The 500 - #121 - Stand! - Sly and The Family Stone

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by New York-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

---

Album #: 121
Album Title: Stand!
Artist: Sly and The Family Stone
Genre: Psychedelic-Soul, Funk Rock, Progressive Soul
Recorded: Pacific High Studios, San Francisco, California

Released: May, 1969
My age at release: 3
How familiar was I with it before this week: A couple songs
Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #119, rising 3 places
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Everyday People

This week’s choice for my Spotify Playlist, is Everyday People from American band Sly and The Family Stone. It is one of  those catchy, earwormy-tracks that never fails to make me feel better about life. Released in 1968, months before the group's fourth studio record Stand! hit the shelves, the song is a catchy two-minute and 21-second ditty that delivers a simple message: All people are fundamentally the same, despite their differences. It promotes equality, unity and empathy by calling out the ways humans divide themselves by race, class, appearance and ideology, and then dismantles those divisions with messages of shared humanity.

It was an important message in 1968 when the United States was reeling from the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Those tragedies and the deepening societal upheaval over the Vietnam War sparked riots in cities across the country. In that climate of grief, division, and uncertainty, Everyday People offered solace, and a reminder that equality, empathy and shared humanity was possible.

A photo snapped moments after Martin Luther King was
shot in Memphis, Tennessee. April 4, 1968.

Unfortunately, the lesson of Everyday People is no less urgent today. As Russia continues its brutal assault on Ukraine, as violence and polarization persist across the United States, and as Gaza struggles to recover from devastating bombing campaigns, the need for compassion and unity remains as pressing as ever. The world continues to fracture along lines of ideology, nationality, and fear.  But, the song’s core truth endures -- we must find ways to live together, or tear each other apart.

ICE agents deployed in Minneapolis gunned down protester
Alex Pretti in January, 2026.

This week, I found myself in a strange emotional juxtaposition, needing Everyday People more than I could ever have imagined. On one hand, the Winter Olympics filled my screens with images of nations coming together in shared celebration. In contrast,  my country of Canada was left reeling from a horrific mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, where eight people, most of them children, were killed and more than 25 were injured. Trying to process the contrast between the two events -- unity on the world stage and heartbreak at home -- left me a little unmoored.

Police tape outside the Tumbler Ridge School, one of two sites
for the shootings.

Talking to my students about the random shootings was designed to help them feel safe and ensure they understood that their emotions were valid. However, they also had to be made aware of  the harmful narratives that quickly began circulating, especially the cruel backlash directed at the trans community after the shooter was identified. In that difficult space, Everyday People served as my personal ballast. The lyrics and music were a gentle reminder that compassion, acceptance and shared humanity are not relics of the past but values that require repeating over and over again. I didn't play them the song, but I might do so in the days ahead to affirm what I want them to understand -- that we, as Canadians...as humans...as everyday people, are capable of something better than fear and division.