Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin): A Memoir

Sly Stone

Oct 2023 · Sold by AUWA

About this ebook

Not many memoirs are generational events. But when Sly Stone, one of the few true musical geniuses of the last century, decides to finally tell his life story, it can’t be called anything else.

As the front man for the sixties pop-rock-funk band Sly and the Family Stone, a songwriter who created some of the most memorable anthems of the 1960s and 1970s (“Everyday People,” “Family Affair”), and a performer who electrified audiences at Woodstock and elsewhere, Sly Stone’s influence on modern music and culture is indisputable. But as much as people know the music, the man remains a mystery. After a rapid rise to superstardom, Sly spent decades in the grips of addiction.

Now he is ready to relate the ups and downs and ins and outs of his amazing life in his memoir, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin). The book moves from Sly’s early career as a radio DJ and record producer through the dizzying heights of the San Francisco music scene in the late 1960s and into the darker, denser life (and music) of 1970s and 1980s Los Angeles. Set on stages and in mansions, in the company of family and of other celebrities, it’s a story about flawed humanity and flawless artistry.

Written with Ben Greenman, who has also worked on memoirs with George Clinton and Brian Wilson, and in collaboration with Arlene Hirschkowitz, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) is a vivid, gripping, sometimes terrifying, and ultimately affirming tour through Sly’s life and career. Like Sly, it’s honest and playful, sharp and blunt, emotional and analytical, always moving and never standing still.

Ratings and reviews

Despite his musical achievements and the widespread recognition of his work, Sly Stone remains an enigmatic figure. His journey from meteoric rise to superstardom to a long struggle with addiction reveals a more complex narrative. While his influence on the sound and spirit of the 1960s and 1970s is undeniable, the personal challenges he faced have added layers of intrigue to his story, making him a fascinating and elusive figure in the annals of music history.

About the author

Sly Stone was born Sylvester Stewart in Denton, Texas, in 1943. He had brief careers as a doo-wop singer, a radio DJ, and a record producer before founding and fronting Sly and the Family Stone. Mercurial, idiosyncratic, and inimitably brilliant, Sly Stone is a true American original. He lives in Los Angeles. This is his first book.

Ben Greenman is a New York Times bestselling author and New Yorker contributor who has written both fiction and nonfiction. His novels and short-story collections include The Slippage and Superbad; he was Questlove's collaborator on Mo’ Meta Blues and Something to Food About; and he has written memoirs with George Clinton and Brian Wilson. His writing has appeared in numerous publications.