Sly Stone Passes Away at 82 by Rob Moderelli and Sly Stone, courtesy of High Moon Records
Sly Stone, the fearless innovator behind Sly & The Family Stone, has died. As the frontman, singer, songwriter, organist and producer for the legendary psychedelic soul ensemble, Stone created generational anthems that challenged the injustices of his era through joy and shook the foundations of popular music, laying the foundation for fusion, funk and more. He was 82.
The legendary artist’s passing was announced with a statement from his family: “It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved dad, Sly Stone of Sly and the Family Stone. After a prolonged battle with COPD and other underlying health issues, Sly passed away peacefully, surrounded by his three children, his closest friend, and his extended family. While we mourn his absence, we take solace in knowing that his extraordinary musical legacy will continue to resonate and inspire for generations to come.”
Stone was born Sylvester Stewart, the second of five children in a household of devout Church of God in Christ adherents in Denton, Texas. When they packed up and moved to Vallejo, Calif., the family brought their faith with them and raised their children on gospel and the spiritual value of musical expression in the San Francisco Bay Area. Sly, who took his nickname from a childhood friend’s misspelling, cut his first record at eight years old alongside his siblings Freddie, Rose and Vaetta, issuing “On the Battlefield” b/w “Walking in Jesus Name” as The Stewart Four on a locally-pressed 10” in 1956.
By age 11, Sly was a capable performer on keyboards, guitar, bass and drums. In high school, already a restless prodigy, he recorded with Freddie as the Stewart Bros and released a few singles under the name Danny Stewart. He pursued new horizons in his sound by studying composition, theory and trumpet at Vallejo Junior College and playing with several bands, including the racially-integrated doo-wop combo the Viscaynes.
In the mid 1960s, Stone broke into the San Francisco music scene as a staff producer at Autumn Records, where he left his mark on recordings by predominantly white emerging rock groups like the Beau Brummels and Grace Slick’s first outfit The Great Society; in 1964, he produced and co-wrote Bobby Freeman’s No. 5 pop chart hit “C’mon and Swim.” Meanwhile, as a popular quick-talking disc jockey at the R&B station KSOL-AM, he spun white performers like The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan into his soul programming. “I found out about a lot of things I don’t like,” he later said of his time in radio. “Like, I think there shouldn’t be ‘Black radio.’ Just radio. Everybody be a part of everything. I didn’t look at my job in terms of Black.”
Stone’s first few tastes of stardom encouraged him to put his talents toward his own music, and in 1966 he established Sly & The Stoners, including Cynthia Robinson. Freddie had formed a group of his own with Freddie & the Stone Souls, featuring drummer Greg Errico, and at the encouragement of saxophonist Jerry Martini (Errico’s cousin), the brothers merged their groups and ultimately welcomed Robinson’s cousin, bassist Larry Graham and Stone’s sisters Rose and Vaetta. After their first performance at Redwood City, Calif.’s Winchester Cathedral, the newly minted Sly & The Family Stone were quickly signed to Epic Records. To read more go to the link below:
