High Moon Records is set to release the earliest known recording of Sly & The Family Stone, titled The First Family: Live at Winchester Cathedral. The release date is set for July 18, 2025, and it captures the original band lineup a few months before it signed it original record deal with Epic Records.
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.”
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.
You can-preorder this early recording of Sly & The Family Stone at highmoonrecords.com.
The First Family: Live at Winchester Cathedral Tracklist:
- I Ain’t Got Nobody
- Skate Now
- Show Me
- What Is Soul?
- I Can’t Turn You Loose
- Try A Little Tenderness *
- Baby I Need Your Loving
- Pucker Up Buttercup
- Saint James Infirmary
- I Gotta Go Now (Up On The Floor) / Funky Broadway
*CD Only Bonus Track
