Lost Gem: Sly Stone joined Jesse Johnson for a “Crazay” single

There is a belief regarding Sly Stone that has been elevated to the level of myth. That belief is that the legendary funk master, co-founder and leader of the band Sly and the Family Stone disappeared and wasn’t involved musically from the mid 1970s until he performed during a 2006 Grammy Awards tribute to the band.

Stone was erratic for years, missing concerts, not recording much material – and what he did record, particularly after 1975, didn’t sell very well. However, an artist as talented as Sly Stone will always find willing collaborators. This was true throughout the decade of the 1980s when Stone released albums, singles and  worked with the likes of Bobby Womack, Funkadelic, the Bar Kays, just to name a few.

For many, the best and most notable collaboration came in 1986 when Stone appeared and shared vocals with Jesse Johnson on the song “Crazay,” a track from Johnson’s Shockadelicaalbum. Johnson, a premier guitarist who proved he could shred during his tenure with The Time, was two albums into a solo career that allowed him to put his unique imprint on Minneapolis funk.

That sound was blowing up in 1986. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis had left The Time and had produced Janet Jackson’s monster hit album Control. With The Time on hiatus, Alexander O’Neal emerged as a prime-time balladeer who could make dance tunes as well. Morris Day emerged as a solo artist. Prince was, of course, Prince. Johnson took had more than his share of hits and “Crazay” was his best chart performer, reaching Number 2 on the R&B charts.

In this Lost Gem, we feature a live performance of the song with Johnson on guitar and Stone on keyboards. The two clearly have chemistry. Stone’s vocals are strong and display soulfulness and creativity gleaned from his time singing gospel as a youth and rock infused soul and funk as a teen and adult.
Stone is in his comfort zone and this performance showed that he could still command a stage when he free from his demons. Check it out here.

By Howard Dukes

Jesse Johnson feat. Sly Stone

"Crazay"

Video

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