Everyday People

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Script error: No such module "other uses". Script error: No such module "For".

Page Module:Message box/ambox.css has no content.

Page Template:Hlist/styles.css has no content.Page Template:Plainlist/styles.css has no content.Page Module:Infobox/styles.css has no content.

"Everyday People"
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:InfoboxImage/data' not found.
Template:Infobox song/link by Sly and the Family Stone
from the album Stand!
B-side"Sing a Simple Song"
ReleasedNovember 1968
Recorded1968
GenrePage Template:Hlist/styles.css has no content.
LengthScript error: No such module "hms".
LabelEpic
5-10407
[[Songwriter|SongwriterTemplate:Pluralize from text]]Sly Stone
[[Record producer|ProducerTemplate:Pluralize from text]]Sly Stone
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:GetParameters' not found. singles chronology
"Life" / "M'Lady"
(1968) 		"Everyday People" / "Sing a Simple Song"
(1968) 		"Stand!" / "I Want to Take You Higher"
(1969)
Script error: No such module "Unsubst-infobox". Script error: No such module "Unsubst-infobox".

Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters".

"Everyday People" is a 1968 song composed by Sly Stone and first recorded by his band, Sly and the Family Stone. It was the first single by the band to go to number one on the Soul singles chart and the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.[6] It held that position on the Hot 100 for four weeks, from February 9 to March 8, 1969, and is remembered as one of the most popular songs of the 1960s. Billboard ranked it as the No. 5 song of 1969.[7]

Overview

Page Module:Message box/ambox.css has no content.

The song is one of Sly Stone's pleas for peace and equality between differing races and social groups, a major theme and focus for the band. The Family Stone featured white members Greg Errico and Jerry Martini in its lineup, as well as female members Rose Stone and Cynthia Robinson; making it an early major integrated band in rock history. Sly and the Family Stone's message was about peace and equality through music, and this song reflects the same.

Unlike the band's more typically funky and psychedelic records, "Everyday People" is a mid-tempo number with a more mainstream pop feel. Sly, singing the main verses for the song, explains that he is "no better / and neither are you / we are the same / whatever we do."

Sly's sister Rose Stone and Cynthia Robinson sing bridging sections using the cadence of the "na-na na-na boo-boo" children's taunt, also known as the children's nursery rhyme Five Little Monkeys Swinging From a Tree. The chant mocks the futility of people hating each other for being tall, short, rich, poor, fat, skinny, white, black, or anything else. The bridges of the song contain the line "different strokes for different folks", which became a popular catchphrase in 1969 (and inspired the name of the later television series, Diff'rent Strokes). Rose's singing ends each part of the bridge with the words: "And so on, and so on, and scooby dooby dooby".[a]

During the chorus, all of the singing members of the band (Sly, Rosie, Larry Graham, and Sly's brother Freddie Stone) proclaim that "I am everyday people," meaning that each of them (and each listener as well) should consider himself or herself as parts of one whole, not of smaller, specialized factions.

Bassist Larry Graham contends that the track featured the first instance of the "slap bass technique", which would become a staple of funk and other genres. The technique involves striking a string with the thumb of the right hand (or left hand, for a left-handed player) so that the string collides with the frets, producing a metallic "clunk" at the beginning of the note. Later slap bass songs – for example, Graham's performance on "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)" – expanded on the technique, incorporating a complementary "pull" or "pop" component.

The third verse of Sly and the Family Stone's 1969 "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)", a No. 1 hit by February 1970, references the titles of "Everyday People" and several of the band's other successful songs.

"Everyday People" was included on the band's album Stand! (1969), which sold over three million copies.

Cover versions

Joan Jett covered the song for her 1983 album Album.[9] Her version of the song peaked at #37 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #43 on the US Dance Club Songs charts.[10]

Maroon 5 also recorded a cover of the song for a Sly and the Family Stone tribute album.[11] Cher and Future covered the song for a 2017 Gap advertisement.[12] The latter's duet later went viral on TikTok in 2025.[13][14]

Legacy

Hip-hop group Arrested Development used the song as the basis of their 1992 hit, "People Everyday", which reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart[15] and No. 8 on the Hot 100.[16]

Rolling Stone ranked "Everyday People" as No. 145 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004[17] and No. 109 on their updated list in 2021.[18] It was listed on BillboardTemplate:'s 500 Best Pop Songs.[19]

Personnel

Charts

The song was ranked No. 5 on Billboard magazine's Top Hot 100 songs of 1969.[20]

Script error: No such module "Music chart".Script error: No such module "Music chart".
Chart (1968–1969) Peak
position
Canada RPM Top Singles[21] 2
New Zealand (Listener)[22] 10
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[23]
36
2025 chart performance for "Everyday People"
Chart (2025) Peak
position
Japan Hot Overseas (Billboard Japan)[24] 15

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[25] Gold 0 
United Kingdom (BPI)[26] Silver 200,000 
United States (RIAA)[27] 2× Platinum 2,000,000 

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Notes

Page Template:Reflist/styles.css has no content.

  1. ^ The children's animated TV series Scooby-Doo (often featuring the phrase "scooby dooby doo") debuted on CBS in September 1969, seven months after “Everyday People” hit #1.[8]

References

Page Template:Reflist/styles.css has no content.

  1. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Marsh, Dave (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. Plume. p. 18. ISBN 0-452-26305-0.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Pitchfork Staff (August 18, 2006). "The 200 Best Songs of the 1960s". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 12, 2022. Sly smoothed out his incendiary funk into a couple minutes of gently buoyant pop...
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Petridis, Alexis (March 16, 2023). "Sly Stone's greatest songs – ranked!". The Guardian. Retrieved June 30, 2025. Everyday People distils the band's initial essence – multiple vocals, propulsive bass, lyrics preaching tolerance in a fractured US – into two minutes and 22 seconds of perfect pop.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Wang, Oliver (June 9, 2025). "Sly and the Family Stone: 20 Essential Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 30, 2025. 'Everyday People,' was an undeniably feel-good pop hit...
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Billboard Staff (October 19, 2023). "The 500 Best Pop Songs: Staff List". Billboard. Retrieved February 11, 2024. Sly and the Family Stone's euphoric slice of psychedelic soul, presented by its co-ed, biracial lineup...
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 54.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."TOP HOT 100 SINGLES -1969" (PDF). Billboard. 27 December 1969. p. 16.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Breiham, Tom (2018-11-19). "The Number Ones: Sly & The Family Stone's "Everyday People"". Stereogum. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Grein, Paul (2025-06-11). "Forever No. 1: Sly & the Family Stone's 'Everyday People'". Billboard. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Joan Jett & the Blackhearts | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Devenish, Colin (February 25, 2004). "Beck, Moby Toast Sly Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 5, 2025.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Penrose, Nerisha (September 13, 2017). "Watch Future & Cher's Auto-Tuned Cover of 'Everyday People' in New Gap Ad". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 19, 2022.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Cher & Future's Super-Awkward 2017 Gap Commercial Is Going Viral Via TikTok Reenactments". Stereogum. 2025-05-28. Retrieved 2025-06-08.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Pilley, Max (2025-06-01). "Cher and Future's cringeworthy 2017 Gap advert is going viral on TikTok". NME. Retrieved 2025-06-08.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Official Singles Chart Top 100". OfficialCharts.com. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2025-06-11.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Arrested Development Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 2025-06-11.
  17. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. 2008-06-22. Archived from the original on 22 June 2008. Retrieved 2025-02-13.
  18. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Sly and the Family Stone, 'Everyday People'". Rolling Stone Australia. 2021-09-15. Retrieved 2025-02-13.
  19. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Werthman, Rania Aniftos, Katie Atkinson, Katie Bain, Anna Chan, Ed Christman, Hannah Dailey, Stephen Daw, Kyle Denis, Frank DiGiacomo, Thom Duffy, Chris Eggertsen, Ingrid Fajardo, Griselda Flores, Josh Glicksman, Quincy Green, Paul Grein, Lyndsey Havens, Rylee Johnston, Becky Kaminsky, Gil Kaufman, Carl Lamarre, Elias Leight, Jason Lipshutz, Joe Lynch, Meghan Mahar, Elizabeth Dilts Marshall, Rebecca Milzoff, Taylor Mims, Gail Mitchell, Melinda Newman, Jessica Nicholson, Danielle Pascual, Glenn Peoples, Isabela Raygoza, Eric Renner Brown, Kristin Robinson, Dan Rys, Marc Schneider, Andrew Unterberger, Christine (2023-10-19). "The 500 Best Pop Songs: Staff List". Billboard. Retrieved 2025-02-13.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Top Records of 1969" (PDF). Billboard. Cincinnati, Ohio: Billboard Publications, Inc. December 27, 1969. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  21. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1969-02-17. Retrieved 2018-12-15.
  22. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Flavour of New Zealand - search listener". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  23. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."SLY & THE FAMILY STONE". Official Charts.
  24. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Billboard Japan Hot Overseas – Week of June 18, 2025". Billboard Japan (in 日本語). Retrieved June 18, 2025.
  25. ^ Script error: No such module "cite". Type Everyday People in the "Search:" field and press Enter.
  26. ^ Script error: No such module "cite". Select singles in the Formats field. Type Everyday People Sly & The Family Stone in the "Search:" field.
  27. ^ Script error: No such module "cite".

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Navbox/configuration' not found. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Navbox/configuration' not found. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Navbox/configuration' not found.

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Authority control/config' not found.

Retrieved from "https://cosmopedia.co/index.php?title=Everyday_People&oldid=674643"