"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.[6] 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.[7]
The song is one of Sly Stone's pleas for peace and equality between differing races and social groups,a major theme and focus for the band. The Family Stone featured white members Greg Errico and Jerry Martini in its lineup,as well as female members Rose Stone and Cynthia Robinson;making it an early major integrated band in rock history. Sly and the Family Stone's message was about peace and equality through music,and this song reflects the same.
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 and Cynthia Robinson sing 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 dooby".[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.
BassistLarry Graham contends that the track featured the first instance of the "slap bass technique",which would become a staple of funk and other genres. The technique involves striking a string with the thumb of the right hand (or left hand,for a left-handed player) so that the string collides with the frets,producing a metallic "clunk" at the beginning of the note. Later slap bass songs – for example,Graham's performance on "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)" – expanded on the technique,incorporating a complementary "pull" or "pop" component.
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.
"Everyday People" was included on the band's album Stand! (1969),which sold over three million copies.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Notes
↑ The children's animated TV series Scooby-Doo (often featuring the phrase "scooby dooby doo") debuted on CBS in September 1969, seven months after “Everyday People” hit #1.[8]
↑ 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...
↑ Petridis, Alexis (March 16, 2023). "Sly Stone's greatest songs – ranked!". The Guardian. Retrieved June 30, 2025. Everyday People distils the band's initial essence – multiple vocals, propulsive bass, lyrics preaching tolerance in a fractured US – into two minutes and 22 seconds of perfect 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.
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