Sly Stone, the revolutionary musician who led the groundbreaking funk band Sly and the Family Stone, died Monday at age 82 after a prolonged battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other health issues. Stone, born Sylvester Stewart, passed away peacefully in Los Angeles surrounded by his three children, closest friend, and extended family.
The family released a statement confirming his death, describing Stone as a monumental figure and groundbreaking innovator who redefined the landscape of pop, funk, and rock music. His publicist Carleen Donovan confirmed that Stone had been in poor health in recent years before his passing on June 9.
Stone formed Sly and the Family Stone in 1966-67, creating the first major American group to include both Black and white men and women. The band emerged from the San Francisco Bay Area as a sextet featuring Stone on keyboards, Larry Graham on bass, Stone’s brother Freddie on guitar, sister Rose on vocals, plus Cynthia Robinson and Jerry Martini on horns and Greg Errico on drums.
Their breakthrough came with “Dance to the Music,” which hit the top 10 in April 1968, the same week Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered. The song launched an era when the polished sound of Motown and the understatement of Stax suddenly seemed outdated. The band’s music represented a explosive blend of frantic horns, rapid-fire guitar, and locomotive rhythms, melting together jazz, psychedelic rock, doo-wop, soul, and early funk grooves.
Led by Stone with his leather jumpsuits, goggle shades, mile-wide grin, and towering Afro, the band dazzled audiences at the 1969 Woodstock festival. They performed at 3:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, sandwiched between Janis Joplin and The Who, delivering an electric medley of hits including “Everyday People,” “Dance To The Music,” and “I Want To Take You Higher.”
The group achieved remarkable commercial success, releasing five top 10 singles with three reaching No. 1: “Everyday People,” which dominated charts for four weeks in 1968-69; “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” which led for two weeks in 1970; and “Family Affair,” which topped charts for three weeks in 1971. The band also produced three million-selling albums: “Stand!,” “There’s a Riot Goin’ On,” and “Greatest Hits.”
Stone’s influence on popular music proved profound and enduring. Parliament-Funkadelic creator George Clinton was a Stone disciple, while artists from Prince and Rick James to the Black Eyed Peas drew inspiration from his work. Hip-hop artists extensively sampled Stone’s music, with performers from the Beastie Boys to Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg incorporating his riffs. The WhoSampled website credits Sly and the Family Stone with being sampled more than 1,000 times throughout music history.
Born in Denton, Texas, in March 1943, Stone moved with his family to Vallejo, California, at six months old. Raised in a Pentecostal religious household, he began performing gospel music with his siblings at age 9, recording with the Stewart Four. He acquired the nickname “Sly” during high school and demonstrated musical prodigy abilities, mastering keyboards, guitar, bass, and drums as a child.
Stone’s career began as a disc jockey at San Francisco’s KSOL in the 1960s, where he played diverse music ranging from British rock to soul. He also worked as a producer for garage rock and psychedelia groups. By 1966, he merged his band Sly and the Stoners with his brother Freddie’s group Freddie and the Stone Souls to form Sly and the Family Stone.
However, by the early 1970s, Stone began a descent driven by fame pressures and what sources described as the added burden of Black celebrity. His record company demanded more hits while the Black Panthers pressured him to remove white members from his group. After relocating from the Bay Area to Los Angeles in 1970, Stone became increasingly dependent on cocaine and exhibited erratic behavior, frequently arriving late to concerts or not appearing at all.
Stone’s 1971 album “There’s a Riot Goin’ On” marked a dramatic shift in his music. One of the grimmest records ever to top album charts, it featured dense, murky sounds and was among the first to use drum machines. The album reflected Stone’s deteriorating mental state and the era’s social upheaval, with tracks like “Family Affair” offering reflective moods and “Runnin’ Away” expressing fearful themes.
The Family Stone disbanded by 1975, though Stone continued using the band name for solo releases. His later years were marked by drug arrests, financial troubles, and sporadic performances. In 2011, reports indicated he was living in a campervan in Los Angeles’ Crenshaw district, relying on assistance from others.
Sly and the Family Stone was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. Stone made a rare public appearance at the 2006 Grammy Awards for a tribute to the group, marking his first live performance in nearly two decades. He was the subject of Questlove’s 2025 documentary “Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)” and published a memoir in 2023 titled “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin).”
Stone married model Kathy Silva on stage during a Madison Square Garden concert in June 1974, an event that inspired an extensive New Yorker article. The couple had a son, Sylvester Jr., in 1973 but separated in 1976. Stone also had two daughters: Sylvyette, known by her middle name Phunne, born in 1976, and Novena Carmel, born in 1982.
According to the family statement, Stone recently completed a screenplay for his life story, a project they plan to share publicly. Questlove paid tribute on social media, writing: “From the moment his music reached me in the early 1970s, it became a part of my soul.”
