Okay this is a serious question.
I just saw a video from the today show where Prince and Larry Graham performed and Larry was on bass, I think the song was Release yourself or something like that.
Question:
Is Larry really good on the bass or average? I can't judge since I don't know a lot about what's good but it looked to me like he was cooking with gas this particular performance.
Just curious
Okay I better duck since I mentioned that "dreaded" name.

No need to duck. I don't like Larry for persuading Prince over to the Jehovah's Witness faith but there is no doubt about his talent.

The first time I ever heard of Larry Graham was in 1980 and 1981 with "Just Be My Lady", "One In A Million", and "When We Get Married". These were great ballads but I just kind of wrote him off as one of those balladeers. I heard "Sooner or Later" in 1982 and thought he was trying his hand at something funky. Unlike today, back in the early 1980s, an artist that sang strictly ballads did not make it.....those were the days! I had heard back then that Larry had a funk band in the 1970s but I was so busy enjoying all the current music at the time to go back and explore his.

When Prince started hanging with Larry in the late 1990s, the state of current music on the radio had gone to hell so I decided to go back and buy some Graham Central Station albums. Much to my surprise, they were funky as hell.....nothing like the balladeer he had become in the 1980s.

Graham Central Station had some jams out back in the 1970s. If you get a chance, you need to check out the songs "Foxy Lady", "It's Alright", "Earthquake", and "The Jam".

There's no about about Larry's talent but I am with everyone else with the whole JW thing. Larry and Prince should have jammed together but Larry should have kept his religious beliefs to himself.

As far as the slap bass style Larry started it. Everyone from Stanley to Jaco to Louis to Flea to Marcus to Victor will or did attest to that.

But the "Rev.Ike joins The Love Boat" persona of him gets in the way. Those interviews he did with Chaka and P are creepy.

"I make $7 for every CD I sell. GCS 2000."

But Larry, only you and Tina bought a copy. That's $14. And you gotta pay taxes outta that."

This is $2 psychology which might be wrong but I think deep down he was hatin' on Sly and he wanted to be bigger than Sly hence, GSC. This happened with a lot of guys in P's camp also.

We all remember those modernaire cats who were livin' in the new wave and later they asked can you help me before they fell off the face of the earth.

thanks I feel a teeny bit better about Prince's interest in Larry. I wasn't sure if Prince was putting him on stage because he personally liked him (and we all know Prince will do that in a heartbeat.. Carmen, Apples) or if Larry was actually old school talent needing a little spotlight.

cranshaw62 said:

I'm no big Larry fan, but you've got the Sly thing all bass-ackwards. If you can ever find it, there's a back issue of MOJO that details the story. Add one part Sly, two parts everybody sleeping with everybody else's woman, three parts LSD & cocaine, and four parts Sly sending people out to kill you and guess what? You'd end up deciding that being a member of the Family Stone wasn't the best thing for your health, too.

OneMoJam said: " I'm no big Larry fan, but you've got the Sly thing all bass-ackwards. If you can ever find it, there's a back issue of MOJO that details the story. Add one part Sly, two parts everybody sleeping with everybody else's woman, three parts LSD & cocaine, and four parts Sly sending people out to kill you and guess what? You'd end up deciding that being a member of the Family Stone wasn't the best thing for your health, too"


Wow. Well, like the guy said who f***** Cheney's daughter, "I'm gonna get this straight."

I've never been able to get that much info on them as far as what happened.

Aside from Sly showing up late and missing concerts. I know Bobby Womack played on Riot uncredited but I don't what his relationship with Sly was unless it was just the chemically obvious.

There was once a good website on Sly but it's gone. I guess somebody will write a book someday.

Thanks for the info.
[Edited 9/1/04 9:17am]

cranshaw62 said:


There is a book. It's out of print, but you can get used copies at Amazon.com. It's called "Sly & the Family Stone: An Oral History" and tells the whole ugly truth - and it's ugly. Imagine stories of Larry packing pistols. Oh, yeah. I enjoyed it, but the lurid tales of drugs, paranoia & violence were pretty disturbing.

Here's an Amazon.com customer review that I think is pretty accurate:

" Fascinating subject, not a lot of insight, October 10, 1999
Reviewer: A reader

I have long believed that Sly and The Family Stone are quite possibly the most under-rated rock band ever. They may be enshrined the RnR Hall of Fame, but their records are now unfairly viewed as nothing more than oldies radio fare.

In their time they were revolutionaries who broke down the barriers between "black music" and "white music"; in the process, they were instrumental in creating what later became known as "Funk".

When I found out about this book, I was thrilled. AT LAST---some insight into WHY the band made the music that they did!

No such luck here.

Crammed with lurid, voyeuristic, tales of excess and decline that sadly became the band's legacy, For the Record offers little insight into just what went into creating the music and records.

While readers might have loved to have found out something about Sly's inspiration for There's A Riot Goin' On, beyond "he was taking a lot of drugs"---that's about all that's offered here.

No doubt, the fact that drug casualty Sly was not available to offer his insights made the author's task more difficult(impossible?), you gotta believe that there had to have been SOME people with a little more insight into THE MUSIC of Sly Stone, rather than just the ugliness that went on behind the scenes.

It should have been better. "
[Edited 9/1/04 17:27pm]

Thank you for the info. I'll get the book.

vainandy said:

Ok now. We really can't all be jumping on Larry about decision to join JW's. Afterall, he is grown ass man. We all have to mindful of the fact that at one time his mom was a JW. However, I know it is hard not being able to hear his raunchy jams anymore.
[Edited 9/3/04 12:24pm]
[Edited 9/3/04 12:25pm]

prince is grown. he didn't have to join. but he obviously saw something he liked.

Moonwalkbjrain said:

I know he's a grown man but it is very easy to be persuaded when you are vulnerable, especially with a situation like the loss of a child.

I also read that Prince's mother was a Jehovah's Witness. Prince has always had a mind of his own. I know what it's like to be torn between your beliefs and your families' and it is very hard. As for Larry, Prince listened to his music growing up and always looked up to him. Larry should have been a friend and consoled him in his time of grief but kept his religious beliefs to himself. It is WRONG to impose your religious beliefs on others and from what I have seen, Jehovah's Witnesses think they are right and everyone else is wrong. If Jehovah's Witnesses didn't try to shove their religion down our throats, they wouldn't go door to door. Larry and the rest of them need to live and let live. No one on this earth is better than anyone else and they need to get that in their head.

vainandy said:

Let me get this straight. So, you are saying that is vulnerable and can't think for himself. That's nonesense. If he wants to join the religion, its his choice and no one else. Again, he is grown ass man and I support his decision. However, I am not much a fan of antics that go along with JW but I am not going to knock it b/c everyone has to chose thier own spritual journey in which god and only god can judge them in the end.

Excellent Bass Player and wrote plenty of Beautiful Ballads and love his stuff with SLY. Ya Judge him on his Religious beliefs and Nobody Knows the man Personally is wrong. Him and his wife seem like Nice down to earth people NOT ROCK STAR PEOPLE.

Zelaira said:

OneMoJam said:

Yes you are right I read the story where the band received a death threat that they would be killed if they stepped on stage that night but, but luckily there was a storm and after that Larry deceided to leave & I don't blame him!!

vainandy said:

Who said Larry shoved his beliefs besides you & others that weren't actually there? LET ME SAY IT AGAIN FOR ALL THAT THINK OTHERWISE, WE'RE ANY OF YOU SITTING BETWEEN THEM WHEN THEY 1ST STARTED DISCUSSING RELIGION? NO! That's their personal life worry about your own!

[/quote]

True. No one knows what really went down except Larry and Prince. My point is...I can believe that Larry would try to persuade Prince because look at all the other Jehovah's Witnesses going door to door trying to persuade everyone else. It's obvious they think their way is right and everyone else's is wrong because they go door to door.

I have a personal life of my own and I don't want others trying to persuade me either. As for it being Prince's personal life, that's true also and Larry should have respected that and kept his religion to himself. Like I said, I don't know for sure that Larry persuaded Prince, but I can definately believe it from the way their religion works in general by going door to door. Prince is even guilty of it himself with the song "The Work".

vainandy said:

True. No one knows what really went down except Larry and Prince. My point is...I can believe that Larry would try to persuade Prince because look at all the other Jehovah's Witnesses going door to door trying to persuade everyone else. It's obvious they think their way is right and everyone else's is wrong because they go door to door.

I have a personal life of my own and I don't want others trying to persuade me either. As for it being Prince's personal life, that's true also and Larry should have respected that and kept his religion to himself. Like I said, I don't know for sure that Larry persuaded Prince, but I can definately believe it from the way their religion works in general by going door to door. Prince is even guilty of it himself with the song "The Work".[/quote]


uhh.....and what do you call "marketing"? everyone is pushing someone on somebody...not just the religious minded.....if your strong enough in your personal beliefs you shouldnt be offended when someone tries to share something with you...if your afraid your too weak to say no, well...thats your issue.....

okay so why do so many orgers hate on Larry again?.....

[/quote]

I think Prince has always been strong minded but I can't help but look at the coincidences of the time period that Prince chose this religion. His child had recently died and he had just started hanging with Larry. I think a tragedy like losing a child would definately put anyone, including a strong minded individual like Prince, in a vulnerable state.

I have no beef with Larry except for this issue. Larry is a wonderfully talented artist and deserves much respect for that. He is also entitled to his choice of religion also. My problem is if, and the key word is "if" he persuaded Prince in any way to join this religion in one of the most vulnerable times in his life, it is WRONG.

vainandy said:

I think Prince has always been strong minded but I can't help but look at the coincidences of the time period that Prince chose this religion. His child had recently died and he had just started hanging with Larry. I think a tragedy like losing a child would definately put anyone, including a strong minded individual like Prince, in a vulnerable state.

I have no beef with Larry except for this issue. Larry is a wonderfully talented artist and deserves much respect for that. He is also entitled to his choice of religion also. My problem is if, and the key word is "if" he persuaded Prince in any way to join this religion in one of the most vulnerable times in his life, it is WRONG.[/quote]

but lets look at some alternatives for a second....people who lose life are known to go into depression, seclussion and sometimes even commit suicide themselves...i am not a religious person but i would much rather have someone find hope through religion then drugs or any other negative channels...

[/quote]

I understand what you're saying but I really wish people could become neutral when it comes to religion and let people choose their own.

I am not a religious person myself and don't really consider myself as any demonination in particular. I haven't been to church in years but I basically try to do what's right. I don't think I have a chosen a particular demonination because I was so torn between two religions growing up. My mother is Baptist and I don't know what the hell my father is. All I know is he read the bible and read magazines called "The Plain Truth". He literally worshipped an evangelist named Herbert W. Armstrong and watched a TV show called "The World Tomorrow". My mother was never dominating or overbearing with her religion but my father was obsessed with his. I really resent the fact that I was forced to read these "Plain Truth" magazines growing up and really resent the fact that he gave me a beating when a Baptist church called because I had filled out a visitor's card when I had gone to church with my grandmother on my mother's side.

From reading these "Plain Truth" magazines, their beliefs sound very similar to Jehovah's Witnesses. I don't know what religion these magazines come from but I think they may be Seventh Day Adventist. My father did not celebrate any holidays except patriotic ones like 4th of July or Thanksgiving. Saturday was his sabbath, not Sunday. He believes when you die, you don't go to heaven, that it will be paradise on earth. He considers a Christmas Tree as a pagan idol.

I have friends that are many religions and I don't try to persuade them in any way. I have a friend who is Jewish and she is not obsessed with it. She has come to our Christmas parties and even posed for pictures in front of the Christmas Tree. I respect her beliefs and she respects mine.

I can believe there are people out there that think their way is the ONLY way because I have experienced it firsthand.

sosgemini said:

I could not have said this any better!
Where is everyone getting the idea that Prince was "persuaded" into anything?
Don't people here realize that Prince was already curious about JWs? That he had already inquired about the faith by consulting George Benson?
How can anybody fault Larry for simply answering Prince's questions regarding the bible, and JW beliefs? It's really ignorant and judgemental for people to use Prince's child's death as an excuse for why he's "being hustled by JWs". How vulnerable or naive does a 40 year old man have to be in order to simply worship the way he wants to?
Also, Prince's mom was not a Witness. People need to stop dramatizing her approval of the faith as some dying wish. She only liked some things about the faith, therefore it sounds like she basically told Prince "if this is what you wanna do, more power to you".
As far as the door to door ministry goes, it's just like anything else.
When someone comes to my door or calls my phone offering me something, I politely listen, then firmly but cordially let them know whether I'm interested or not. How hard is that?

OdysseyMiles said:

Thanks for pointing this out... I am getting so tired of everybody posting this incorrect info over, and over and over again.

LovesexyIsThe1 said:

Yeah, it was like one person said it and a bunch of others just ran with it.
Dang blasted gossipers.....

>>I don't like Larry for persuading Prince over to the Jehovah's Witness faith but there is no doubt about his talent.

I could not agree more.

vainandy said:

He supposedly tried the drug thing before, and lost a whole lot of weight, and pissed people around him off w/ his erratic behavior. I guess he wanted to take the high road, this time. I am trying to understand where he's coming from, but I definitely think he has lost his edge by not cursing (saying duck, instead of f***, which is MAD corny, e.g.). He's been clever w/ it in other ways though, "Girl, I'm not tryin' to give U what U want, I'm tryin' 2 give U what U need....", but, I can only suspect the lack of balance between his prudish, saintly, religious side, and his erotic, sexual side, will only serve to stunt his creativity.
[Edited 9/8/04 16:31pm]

yasetshego said:

That's an unfair and narrow-minded statement. Look at all the classic songs he's made without cursing or any other explicit language. He can still write about anything under the sun and still be able to describe it in a way that gets the point across, while not using any words that he finds inappropriate. Any true artist should be able to do that.

OdysseyMiles said: