"Family Affair", the number one hit from 1971 for Sly and the Family Stone, is a song that gets covered a lot, and every time I hear it done, I want to hear the original again right away. I do admire the taste shown by anyone who would do one of their tunes, but on this one Sly's lead vocal performance (as well as the second vocal by his sister, Rose) is so distinctive and informed by so much musical and life experience that I'm surprised that anyone would take it on. Lyrically, the song is a powerful discussion of where the fault lines appear in lives put under extreme pressure: the home life.

Imagine a time when a number one hit could generate this amount of feeling and empathy without resorting to sentimentality (by which I mean unoriginal and/or dishonest thinking). And if you think I'm just being nostalgic, have a look at the current Billboard charts. Anyway, here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YZpbYqOw4o&feature=related