Sly & the Family Stone were one of the most revolutionary groups in American music, and "Sing a Simple Song" (1968) captured them at the peak of their powers. Released as the B-side to "Everyday People," the track is a funky, loose jam that showcases the band's extraordinary rhythm section — Greg Errico on drums, Larry Graham on bass — playing with the kind of telepathic interplay that made the group legendary.

Larry Graham's slap bass technique, which he developed with Sly Stone, would go on to define the sound of funk bass for the next several decades. The drum break from "Sing a Simple Song" gave hip-hop producers access to that energy — the sound of a band playing at the absolute top of their game, locked into a groove so deep it's practically gravitational.