Sly and the Family Stone

Sly and the Family Stone have written so many classics and instantly recognizable tunes you might not even know that they were the one's who created them. Their influence is apparent in the work of thousands of musicians and their music has been sampled by so many hip-hop artists you will lose count.
For many people it might be difficult to imagine Sly and the Family Stone as a serious band. If you have seen them live or plan on seeing them live they will likely be dressed in some of the most extreme color schemes ever seen, as well as far out clothing designs (think large afros, bellbottoms, flowered shirts, bright red pants, pimped-out hats -the list goes on). Sly Stone's whole appearance and stage demeanor yells neurotic to some but individual expression to others; whatever it is it sure as hell makes a huge impression. I honestly believe that their look largely factored into the stage presence of modern funk giants such as Andre 3000 and Prince.
However Sly and the Family Stone are a group who believe and practice self-expression (after all one of their major selling hits was "Thank You for Letting Me Be Myself"). If you were going to judge them on their appearance than that was your problem. They were a band who tried to create a social awareness of racial and gender equality and this was expressed throughout their career whether it was in their lyrics, band line up or the audiences they played for.
They were one of the first mainstream acts to include not only a racially mixed line up, but also one that mixed genders. Because of their largely inclusive lineup they were able to get very interesting sounds and combinations of different genres. For instance they channel the sound of funk music with their flanged out guitars and moving bass lines, they add a full orchestrated jazz sound with their brass section and sometimes even delve into the genre of honky tonk with the inclusion of fiddle solos.
Sly and the Family Stone have played at hip clubs to the New York freakscene, they have played talk shows and traditional theaters and have even played inside a barn in the small town of Dothan Alabama where my mom first saw them. Wherever you see them you are going to get the same result. That is an incredibly entertaining and soul enlightening experience.