Early Sly & The Family Stone Performance Tapped for Release

Live at Winchester Cathedral 1967 out July 18

June 8, 2025June 9, 2025 Ron Hart 0 Comments 1967, High Moon Records, reissue, Sly and the Family Stone, Sly Stone, The First Family: Live at Winchester Cathedral 1967

Sly and the Family Stone performing ar Winchester Cathedral in Redwood City, California 1967. (Image: High Moon Records)

The earliest known live recording of Sly & The Family Stone will be officially released on July 18 via High Moon Records.

Entitled The First Family: Live at Winchester Cathedral, this historic discovery captures the band’s original lineup in an electrifying performance that went down months before Sly and the band signed a recording deal with Epic Records (and released their debut LP A Whole New Thing) and a year before they broke nationally with their signature hit “Dance to the Music.”

Sly and the Family Stone First Family: Live at Winchester Cathedral 1967, High Moon Records 2025

The album is accompanied by a deluxe booklet with liner notes from the set’s GRAMMY®-nominated producer Alec Palao, featuring exclusive interviews with Sly Stone and all of the original band members, never-before-seen photos, rare memorabilia, and more. The CD edition includes a bonus performance of Otis Redding’s classic “Try A Little Tenderness.”

“The Winchester Cathedral recordings showcase a one-of-kind outfit that was already at the peak of its powers, long before it became internationally famous,” said Palao. “Sly is fully in command, while the unique arrangements and tighter-than-tight ensemble playing point clearly to the road ahead, and the enduring influence of Sly & The Family Stone’s music.”

Winchester Cathedral show flier, 1967. (Image: High Moon Records)

This recording was actually featured in Questlove’s critically acclaimed 2025 documentary, Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) and spotlights Sly’s early genius while the Family Stone served as the house band Winchester Cathedral, an all-night music venue in Redwood City, California for a brief period of time.

These 7-inch analog tapes, recorded by the group’s old manager Rich Romanello, sat in storage for 35 years until 2002 when they were discovered by Sly archivists Edwin and Arno Konings. Over 20 years later, these reels were meticulously restored by Palao for public consumption.

Check out an early sample of the set with “I Gotta Go Now / Funky Broadway” below.

SLY & THE FAMILY STONE

THE FIRST FAMILY: LIVE AT WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL 1967

(High Moon Records)

Release Date: Friday, July 18, 2025

Tracklist:

I Ain’t Got Nobody

Skate Now

Show Me

What Is Soul?

I Can’t Turn You Loose

Try A Little Tenderness *