Funk pioneer Sly Stone is finally ready to share his life story. The Sly and the Family Stone founder has announced his new memoir, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin), which will be released on October 17th as the first book published on Questlove’s AUWA Books imprint.
Thank You will feature a foreword penned by Questlove. Stone co-wrote it with Questlove’s frequent collaborator Ben Greenman, who has also worked on memoirs with George Clinton, Brian Wilson, Gene Simmons, and more.
“For as long as I can remember folks have been asking me to tell my story,” Stone said in a statement. “I wasn’t ready. I had to be in a new frame of mind to become Sylvester Stewart again to tell the true story of Sly Stone. It’s been a wild ride and hopefully my fans enjoy it too.”
Questlove added, “I have been writing books for over a decade, so it seemed like a natural step to publish them too. I’m very excited about AUWA Books, from the books we have lined up to the books we haven’t discovered yet. Let’s take it to the page.”
This isn’t Stone’s first collaboration with Questlove. Not only were Sly and the Family Stone featured heavily in Questlove’s Oscar-winning documentary Summer of Soul (…or. When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), but The Roots drummer announced back in 2021 that he was working on a separate documentary about Sly Stone himself.
More recently, Questlove revealed he was collaborating with Mick Jagger on a James Brown documentary for A&E. Last month, he served as the music director and producer for the hip-hop 50th anniversary celebration at the Grammys. In 2024, Questlove will publish his own Hip-Hop Is History on AUWA Books, also co-written with Ben Greenman.
Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) Artwork:
