| "Family Affair" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 One of side-A labels of the US single | ||||
| Single bySly and the Family Stone | ||||
| from the albumThere's a Riot Goin' On | ||||
| B-side | "Luv N' Haight" | |||
| Released | November 6, 1971 | |||
| Recorded | 1971 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:05 | |||
| Label | Epic 5-10805 | |||
| Songwriter | Sly Stone | |||
| Producer | Sly Stone | |||
| Sly and the Family Stone singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Family Affair" (audio) onYouTube | ||||
"Family Affair" is a 1971 number-one hit single recorded by Americanfunk bandSly and the Family Stone for theEpic Records label. Their first new material since the double A-sided single "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"/ "Everybody Is a Star" nearly two years prior, "Family Affair" became the third and final number-one pop single for the band. In 2021,Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song 57th on their list of the500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[4] The cover version byJohn Legend,Joss Stone, andVan Hunt, won theGrammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at49th Annual Grammy Awards.
Released on November 6, 1971, "Family Affair" was markedly different from the earlier Sly & the Family Stone hits. Engineering consultant Richard Tilles muted most ofSly Stone's guitar parts while emphasizing theelectric piano played byBilly Preston and "edit[ing] therhythm box to sound like a heartbeat," according toDavid Hepworth.[5]
"Family Affair" was the most successful hit of Sly & the Family Stone's career, peaking at number-one on theBillboard Hot 100 for three weeks, while achieving the same on theBillboard R&B Singles chart for five weeks.[6]Billboard ranked it as the No. 79 song for 1972.[7]
Around 2022, a longer version of "Family Affair" emerged which included musical content from the original session that was not heard on the original release.[8][9] It appears to be what was heard on the Multitrack Playback: Family Affair clip that featured the original members years later listening to their work in a studio.[10]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[21] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
"Family Affair" has been heavily covered, with versions byTyrone Davis,The Brothers Johnson,MFSB,Iggy Pop,Bunny Wailer, Andrew Roachford, and many more. The song's drum machine-created rhythm was duplicated in several early to mid-1970s recordings, in particularThe Temptations' "Let Your Hair Down" (1973), andStevie Wonder's "You Haven't Done Nothin'" (1974).
Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers performed aGo-go rendition for the albumGo Go Swing Live (1986).
Madonna featured this song as an intro to "Keep It Together" on herBlond Ambition Tour in 1990. Australian singerStephen Cummings released a version as the second single from his fifth studio album,Good Humour. A rap-infused, danceable cover was released by GermanMilli Vanilli spinoff band Try 'N' B in 1992.Prince sampled the song on his track "Y Should Eye Do That When Eye Can Do This?".
| "Family Affair" | |
|---|---|
| Single byMFSB | |
| from the albumMFSB | |
| Released | 1973 |
| Recorded | 1972 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 2:15 |
| Label | Philadelphia International |
| Songwriter | Sly Stone |
| Producer | Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff |
| Official audio | |
| "Family Affair" onYouTube | |
MFSB recorded an instrumental version of "Family Affair" as their debut single, from their 1973 debut albumMFSB.
| "Family Affair" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byShabba Ranks featuringPatra andTerri & Monica | ||||
| from the albumAddams Family Values | ||||
| Released | December 24, 1993 | |||
| Recorded | 1992 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:02 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Songwriter | Sly Stone | |||
| Producer | Salaam Remi | |||
| Shabba Ranks featuringPatra andTerri & Monica singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Official audio | ||||
| "Family Affair" onYouTube | ||||
In 1993,Jamaicandancehall musicianShabba Ranks featuringPatra andTerri & Monica released a cover of "Family Affair" as a single for theAddams Family Values soundtrack. This version charted on the USBillboard pop chart at number 84, number 16 on theBillboard R&B chart, and number-six on theBillboardHot Rap Tracks chart. Compared to the original, this version also includes rap passages. In the music video, Shabba Ranks performs the song in different scenes.[22]
| Chart (1993–1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Retail Singles (The Record)[23] | 9 |
| Europe (European Dance Radio)[24] | 8 |
| UK Airplay (Music Week)[25] | 35 |
| UK Club Chart (Music Week)[26] | 32 |
| USBillboardHot 100 | 84 |
| USHot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks (Billboard) | 16 |
| USHot Rap Tracks (Billboard) | 6 |
| USHot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales (Billboard) | 11 |
When Sly & the Family Stone returned in late 1971, it was with "Family Affair," an R&B gem that was at once of a piece with the celebratory pop-soul anthems the group had made his name with, and sounded like a different outfit altogether.
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| Related articles | |
