On June 5th, in 1947, funk musician, psychedelic soul innovator, guitarist, singer, pastor, co-founder and member of Sly & the Family Stone-Freddie Stone (Frederick Jerome Stewart-l) was born in Vallejo, California. He’s the younger brother of Sly & Rosie Stone, and older brother of Vet Stone. He’s most known for his vocals and guitar licks on Sly & the Family Stone singles/LPs from 1966 to 1975. The band-featuring Freddie released a total of 8 LPs from 1967 (A Whole New Thing) to 1975 (High on You). Most of these albums contain the majority of their hits. He was raised in a strict Christian household (Pentecostal) and got his musical start in the church singing with his siblings.
Sly was the eldest and a musical prodigy. Thus, he led most of the bands Freddie was involved with pre-1975. He started playing guitar when he was 12, quickly becoming a prolific player. In his teens, he started getting into a lot of fights with classmates usually over issues related to his ethnicity. He got expelled from one high school, transferred to another, joined the basketball team and was voted the MVP for Benicia High School. Around the same time, his older brother Sly was Djing, doing session work for locals and writing for others. When the family moved to San Francisco, Freddie, Sly, Vet & Rosie put their own band together-Sly & the Family Stone (1966). They released their debut LP in 1967-A Whole New Thing (Epic Records). Freddie went solo in 1975, signing to Motown. However, he didn’t release any songs on the imprint. He became a pastor in 1994 and released his solo debut 7 years later-Everywhere You Are (Geronimo Inc/Orchard Records, 2001). He’s 72 today.
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On June 5th, in 1950, stage actor, singer and 70s soul musician-Ronnie Dyson (Ronald Dyson) was born in Washington, D.C. He’s well known for his acting and singing in the late 60s musical-Hair (1968). He’s the vocalist that opens theme song-Aquarius. Melba Moore was also a member of the cast. The musical and the theme song were well liked by the public. As a result, Dyson’s popularity exploded. His voice and acting skills caught the attention of Robert Downey Sr. (Robert Downey Jr’s father), who cast him in his 1969 film-Putney Swope. It’s a satire on advertising and media as it relates to people of color. He followed this up with a role in Salvation-1970. The rock musical ran for 239 performances.
He also made his recording debut via Salvation when he cut a side from the musical-(If You Let Me Make Love to You Then) Why Can’t I Touch You? b/w Girl Don’t Come (Columbia, 1970). This is also the title of his full-length LP that was released the same year (1970). The single peaked in the top 10 on both the Billboard Pop and R&B charts (#8, #9). His second single was more soul oriented and peaked at #9 on the R&B chart. He continued to record, more so than act during the early 70s. Columbia set him up with Thom Bell and flew him to Philadelphia in 1973. Bell produced some charting hits for Dyson that were released on his 1973 LP-One Man Band. Politician Jesse Jackson’s half-brother-Chuck Jackson produced Dyson’s 3rd LP, which is considered his best-The More You Do It (Columbia, 1976). He released several LPs and singles in the late 70s and early 80s. He was 40 when he passed.
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On June 5th, in 1954, fusion jazz musician, sideman, drummer, percussionist, bandleader and former member of Weather Report-Peter Erskine was born in Somers Point, New Jersey. Erksine’s legacy spans 5 decades (1970s-current date). He was well known in the early 70s as the drummer for Stan Kenton’s band. In the late 70s, he helped innovate fusion jazz with Weather Report. In the early 80s he worked with Jacopastorius, the fusion jazz band-Steps Ahead, Weather Report, Bob Mintzer and Bob James. He also made his recording debut as a bandleader-Peter Erskine (Contemporary Records, 1982). He expanded his resume as a sideman in the mid and late 80s, playing with: Current Events, John Abercrombie, Marc Johnson, Mike Stern and John Patitucci.
In the 90s, Erskine released 8 LPs as a bandleader and was featured as a sideman on over 25 albums. Since 2000, he’s released 10 LPs as a bandleader and over 70 as a sideman. He started playing drums when he was 4, and continuing throughout his childhood. He attended college at Indiana University (major: percussion), and joined Stan Kenton’s band in 1972. He left Kenton in 1976 and joined Maynard Ferguson’s band. In 1978, he joined Jaco Pastorius in the fusion jazz band-Weather Report. He’s featured on 5 of their LPs during the 4 years he was with them. He also doubled in Jaco Pastorius’ band-Word of Mouth. He joined Steps Ahead in the early 80s and recorded 4 LPs with them. He continues to perform, tour and record as a bandleader and sideman. He’s 65 today.
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HONORABLE MENTION: On June 5th, in 1945, Black Power figure, athlete, Olympic medal winner, Canadian Football League player, former employee of Puma and one of the men that wore the black glove on the winner’s podium at the 1968 Olympics, raising his fist to make the Black Power salute-John (Wesley) Carlos was born in Harlem, NYC, NY. He was a student athlete at East Texas State University and San Jose State University. He won the bronze medal in the 200 meter race in (Olympics, Mexico City, 1968). His medal was taken from him for making a ‘political statement’ on the podium. The Olympic committee deemed his actions unfit for the ‘apolitical’ Olympics.
On June 5th, in 1974, funk innovator, singer, producer, keyboardist, arranger, bassist, drummer, songwriter, composer, arranger, bandleader and founder of Sly & the Family Stone-Sly Stone got married for the first time to the actress/model-Kathy Silva. The ceremony was held on stage right before his show started at Madison Square Garden in NYC. His uncle-Bishop Stewart officiated the wedding in front of a crowd of over 19,000 fans. They were supposed to have doves, a laser light show and an angel that dropped glitter on the crowd, but it cost too much to do all of that. They separated two years later in 1976. The couple had a son together-Sly Jr..
On June 5th, in 2002, we lost a punk rock innovator, singer, bassist, songwriter, keyboardist and co-founding member of the Ramones-Dee Dee Ramone (Douglas Glenn Colvin). TOV covered the artist’s birthday on the September 18th post. Please refer to it for more information. Dee Dee was the original lead singer of the group. However, he decided to step down from that position because his voice would go flat after a few songs. He was inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, and passed away a few weeks after. The Ramones were one of the pioneering groups of punk rock during the mid 70s. Dee Dee was 49 when he passed.
On June 5th, in 2012, we lost a Chicago bluesman, singer, songwriter and former member of the First Baptist Church in Chicago (Nat Cole’s father was the pastor)-Lou Pride (George Louis Pride). Pride was most known for his live performances rather than his albums. A lot of times, musicians are better in the studio than they are live, Pride was the opposite. The UK considers him to be one of the best Northern Soul voclaists of his time. He released his first single in 1972-I’m Com’un Home in the Morn’un (Passion Music, 1972), and 9 LPs between 1979 and 2005. He was 68 when he passed.
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