SOUNDS OF SUMMER: Sing a Simple Song

Why isn't Sly Stone a more celebrated figure? Maybe because he's been unwilling or unable to keep his name out there. He hasn't released an album in 25 years, and apart from the occasional odd cameo, he doesn't perform live. He didn't even have the common sense to flame out memorably; starting in the early '70s, Sly just slowly receded into drug-addled seclusion, where he remains. No blockbuster reunion tours, no comeback albums, no piggybacking collaboration with admiring young hip-hop stars. Like the old soldier of funk that he is, he just faded away.

I almost forgot: this week's topic is summer. With Labor Day approaching, this summer has just about faded away, too, but it's not too late to put on your favorite hot weather tunes. (And to answer your first question right away, no, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince will not be on the list.) What constitutes a summer song? Some reference the season lyrically. Some just have that carefree summertime vibe. Some, like Sheryl Crow's "Soak up the Sun," are automatically disqualified for trying too hard.

Sly and the Family Stone's "Hot Fun in the Summertime" doesn't try too hard, one reason it's so effective. From the rhythmic piano intro, you're hooked. So infectious is the song's funky bounce you won't notice the complex interplay of horns and strings on the first few listens. The lyrics are simple but evocative, making you instantly nostalgic for those summer days, getting high high high at the county fair.

"Hot Fun in the Summertime" debuted in August of 1969, around the time of the band's celebrated performance at Woodstock. Funny how when you think of the summer of '69 (make your own Bryan Adams joke), you don't think of the fresh, soulful sounds of Sly Stone. You think of acid-soaked jams and lily-white country rock. Those things are fine, but they've completely overtaken our perception of the era. 1969 also saw James Brown getting funkier and angrier, Johnny Cash's At Folsom Prison, and Bob Marley's debut. And on the charts, Sly and Family Stone reigned.

They actually were a family. Sylvester Stewart and his brother Freddie, along with sisters Rose and Vet, all changed their name to Stone. They formed in Vallejo, eventually adding members from elsewhere in the San Francisco bay area. Before Sly's meltdown, they made pop music history by blurring the lines between rock, soul, and pop. They were also an integrated band when that was still a novelty, playing to an unusually diverse audience.

Some claim the song to be a commentary on the race riots of the late '60s. Sly did have a social conscience, but I think that's like claiming "How Much is That Doggy in the Window?" is a clever dig at capitalism. Not everything from the '60s must reek of politics. Even Sly Stone liked to chill out every now and then.

TODAY'S RECOMMENDATION: "Hot Fun in the Summertime" by Sly and the Family Stone
AVAILABLE ON: Greatest Hits; iTunes