Larry Graham (born August 14, 1946) – It’s Alright (1975)

Sly and the Family Stone’s genius bass guitarist led Graham Central Station to funk thumpin’ heights with sonic explosions like this one.

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Larry Graham was Sly and the Family Stone’s bass guitarist, founder and front man of Graham Central Station, and invented electric slap bass along the way. DJ and remix pioneer John Luongo, who has worked with Graham, describes him as “one of the most talented naturally gifted musicians I have ever had the pleasure of being involved with.”

Graham was born into a musical family in Beaumont, Texas. He invented his signature style of slap bass playing, which he calls “thumpin' and pluckin',” when his mother decided she would no longer have a drummer in her band, possibly for financial reasons.

His cousin Cynthia Robinson was in a Bay Area band led by Sly Stone called Sly and the Stoners, and in early 1967 Stone invited Graham to play bass along with Cynthia on trumpet in his new group Sly and the Family Stone. He was with them for the next five years during their meteoric rise to fame and contributed heavily to their sound.

See our earlier posts on Sly Stone and his brother, lead guitarist Freddie Stone, for more on the group’s history.

Graham left the Family Stone in 1972, after an explosive post-concert brawl. Sly’s personal manager “Bubba” Banks and one of Sly’s bodyguards, Edward “Eddie Chin” Elliott, assaulted some of Graham’s associates after absurdly claiming they heard a rumor that Graham had hired a hit man to kill Sly. Graham and his wife were forced to crawl out a hotel window to escape.

He subsequently formed a new group. After agreeing to produce a band called Hot Chocolate (not the British group of the same name), Graham decided to join them in late 1972, and the following year renamed them Graham Central Station. Singer Patryce Banks also joined, who had been collaborating with the Family Stone. Graham and Banks both appeared on Betty Davis’ legendary self-titled debut LP in 1973.

Graham Central Station’s first single was the superb jam “Can You Handle It?,” released in 1974. It hit #9 R&B and crossed over to #49 on the Billboard Hot 100. The track was featured on their self-titled debut album, released the same year, which also contained the super funky message song “People” co-written by Graham and Freddie Stone.

The title track to their second LP Release Yourself (1974) was a gospel funk bomb and self-empowerment anthem, and became an epic part of their live shows. Other highlights included the laid back but funky jam “I Believe In You,” and the album’s phenomenal closing cut “Today,” featuring an awesome solo by GCS lead guitarist David “Dynamite” Vega.

For their third album Ain't No 'Bout-A-Doubt It (1975), Graham wrote and produced the sonic funk explosion “It’s Alright.” Released as the album’s lead single, it peaked at #19 R&B but reached #4 on Billboard’s new disco charts. The next single off the album was the gospel-flavored love song with a funky clavinet break, “Your Love,” which went right to the top of the R&B charts and hit #38 on the Hot 100. Its third and final single was the LP’s epic opening cut, “The Jam,” which made it to #15 R&B.

Along with Graham on lead vocals and bass guitar, the album’s lineup included Hershall “Happiness” Kennedy on clavinet, synthesizer, trumpet, and vocals; Manuel “The Deacon” Kellough on drums; David “Dynamite” Vega on guitar and vocals; Robert “Butch” Sam on organ, piano, and vocals; and Patryce “Choc’Let” Banks on drum programming (funk box) and vocals.

Further info:

“The Bleak Days Of Sly And the Family Stone,” San Francisco Chronicle, August 9, 1998.
”Reflections with Larry Graham,” interview, Reflections in Rhythm, August 8, 2010.

The Larry Graham Documentary, LarryGrahamMovie.com.

#soul #funk #SlyAndTheFamilyStone #GCS #LarryGraham