Sly and Brian In The Same Week?

Paraphrasing the title of the 1955 American noir Western, John Sturges’ Bad Day at Black Rock, it’s been a bad week (so far) for rock and roll. Both Sly Stone and Brian Wilson have just died.

The San Francisco DJ turned funk music titan, the iconic Stone, who made it to 82, came to mainstream prominence as the songwriter/organist/vocalist/all-around architect of Sly and the Family Stone. A surely enigmatic and reclusive figure, attempting a few comebacks, arguably Sly had his heyday in the ’60s and ’70s, but what a heyday it was. Bringing a multi-racial/multi-gender band to the forefront of the pop scene with such soultastic classic hits like “I Want to Take You Higher,” “Hot Fun in the Summertime,” “Stand!” and “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” unless you have been living under a rock (with headphones on) you have to have heard (and probably danced) to lots of Sly’s music.

I simply could not write a proper bio here, although I do recommend musician and band leader Questlove’s documentary Sly Lives.

Brian Wilson, also making 82, died this week too. As the songwriter, producer, and pretty much, like Sly, the architect of his band, in this case, The Beach Boys, Wilson cut a deep and ever-lasting furrow through pop music production. His harmonizing capacity (with his voice and his arranging those of his band mates) his songwriting, from “California Girls” to “Little Deuce Coupe” (and so many more) marking a complete Southern California sound, his orchestration and production of the seminal Pet Sounds album, and overall Herculean record production as much influenced musicians like Paul McCartney as rivaled Phil Spector.

Again, I refer you to some film chronicles of the man, first the unusually effective American broadcast TV Mini-Series, The Beach Boys: An American Family, and the Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road documentary.

Or in the case of both above, just listen to the damn music and when you are done listening, go back and listen again.

Listen for the rest of your life.

Rest in Peace gentlemen and thank you.