‘Mother Goose’: the peculiar nursery rhyme that inspired a funk revolution
Although nursery rhymes are a seminal part of most people’s childhoods and earliest musical educations, they don’t exactly scream chart toppers, do they? Well, despite certain rockers having sometimes used a childhood tune or two as a weapon in their arsenal, put it this way – can you imagine jamming out to ‘If You’re Happy and You Know It’ in the car or dancing along to ‘Incy Wincy Spider’ in the club? Well, if you’re a parent, maybe you can, but for the rest, it’s an odd vision, to say the least.
Yet, believe it or not, a nursery rhyme is indeed the unlikely hero of funk. Perplexing as it may seem, the seminal notes of ‘Mother Goose’ became the beats of a revolution in the form of ‘Everyday People’ by Sly and the Family Stone. But what exactly does a butcher, a baker, and a candlestick maker have to do with creating a chart-topping revolution?
The band’s leader, Sly Stone, penned ‘Everyday People’ to encourage a sense of unity and togetherness in the world—essentially, that there is more that we have in common than what tears us apart. It seemed the nursery rhyme sonic sample of ‘Mother Goose’ was the perfect avenue to channel this down, embodying the childlike spirit of acceptance and love in its midst.
To that end, the butcher, baker, and candlestick maker transform into the butcher, the banker, and the drummer, but regardless of what positions they held, for Stone and the rest of the band, the effect of the message remained the same. It seemed the masses also took that spirit of peace and love to their hearts because the song shot to the top of the charts in February 1969 following its release at the end of the previous year, marking a new sonic chapter of golden success for Sly and the Family Stone in the form of the album Stand!, which was later released.
But more than just the sense of unity and peace sweeping the swinging sixties, ‘Everyday People’ inspired a funk revolution for the artists that revelled in its wake and later wanted a slice of the Sly and the Family Stone pie. There are various worthy covers, most notably by Joan Jett, who fired into the top 40 in 1983 with her version of the tune, as well as a whole legion of musical megastars, including Belle and Sebastian, Pearl Jam, and Aretha Franklin, jumping on the bandwagon.
Most pertinently, does the 1992 song ‘People Everyday’ by Arrested Development now sound slightly familiar? That’s because the Afrocentric hip-hop band used their funk heroes’ seminal track as the inspiration behind their own tune, displaying just how the original ‘Everyday People’ was still making its mark on music approaching 30 years after its release.
The story and legacy of Sly and the Family Stone’s standout hit just goes to show that inspiration can be found in almost any corner of the sonic world if you go looking for it. You might not think that ‘Mother Goose’ would be to thank for inspiring an entire generation of funk forays, but it proves that if you listen closely, your kids’ favourite tunes might just be the gateway to granting you a hit.
