Sylvester “Sly” Stewart — recognized to the world as Sly Stone, frontman of the groundbreaking band Sly and the Household Stone — has died on the age of 82.
His household confirmed Monday that he died peacefully at his Los Angeles house, surrounded by family members, after battling power obstructive pulmonary illness (COPD) and different well being problems. He’s survived by three kids.
Emmy-winning leisure publicist Danny Deraney took to social media to pay homage to the late singer.
“Relaxation simple Sly Stone,” Deraney posted. “You modified music (and me) endlessly. The time he received over Ed Sullivan’s viewers in 1968. Merely magical.”
Born March 15, 1943, in Denton, Texas, Stone moved together with his household to Vallejo, California, as a baby. He started recording gospel music at age 8 together with his siblings in a gaggle known as the Stewart 4. By his teenage years, he had mastered a number of devices and was already pioneering racial integration in music — an ethos that might outline his profession.
In 1966, Sly and his brother Freddie merged their bands to type Sly and the Household Stone, full with a revolutionary interracial, mixed-gender lineup. The band rapidly turned a industrial and cultural drive with hits resembling “Dance to the Music” (1967), “On a regular basis Folks” (1969) and “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” (1970) — all penned by Stone himself. Their album ”Stand!” (1969) and stay performances — most notably at Woodstock — cemented their popularity, mixing soul, funk, rock, gospel and psychedelia to replicate the optimism and turmoil of their period.
Sly Stone’s musical method radically reshaped widespread music. He transcended style boundaries and empowered a brand new era of artists. The band’s socially acutely aware message and infectious rhythms sparked a wave of affect, reaching artists as numerous as Miles Davis, George Clinton, Prince, Dr. Dre and the Roots.
Because the Nineteen Seventies progressed, Stone confronted private demons. His want to make use of music as a response to conflict, racism and societal change culminated within the intense album “There’s a Riot Goin’ On” (1971). However drug dependency started to undermine each his well being {and professional} life, resulting in erratic conduct and band decline by means of the early Nineteen Eighties.
Withdrawn from the general public eye for a lot of the Nineteen Nineties and early 2000s, Stone staged occasional comebacks. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Corridor of Fame in 1993, obtained a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grammys in 2017, and captured public consideration following the 2023 launch of his memoir “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” — revealed underneath Questlove’s imprint.
He additionally accomplished a biographical screenplay and was featured in Questlove’s documentary ”Sly Lives!” earlier this 12 months.
His affect endured throughout generations. Critics and historians repeatedly credit score him with perfecting funk and making a “progressive soul,” shaping a path for racial integration each onstage and within the broader tradition.
“Relaxation in beats Sly Stone,” legendary Public Enemy frontman Chuck D posted on social media with an illustrative drawing of the artist. “We must always thank Questlove of the Roots for conserving his fireplace blazing on this century.”
As well as, freelance music publicist and Sirius XM host Eric Alper provided a tribute.
“The funk pioneer who made the world dance, suppose, and get increased,” Alper wrote of Sly Stone. “His music modified the whole lot — and it nonetheless does.”
