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Oct 23, 2023 By Frank Valish

One might be forgiven for being somewhat surprised to see a Sly Stone autobiography in 2023. After his monstrous success with Sly and the Family Stone in the ‘60s and early ‘70s, the decades have not exactly been kind to Stone, the artist suffering a history of reclusive behavior mired in substance abuse and its associated side effects.

Nonetheless, here we are. Written with Ben Greenman, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) is a great work of self-revelation and at least a bit of reflection on the harder times Stone has seen since his heyday. Peppered with punny witticisms and hip turns of phrase, Thank You is also ripe with anecdotes. Like the time his dog killed and then sodomized his pet monkey. Or the time he found bottles of pills hidden in the yard after buying Papa John Phillips’ home. Or the time he encountered girls rubbing lotion on Bill Cosby’s naked chest at a party.

By the ‘80s and beyond, Stone’s story gets dark, and it doesn’t necessarily get better. He handles every manner of indignity or instance of bad behavior with matter-of-fact presentation, somewhat devoid of much insight, which is not very endearing.

It’s a fact that Sly Stone was one of the originators, a giant of a musical talent, who rightly rose to success in the grandest of fashions. The highs were as high as the moon. Too bad the other kinds of highs were just as high and ended up dominating so much of his life. Thankfully, we have his version of events to sate us; Thank You is a welcome addition to any music lover’s bookshelf. (www.auwabooks.com)

Author rating: 7/10