Truman Thomas is SLY STONE
Jonathan Howard Dakss
I thought it would be a good idea to announce this discovery, although for
some this may be old news.
I have to thank David Klanfer (dav...@primenet.com) for pointing me in the
right direction on this. He wrote to me awhile back saying that he was
reading the autobiography of the member of the Temptations who died
recently (I forget his name..). In it he states that a few songs on the
Temptations 1976 album "Wings of Love" were written by Sly Stone, who also
performed on them along with his regular crew of musicians. However, to
avoid the IRS he is listed under a bogus name. Just this past weekend I
found the album ata record store in New Jersey. On the first side, all of
the songs are written by Truman Thomas (as well as 2 other Temptations)
and feature Freddy Stewart, Ollie Brown, Rusty Allen and...Truman Thomas
on organ, ARP and clavinet. He also takes credit for horn and rhythm
arrangements. Now, I've got to say these four songs are perfectly in
accordance with his writing style at that time. The third song (I forget
the name) is almost an exact duplicate of "I Get High On You" -- the
begoginning is _exactly_ the same as the version Rose does on her solo
album _Rose_. The only differences are that in this version there are
some more riffs and bonuses, all rooted in the Sly book of frills.
So, there you have it. I have asked a friend of mine who is a friend of
Rose and Sly (former girlfriend, actually) to ask either of them about
this when she gets a chance, and then we will truly know for sure. But
for know I think it's safe to assume that they are one and the same. Now
it's a matter of hunting down albums featuring Truman Thomas!
Another friend of mine named david told me that the song "Hobo Ken"
from the Sly album _Ain't But The One Way_ appeared on a 70's
Pointer Sisters album with different lyrics, music and lyrics credited to
Truman thomas. Does anyone know which album this is?
If anyone knows of additional appearances of "Truman Thomas," please send
me complete information and I will add it to the Sly Discography at the
Sly & the Family Stone Web Site:
http://www.columbia.edu/~jhd10/funkpub/family.html and will credit you for
it.
Take care
Jon Dakss
Vince, a Funkadelic
In message <Pine.SUN.3.94L.96070...@aloha.cc.columbia.edu> -
Jonathan Howard Dakss <jh...@columbia.edu>Tue, 2 Jul 1996 14:14:37 -0400
writes:
:-
:-
[Info about Truman Thomas and Sly Stone being the same person]
:-If anyone knows of additional appearances of "Truman Thomas," please send
:-me complete information and I will add it to the Sly Discography at the
:-Sly & the Family Stone Web Site:
Hmm, well, I dunno. Anyhow, Truman Thomas is credited as playing the piano on
Aretha's _Aretha Arrives_ from 1967 and as the electric pianist on Aretha's
_Live at Fillmore West_.
Vince
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Riiip the roof off the muthasucka. Come rip the roof off!
We are the Funkadelic, we're gonna groove for youuuuu
Everybody's got a little light under the sun, under the sun...
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Philip M Healy
Vince, a Funkadelic wrote:
> Hmm, well, I dunno. Anyhow, Truman Thomas is credited as playing the
piano on
> Aretha's _Aretha Arrives_ from 1967 and as the electric pianist on Aretha's
> _Live at Fillmore West_.
Fillmore West", Truman Thomas also played electric piano on King Curtis'
"Live At Fillmore West (Atco SD 33-359) recorded at the same gigs. He
appears in the back cover photo as well, and he DEFINITELY ain't Sly!
Cheers,
Phil Healy
Adelaide, Australia
Philip M Healy
Jonathan Howard Dakss wrote:
>
>"... a few songs on the Temptations 1976 album "Wings of Love" were written by Sly Stone, who also performed on them along with his regular
crew of musicians. On the first side, all of the songs are written by
Stewart, Ollie Brown, Rusty Allen and...Truman Thomas on organ, ARP and
it's a matter of hunting down albums featuring Truman Thomas!
>
the Sly & the Family Stone Web Site:> Hi Jon,
Like Vince the Funkadelic, I have my doubts about your theory as well -
Truman Thomas also appears on King Curtis' "Live At Fillmore West" album
(Atco SD 33-359) recorded at the same time as Aretha's. He appears in
the album's back cover photo, and he sure don't look like Sly! Mind you,
I suppose it is possible that Sly was doing Truman a favour, and giving
him the credit for the Tempts' album - or, Sly accidentally picked
Truman's name as an alias, not realising that there was a real person
with that name! Anyway, if you want full details of the K.C. album,
e-mail me back, and I'll gladly oblige.
Also, I didn't know that Melvin Franklin of The Tempts had published an
autobiography. Do you know the title and publisher?
Regards,
Phil Healy
Adelaide, Australia
Vince, a Funkadelic
In message <31DEE1...@ozemail.com.au> - Philip M Healy
<mal...@ozemail.com.au>Sat, 06 Jul 1996 14:57:41 -0700 writes:
:-
:-Vince, a Funkadelic wrote:
:-> Hmm, well, I dunno. Anyhow, Truman Thomas is credited as playing the
:-piano on
:-> Aretha's _Aretha Arrives_ from 1967 and as the electric pianist on Aretha's
:-> _Live at Fillmore West_.
:-> Vince, I think you're right on the money! As well as Aretha's "Live At
:-Fillmore West", Truman Thomas also played electric piano on King Curtis'
:-"Live At Fillmore West (Atco SD 33-359) recorded at the same gigs. He
:-appears in the back cover photo as well, and he DEFINITELY ain't Sly!
Interesting. So, the King Curtis stuff was recorded the same dates as
Aretha's album? I might have to keep a lookout for that album.
Oscar R Williams
Since everybody is talking about Truman Thomas, I got an old Isley
Brothers' album titled "Brother, Brother, Brother" which features some serious
Hammond Organ action. It also features some early Ernie Isley guitar licks
(Funky!). He played on the album and if you get a chance to hear it, give it a
try, although it's incredibly hard to find it.
Oscar
Dane C. LaBarr
Vince, a Funkadelic (vin...@tdl.com) wrote:
: In message <31DEE1...@ozemail.com.au> - Philip M Healy
: <mal...@ozemail.com.au>Sat, 06 Jul 1996 14:57:41 -0700 writes:
: :-
: :-Vince, a Funkadelic wrote:
: :-> Hmm, well, I dunno. Anyhow, Truman Thomas is credited as playing the
: :-piano on
: :-> Aretha's _Aretha Arrives_ from 1967 and as the electric pianist on Aretha's
: :-> _Live at Fillmore West_.
: :-> Vince, I think you're right on the money! As well as Aretha's "Live At
: :-Fillmore West", Truman Thomas also played electric piano on King Curtis'
: :-"Live At Fillmore West (Atco SD 33-359) recorded at the same gigs. He
: :-appears in the back cover photo as well, and he DEFINITELY ain't Sly!
:
: Interesting. So, the King Curtis stuff was recorded the same dates as
: Aretha's album? I might have to keep a lookout for that album.
:
: Vince
Hi Funkateers,
I have the above mentioned King Curtis vinyl LP for sale. Also have
the Aretha one also. Inquire if interested.
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Philip M Healy
Hi everyone,
I've just dug up some more album sessions by Truman Thomas from Terry
Hounsome's book, "A New Rock Record" (3rd edition, 1987 - but I believe
it's been revised at least twice since).
BILLY PRESTON: A Whole New Thing, A & M SP-4656, 1977
(it's probably just co-incidental that the first Sly & The Family Stome
album had the same title!)
RUFUS: Numbers ABC 1098, 1979
LEON & MARY RUSSELL: Wedding Album Paradise/Warner Brothers 2943, 1976
now things start to get a little bit complicated from now on - Hounsome
also lists Thomas as appearing on BOBBY WOMACK'S albums "Communication"
(United Artists 5539, 1971) and "Understanding" (United Artists 5277,
1972). I have both of those, on both LP and CD, and neither of them
lists Truman Thomas in the personnel, so does Hounsome know something
that the rest of us don't know, or is it just a mistake? (Interestingly,
there is a thank-you note to Sly in the credits). As previously noted,
Thomas definitely does appear on Womack's "Looking For A Love Again"
album, and also on the followup, "I Don't Know What This World Is Coming
To" (UA-LA 353, 1975), performing on all but one track. The latter album
has some session photos on the inner sleeve, but I can't see anyone who
resembles the gent on the King Curtis album - nor can I see Sly, for that
matter!
Cheeers,
Phil Healy.
babygirl
a drug overdose. He greatly admired Sly and mimicked him quite often
which would explain the confusion. He was a big fan as well as a
musician himself. (This info came straight from a member of the Family
Stone). That ends the mystery. By, bye folks!