Nearly 60 years after it was recorded, a legendary early club set from Sly & the Family Stone will finally be officially released. “The First Family: Live at Winchester Cathedral 1967” will be released July 18 on High Moon Records.
It’s the earliest known live recording of the pioneering multi-genre, multi-gender, multi-racial band, which would go on to create such classics as “Dance to the Music,” “Stand!,” “Everyday People,” “Family Affair” and many others.
The group served as the house band at Redwood City, CA’s Winchester Cathedral from December 16, 1966, to April 28, 1967. “The First Family” was recorded in the early hours of March 26, 1967, by Sly & The Family Stone’s first manager, Rich Romanello. Upon the group’s signing to Epic Records later that year, Romanello put the 7-inch analog tapes into storage, where they sat for 35 years. The reels were rediscovered in 2002 by Sly & The Family Stone archivists Edwin and Arno Konings, and carefully restored by their co-producer Palao for this set, which primarily includes covers and songs from the group’s first album, “A Whole New Thing.”
The release follows the stellar documentary on bandleader Sly Stone and the group’s history, “Sly Lives (aka The Burden of Black Genius),” directed by Questlove, who won Grammys and an Oscar for the “Summer of Soul” film.
The CD and vinyl version will include a deluxe booklet with liner notes from the set’s Grammy-nominated producer Alec Palao, featuring exclusive interviews with Sly Stone and all of the original band members and rare photos. The CD edition includes a bonus performance of Otis Redding’s classic “Try A Little Tenderness.”
Originally released as a limited-edition LP earlier this year for Record Store Day — which almost immediately sold out — “First Family” was recorded a full year before the band’s breakthrough with “Dance To The Music.”
“The Winchester Cathedral recordings showcase a one-of-kind outfit that was already at the peak of its powers, long before it became internationally famous,” Palao says. “Sly is fully in command, while the unique arrangements and tighter-than-tight ensemble playing point clearly to the road ahead, and the enduring influence of Sly & the Family Stone’s music.”
Tracklist:
I Ain’t Got Nobody
Skate Now
Show Me
What Is Soul?
I Can’t Turn You Loose
Try A Little Tenderness *
Baby I Need Your Loving
Pucker Up Buttercup
Saint James Infirmary
I Gotta Go Now (Up On The Floor) / Funky Broadway
*CD Only Bonus Track