Everyday People

Album

Stand!

Label

Epic records

Genre

Dance-pop

Composer(s)

Sylvester Stewart

Entered Chart

Nov 30, 1968

Peak Date

Feb 15, 1969

Released

November 1968

Recorded

1968

Catalog #

Epic 5-10407

B-Side

Sing A Simple Song

Group leader Sly Stone wrote "Everyday People" about how everyone is essentially the same, regardless of race or background. Sly & the Family Stone was a mash-up of musical styles, with band members of different genders and ethnic backgrounds. This song takes some inspiration from Mother Goose, adding a twist to the traditional nursery rhyme "rub-a-dub-dub." The familiar three men in a tub - the butcher, the baker, the candlestick-maker - become the butcher, the banker, the drummer, and, in the spirit of the song's message of solidarity among all people, Sly adds: "makes no difference what group I'm in." Billy Preston played organ on this track. Preston has appeared on many famous songs, including some by The Beatles and Rolling Stones. "Everyday People" was released late in 1968, months ahead of the Stand! album. In America, it hit #1 in February 1969 and stayed there for four weeks. In September 1969, the cartoon Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! made its debut, possibly borrowing from the line in this song: And so on and so on and scooby dooby doo Let's see if we can get to the bottom of this mystery. The song certainly brought the phrase "scooby doo" to the forefront, but three years earlier, Frank Sinatra did some scat singing, ad-libbing "doo-be-doobie-do" on "Strangers in the Night." That's where the animated dog got his name. Variations on "scooby doo" or "doobie doo" had been around for a while, both as nonsense syllables and as expressions of surprise. Joan Jett hit #37 in the US with her 1983 cover version. Aretha Franklin, Belle & Sebastian and Pearl Jam also recorded the song, and Arrested Development used it as the basis of their 1992 hit "People Everyday." This was featured in a series of television commercials for Toyota in the late 1990s. >> Sly & the Family Stone included "Everyday People" in their set at Woodstock, which according to Carlos Santana was the standout performance at the festival. This was used in the 1982 drama Purple Haze, starring Peter Nelson; the 2008 romantic dramedy Definitely, Maybe, starring Ryan Reynolds; and the 2008 biopic Milk, about gay rights activist Harvey Milk, starring Sean Penn. This was featured on the TV drama Scandal in the 2012 episode "Crash and Burn." The organization Turnaround Arts, which works to provide music education in schools, created a video of various luminaries performing this song among some of their students. Among those appearing in the clip are Jack Johnson, Keb' Mo, Jason Mraz, Paula Abdul, Misty Copeland, Elizabeth Banks, Forest Whitaker and Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Sometimes I'm right and I can be wrong
My own beliefs are in my song
The butcher, the banker, the drummer and then
Makes no difference what group I'm in

I am everyday people, yeah yeah

There is a blue one who can't accept the green one
For living with a fat one trying to be a skinny one
And different strokes for different folks
And so on and so on and scooby dooby doo

Oh sha sha we got to live together

I am no better and neither are you
We are the same whatever we do
You love me you hate me you know me and then
You can't figure out the bag I'm in

I am everyday people, yeah yeah

There is a long hair that doesn't like the short hair
For bein' such a rich one that will not help the poor one
And different strokes for different folks
And so on and so on and scooby dooby doo

Oh sha sha we got to live together

There is a yellow one that won't accept the black one
That won't accept the red one that won't accept the white one
And different strokes for different folks
And so on and so on and scooby dooby doo

I am everyday people