Sly & The Family Stone – Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)

“Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” Single by Sly and the Family Stone
from the album Greatest Hits
B-side “Everybody Is a Star”
Released December 1969
Label Epic
Songwriter Sylvester Stewart
Producer Sly Stone
Charted No.1 in US

“Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” is a 1969 song recorded by Sly and the Family Stone. The song, released as a double A-side single with “Everybody Is a Star”, reached number one on the soul single charts for five weeks, and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1970. Billboard ranked the record as the No. 19 song of 1970.

The title is an intentional mondegreen or sensational spelling for “thank you for letting me be myself again.” The third verse contains specific references to the group’s previous successful songs: “Dance to the Music”, “Everyday People”, “Sing a Simple Song” and “You Can Make It If You Try”. The song features co-lead vocals from Sly Stone, Rose Stone, Freddie Stone, Cynthia Robinson, Jerry Martini, Greg Errico and Larry Graham. On this song, Graham was widely credited with introducing the slap technique on the electric bass, which is heard prominently throughout the track.

Here’s a breakdown of the band members who contributed to the song:

Sly Stone – co-lead vocals, guitar,
Larry Graham – bass
Greg Errico – drums
Jerry Martini – tenor saxophone
Cynthia Robinson – trumpet
Freddie Stone – guitar
Rose Stone – co-lead vocals
Greg Errico – drums