"Family Affair" is a 1971 number-one hit single recorded by American funk band Sly and the Family Stone for the Epic 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 the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The cover version by John Legend, Joss Stone, and Van Hunt, won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at 49th Annual Grammy Awards.
Overview
Released on November 6, 1971, "Family Affair" was markedly different from the earlier Sly & the Family Stone hits. Songwriter Sly Stone stated in his autobiography Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin): A Memoir that the lyrics were inspired not so much by his own family but by future wife Kathy Silva and her sister. Engineering consultant Richard Tilles muted most of Sly Stone's guitar parts while emphasizing the Hohner Pianet electric piano played by Billy Preston and "edit[ing] the rhythm box to sound like a heartbeat," according to David Hepworth. Family Affair was written in the key of D minor.
"Family Affair" was the most successful hit of Sly & the Family Stone's career, peaking at number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks, while achieving the same on the Billboard R&B Singles chart for five weeks. Billboard ranked it as the No. 79 song for 1972.Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1972
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.StrangerInAustralia channel, Jun 10, 2022 - Sly & The Family Stone - Family Affair (Unedited Version)top 40 1971 channel - Sly & The Family Stone - Family Affair 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.Sly & The Family Stone channel, Oct 11, 2013 - Sly & The Family Stone - Multitrack Playback: Family Affair (Interview Clip)
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (1971–1972)PeakpositionAustralia (Kent Music Report)46Canada Top Singles (RPM)1New Zealand (Listener)11UK Singles (OCC)15US Billboard Hot 1001US Hot R&B (Billboard)1US Cash Box Top 1001
Year-end charts Chart (1971)RankCanada Top Singles (RPM)16US (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)9 Chart (1972)RankUS Billboard Hot 10079US Hot R&B (Billboard)28US Cash Box Top 10011
Certifications
Personnel Sly Stone — vocals, bass guitar, electric guitar, drums and rhythm machine pre-set Rose Stone — vocals Billy Preston — Hohner Pianet Bobby Womack — rhythm guitar
Notable covers and derivative recordings "Family Affair" has been heavily covered, with versions by Tyrone 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 particular The Temptations' "Let Your Hair Down" (1973), and Stevie Wonder's "You Haven't Done Nothin'" (1974).
Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers performed a Go-go rendition for the album Go Go Swing Live (1986).
Madonna featured this song as an intro to "Keep It Together" on her Blond Ambition Tour in 1990. Australian singer Stephen Cummings released a version as the second single from his fifth studio album, Good Humour. A rap-infused, danceable cover was released by German Milli 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?".
MFSB version
MFSB recorded an instrumental version of "Family Affair" as their debut single, from their 1973 debut album MFSB.
Track listings 7" single "Family Affair" 2:17 "Lay In Low" 3:46
Shabba Ranks version
In 1993, Jamaican dancehall musician Shabba Ranks featuring Patra and Terri & Monica released a cover of "Family Affair" as a single for the Addams Family Values soundtrack. This version charted on the US Billboard pop chart at number 84, number 16 on the Billboard R&B chart, and number-six on the Billboard Hot 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.
Track listings Maxi-CD "Family Affair" (Album Version) 4:00 "Family Affair" (Extended Affair) 5:16 "Family Affair" (Dead Man's Graveyard Mix) 5:10 "Family Affair" (Old School Retro Mix) 4:29
Charts Chart (1993–1994)Peak positionCanada Retail Singles (The Record)9Europe (European Dance Radio)8UK Airplay (Music Week)35UK Club Chart (Music Week) 32US Billboard Hot 10084US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks (Billboard) 16US Hot Rap Tracks (Billboard)6US Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales (Billboard)11
See also List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 1971 List of Best Selling Soul Singles number ones of 1971 List of Best Selling Soul Singles number ones of 1972
References
External links top 40 1971 channel - Sly & The Family Stone - Family Affair Sly & The Family Stone channel, Oct 11, 2013 - Sly & The Family Stone - Multitrack Playback: Family Affair (Interview Clip), original members listening to the master tapes