Sly Stone, Sly Stone and San Francisco DJs have become innovators in pop and funk music. He was 82 years old.
“It is a deep sadness to announce the deaths of our beloved dads, Three Stone of Three Stone and Family Stone,” reads a statement shared with USA Today on June 9th. “After a long battle with COPD and other underlying health issues, Sly passed away peacefully surrounded by his three children, his closest friends and his extended family.
“We lament his absence, and carry on comfort by knowing that his extraordinary musical legacy continues to resonate and encourage him to come for generations.”
After the great successes of the 1960s and 1970s, Stone became a mysterious, most hidden figure plagued by homelessness and health issues. He also endured financial issues amid the management dispute, and at one point he ruled $5 million on unpaid royalties that were later overturned. At one disastrous time, the report shows that the Woodstock icon lived in a van in Los Angeles.
But despite such misfortune, his trendsets, multi-racial, multi-gender Bay Area band and Family Stone, created by the Texas-born California port, did not stop him being a touchstone for generations of musicians.
Among the frequently covered but matching hits of stone are “I want you higher”, “Hot summer fun”, “Stand!” And then the infectious and vocally titled Funk Anthem, “Thank you (Falettinme be Mice Elf Agin).”
A statement from Stone’s family praised him as “a monumental figure, groundbreaking innovator, and a true pioneer who redefines the landscape of pop, funk and rock music.”
Stone’s family said the musician recently completed the script for his life story, saying, “We spread a deep appreciation for the pouring of love and prayer during this difficult time. We wish peace and harmony to everyone who was moved by Sly’s life and his iconic music.”
Stone was born in Denton, Texas on March 14, 1943 to Sylvester Stewart, but grew up in Vallejo, a suburb of San Francisco.
Just as the San Francisco music scene exploded with global impact in the mid-’60s, Stone served as both a record producer and a disc jockey for KSOL.
In 1966, spurring the local revolution, a birth band such as Jefferson Airplane, Santana, and the Grateful Dead, Stone decided to combine his fledgling band with one led by his brother Freddie to form Sly and the family stone. The hit began with 1968’s “Dance to the Music” and “Daily People,” and celebrated the pure and simple joys created when music united the masses.
However, Stone’s compositions often embraced deep depths, and the lyrics were as neatly drilled as they were moving. In “Family Events,” Stone’s sensitive growl Inston: “One child loves to grow and learn / And someone who just wants to burn grows / Mom loves both /
By 1969, Stone and his group were one of the nation’s most famous bands, performing memorable sets at the Woodstock Festival in upstate New York.
The band performed that year at Harlem’s summer soul concert. This is an event commemorated by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson in a documentary of the same name. (Questlove oversaw “Sly Lives! (aka The Black Genius’s Burden).
Stone’s band was the earliest of the group in the ’60s, featuring a mix of gender and race (including founding member and trumpet player Cynthia Robinson and founding drummer Greg Erico), but Stone was the leader and visionary who stepped in the band’s direction.
Often covered in elaborate stage outfits, his enormous afro glow, stone looks and music were an indisputable foreshadowing of the upcoming funk revolution, which would embrace James Brown’s fundamental innovation and promote it to other global showboat levels, as most demonstrated by the huge successes of ’70s legends such as George Clinton and his Polimento Fulda Delic Band.
However, the Rocketship ride to fame will soon be back to Earth. By 1971, the band had been added by drug use and internal conflict, which left Sly and Family Stone increasingly losing tour bookings and unable to produce music that fit the song just a few years ago.
Stone worked on new music in the ’70s, and although he often worked himself since he played a large number of instruments, success proved elusive. In 1983 he was arrested in Florida on drug charges. More trouble and misfortune found a way to Stone’s gateway in the coming years, but in 1993 he was made public during the introduction of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during the band’s induction.
Ten years later, in 2005, Stone was discovered at a Los Angeles club after driving his sister’s vet, now a nearly legendary ghost, on a motorcycle, on a vet, who was in the family’s stone tribute band. The following year, Stone was shocked by the surprise of the Grammys attendees. By taking the stage, his band gleamed into the giant blonde Mohawk as they cried out many hits during the salute to the show’s inventive group.
In 2009, documentarian Willem Arkema released “Coming Back for More” after seeing Stone’s life and career. The director told journalists at the time that Stone was homeless, but despite this, the pioneering musician has appeared at California festivals many times, but has done something short.
In 2023, Stone released his autobiography. His autobiography was the first book to be released by Questlove’s imprint, and appropriately took the title from his song “Falettinme be Mice Elf Agin.” The book received mixed reviews. The subject is because it reminded me of an unforgettable era and created an unforgettable song.
However, one excerpt captures the pleasant lyricism he brought to his hits, serving as a reminder that the genius never actually disappears.
Of many others who have tried to tell the story of Stone over the years, “They are trying to straighten the record, but not straight, especially when you’re not.
Contribution: Kimie Robinson