Love, love, love, love this.
Via Legacy Recordings, which writes in this post:
It in no way minimizes Sly Stone’s genius to state that the primary instrumental force of Sly & The Family Stone was Larry Graham. Larry, who turns 66 today, was a true pioneer of the bass guitar: through that instrument he invested Sly’s songs with a power unheard of in pop music, and he is credited with inventing the “bass slap,” a crucial element in all funk music. Larry is also beloved for his baritone vocal interjections: “I’m gonna add some bottom!” Here he is, far right, with the band in 1970.
Happy birthday, Larry Graham!
Happy birthday indeed, musical genius (even though I don’t agree with your religious views at all and you may be at least partially to blame for converting Prince to said religious views, and now he doesn’t perform his dirty songs any more, but you are still great in many ways, and freedom to be weird is what America is all about, sort of, so, bully)!
