As covered in the compelling new documentary Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius), Sly Stone produced an incredible amount of creative and influential material in a relatively short amount of time, before he steadily retreated from the limelight (for a variety of reasons) throughout the 70s. Indeed, although his output (and the quality thereof) decreased significantly during this time, he still made sporadic TV appearances before effectively disappearing from the spotlight. One of the last of those involved an amusing impromptu collaboration with the late great Richard Pryor on the Mike Douglas Show in 1974. It’s pretty hilarious to witness the banter of these two legends from their respective scenes as they rip on each other, but the real treat here is seeing Pryor behind the kit with Sly on the piano. Somewhat surreal indeed, but it’s all in good goofy fun of course. R.I.P. Richard Pryor, and long live Sly Stone!
