David Kapralik was the manager of Sly & the Family Stone between the years of 1967 and 1974, and is known to have been the one to sign the group to Epic after having been told about the group by a promotion man at Epic, Chuck Gregory. It has been said by many that without David, Sly never would have achieved his superstar status. David and Sly were partners from the very start, and together made many important decisions regarding the group's direction, appearance, etc. Sly and David were also joint owners of the short-lived "Stone Flower" label, which featured, among other acts, Little Sister.

David Kapralik in 1996

Before managing Sly & the Family Stone, he was Head of Artists And Repertoire for Columbia Records. He was responsible for signing artists such as Andy Williams, Paul Revere & the Raiders, Peaches & Herb and Simon & Garfunkel to Columbia and Epic records. Kapralik is also credited with discovering Barbra Streisand as well as Sly Stone. His career also included producing and publishing as well as talent scouting.

In 1974, David had had enough of the problems Sly was creating and made an amicable agreement with Ken Roberts to take over his management. David then left the music industry entirely and for the past eighteen years has lived on the Hawaiian island of Maui. For the first eleven years, he lived and worked on his own protea (flower) farm. He has subsequently leased out his farm and has been living (in semi-retirement) at another part of the island. He looks back on his days with the group with great fondness.

Click HERE to see the original announcement for Stone Flower in Billboard Magazine ca. 1970.... Click HERE to see just the picture of David and Sly from that ad.

(Thanks to David Kapralik)

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