Everyday People
This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2021) |
"Everyday People" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Sly and the Family Stone | ||||
from the album Stand! | ||||
B-side | "Sing a Simple Song" | |||
Released | November 1968 | |||
Recorded | 1968 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:22 | |||
Label | Epic 5-10407 | |||
Songwriter(s) | Sly Stone | |||
Producer(s) | Sly Stone | |||
Sly and the Family Stone singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Everyday People" on YouTube | ||||
Audio sample | ||||
"Everyday People" |
"Everyday People" is a 1968 song composed by Sly Stone and first recorded by his band, Sly and the Family Stone. It was the first single by the band to go to number one on the Soul singles chart and the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.[3] It held that position on the Hot 100 for four weeks, from February 9 to March 8, 1969, and is remembered as one of the most popular songs of the 1960s. Billboard ranked it as the No. 5 song of 1969.
Overview
This section possibly contains original research. (May 2016) |
The song is one of
Unlike the band's more typically funky and psychedelic records, "Everyday People" is a mid-tempo number with a more mainstream pop feel. Sly, singing the main verses for the song, explains that he is "no better / and neither are you / we are the same / whatever we do."
Sly's sister Rose Stone sings bridging sections using the cadence of the "na-na na-na boo-boo" children's taunt, also known as the children’s nursery rhyme Five Little Monkeys Swinging From a Tree. The chant mocks the futility of people hating each other for being tall, short, rich, poor, fat, skinny, white, black, or anything else. The bridges of the song contain the line "different strokes for different folks", which became a popular catchphrase in 1969 (and inspired the name of the later television series, Diff'rent Strokes). Rose's singing ends each part of the bridge with the words: "And so on, and so on, and scooby dooby doo".[a]
During the chorus, all of the singing members of the band (Sly, Rosie, Larry Graham, and Sly's brother Freddie Stone) proclaim that "I am everyday people," meaning that each of them (and each listener as well) should consider himself or herself as parts of one whole, not of smaller, specialized factions.
"Everyday People" was included on the band's classic album
The third verse of Sly and the Family Stone's 1969 "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)", a No. 1 hit by February 1970, references the titles of "Everyday People" and several of the band's other successful songs.
Notable versions
Soul singer Billy Paul covered the song on his 1970 album Ebony Woman.
Joan Jett's version appears on her 1983 release Album.
"Everyday People" by Ta Mara and the Seen was a minor hit in the Philippines in 1988.
Aretha Franklin performed a version of the song for her 1991 album What You See Is What You Sweat.
A unique instrumental rendition of "Everyday People" is featured on the 1998 album Combustication by jazz fusion trio Medeski Martin & Wood.
Hip hop group
The 2005 Sly and the Family Stone tribute album Different Strokes by Different Folks features a cover by Maroon 5, accompanied by samples from the original recording.
A version by Jeff Buckley is included in the posthumously released album You and I.
The Staple Singers released a version on their 1970 album We'll Get Over.
Personnel
- Sly Stone: vocals
- Rose Stone: vocals, piano
- Freddie Stone: vocals, guitar
- Larry Graham: vocals, bass guitar
- Greg Errico: drums, background vocals
- Jerry Martini: saxophone, background vocals
- ad-libs
- Engineered by Don Puluse
- Written and produced by Sly Stone
Charts
The song was ranked No. 5 on Billboard magazine's Top Hot 100 songs of 1969.[6]
Weekly charts
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All-time charts
|
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI)[13] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
United States (RIAA)[14] | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Notes
- ^ The children's animated TV series Scooby-Doo (often featuring the phrase "scooby dooby doo") debuted on CBS on September 1969, seven months after “Everyday People” hit #1.[4]
References
- ^ Pitchfork Staff (August 18, 2006). "The 200 Best Songs of the 1960s". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
Sly smoothed out his incendiary funk into a couple minutes of gently buoyant pop...
- ^ Billboard Staff (October 19, 2023). "The 500 Best Pop Songs: Staff List". Billboard. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
Sly and the Family Stone's euphoric slice of psychedelic soul, presented by its co-ed, biracial lineup...
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 54.
- ^ Breiham, Tom (2018-11-19). "The Number Ones: Sly & The Family Stone's "Everyday People"". Stereogum. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
- ^ "Aspen Dental Everyday Smiles Event TV Spot, 'Start the Year Smiling 20% Off' Song by Sly and the Family Stone". ispot.tv. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
- ^ "Top Records of 1969" (PDF). Billboard. Cincinnati, Ohio: Billboard Publications, Inc. December 27, 1969. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1969-02-17. Retrieved 2018-12-15.
- ^ Flavour of New Zealand, 7 March 1972
- ^ "SLY & THE FAMILY STONE". Official Charts.
- ^ "Sly the Family Stone Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ^ "Sly the Family Stone Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
- ^ "British single certifications – Sly & The Family Stone – Everyday People". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
- ^ "American single certifications – Sly & The Family Stone – Everyday People". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
External links
- "Everyday People" audio on YouTube