riffs

Thursday 22 August 1996 23:02 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Marcella Detroit on Sly and the Family Stone's "Hot Fun in the Summertime"

I vaguely remember hearing this for the first time in the school cafeteria. It was lunchtime in Detroit in the late Sixties. It was only later on, when I was a musician and considering my influences, that I realised how important this song was to me.

It's mid-tempo and it has to be one of the funkiest songs ever recorded. There's a lot of pseudo-funk around these days - mainly mechanical stuff masquerading as funk and doing it without flexibility and syncopation. These mid-period Sly records really were funky in the true meaning of the word. They weren't just playing on the beat - they laid back right inside it. No machine can ever convey this amount of raw sexuality.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in