BOBSERVATIONS
is going back to being a “normal” weekly blog.
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I
was recently reminded of the time I attended the wedding of Sylvester Stone, the
Sly of Sly and the Family Stone, and actress-model Kathy Silva. I was one of 21,000 wedding “guests”.
Sly
and the Family Stone was one of the bands highlighted in the movie of the 1969
WOODSTOCK outdoor concert in Bethel Woods NY (not too far from where I live now). The band’s hits included “Everyday People”, “Dance
to the Music”, “Higher”, and “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)”.
The
wedding was held at a Sly and the Family Stone concert in Madison Square Garden
on June 5, 1974. Living across the river
in Jersey City NJ I often attended rock concerts at the Garden in the 1970s. This was the only time my seats for a concert
were on the Garden floor. Folding chairs
were set up in rows, with a center aisle, on the floor facing the stage, and I
do believe my seat was within the first 10 rows.
Soul
Train host Don Cornelius was the evening’s Master of Ceremonies. The opening act was Eddie Kendricks. As I remember it (it was almost 50 years ago),
after Kendricks’ performance and a brief intermission Sly and his family, and a
minister and ushers (I do believe Geraldo Rivera was one of the groomsmen),
came onstage and bridesmaids, carrying golden gilded palms, preceded Kathy down
the center aisle and up on to the stage and the wedding was performed. The Family Stone’s set followed.
I
was not invited to the reception that followed the concert at the
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. I recently read online
that the wedding did not last - Stone and Silva divorced just two years later
in 1976.
Click
here for a short video of the wedding ceremony and some of the reception.
I did
attend another celebrity wedding (and reception this time) in Beverly Hills years
later (that of my cousin Billy to Annette O’Toole) – a normal one with a lot
less guests. But that is another story.
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FYI,
going forward BOBSERVATIONS will be published every Monday beginning September
11th.
TAFN
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