The bass player was Larry Graham who went on to found Graham Central Station. Later on as a solo artist he had a hit with One in a Million You. Most people did not know he was part of The Family Stone. Very popular wedding song back in the day.
He also played with Prince (and Drake is his nephew).
Graham was a Jehovah Witness and got Prince involved - he got deeper into it as he got older
Sly himself was another musician who had young roots in the black church (they usually parents who brought them in). I don't like Pentecostal churches but people like Sly learned to play and perform in church early.
"As part of the doctrines of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), to which the Stewart family belonged, the parents encouraged musical expression in their middle-class household.[7] Sylvester and his brother Freddie, along with their sisters Rose and Loretta, formed "the Stewart Four" as children, performing gospel music in church. They recorded and locally released a 78 rpm single, "On the Battlefield" b/w "Walking in Jesus' Name", in August 1956.[8] Only their eldest sister Loretta did not pursue a musical career; the others, including youngest sister Vaetta or "Vet", would later adopt the surname "Stone" and pursue musical interests. "
"I Want to Take You Higher" has the churchy vibe
"Sly and the Family Stone played a crucial role in introducing Black church aesthetics to mainstream popular music audiences in the late 1960s. Sly introduced secular audiences to what James Cleveland called “the Sanctified Church” through his personal experiences in the Black Pentecostal church. In the foreground of Sly’s work was the recording Stand! (1969), particularly the single I want to take you higher. Furthermore, the band’s integrated gender and racial demographic along with an overall message that all people need to work together in harmony represent the epitome of post-Civil Rights culture. "
Back in the day people would often say black music was the best. I don't know who the best was but black rock/RB musicians grew-up at young ages learning music and performing live in churches. Obviously that's changed a lot