etc.); blues (Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy, Eric Gales, etc.); rock (Jack White, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Young, etc.); hard rock (AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, etc.); jazz (Herbie Hancock, Bob James, Crusaders, etc.); R&B (Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Gil Scott-Heron, etc.); and more. I was a club disc jockey and ran a mobile DJ company (Musical Moods) for more than 15 years, which is where the name Dr. GX originates (Doctor Good Times). Fave film genres include horror (Dawn of the Dead, Evil Dead, Nightmare on Elm Street, etc.); science fiction (Aliens, Terminator, 2001, etc.); action (Warriors, Road Warrior, Die Hard); westerns (Outlaw Josey Wales, Showdown at OK Corral; Wild Bunch, etc.); suspense (Jaws, Inception, Silence of the Lambs, etc.); drama (Apocalypse Now, Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction, etc.); and comedies (Life of Brian, Superbad, Ruthless People, etc.). I have attended many hundreds of concerts and movies (in theaters or screenings). I may as well also throw in a few favorite TV shows to give an even broader taste of my sensibilities. A handful would be Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, Lost, Justified, Fargo, Seinfeld, Sopranos, South Park, Brooklyn Nine Nine, Key & Peele, Monty Python, Inside Amy Schumer, Louie, Modern Family, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Last Man on Earth, Bob Newhart Show, All in the Family and The Office. Fave authors are Stephen King, Clive Barker and Michael Crichton. I am also a big sports fan and lifelong supporter of the Dallas Cowboys (NFL), Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) and Pittsburgh Pirates (MLB). Also enjoy my family of course, electronics/computers/AV gear, and animals, nature and outdoor activities. Graduate of Santa Monica High School, Santa Monica College and California State University Northridge (Radio-TV-Film, Psychology minor). Also studied at UCLA for kinesiology/psychology and earned post-grad Certificate in Accounting from Santa Monica College. Present main occupation is as Associate Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Security Sales & Integration (SSI), which I joined in 1998. I am responsible for overseeing all editorial content in print. online, electronic, in-person and any other media or products for the electronic security industry's leading business-to-business trade publication. SSI is part of Framingham, Mass.-based Emerald Expositions.