Music journalist Jeff Kaliss returns to Bird & Beckett to present his deep dive into the world of Sly Stone and his band, revised & updated for a new edition just published by Backbeat Books, with George Clinton’s preface and a new forward by Ricky Vincent.

From his anthemic early hits (“I Want to Take You Higher,” “Family Affair,” “Dance to the Music”), through the moody meditations of the band’s 1971 lp, There’s a Riot Going On and beyond, Sly & the Family Stone left an indelible stamp on rock, funk, pop, and hip hop, and their enigmatic frontman in particular continues to inspire fascination and speculation. This fully updated edition fills in the gaps since the book’s original 2008 publication, including Sly’s successful legal action against his former manager, the death of band member (and mother of a child with Sly) Cynthia Robinson, and the new projects undertaken by family and former collaborators.

Jeff Kaliss has written features and reviews of classical, jazz, rock, world musics and other entertainment for the San Francisco Chronicle and a host of regional, national, international, and web-based publications. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and is the author of I Want to Take You Higher: The Life and Times of Sly & the Family Stone, along with numerous textbook and encyclopedia entries, album liner notes, and festival program notes.