Sly Stone, leader of Sly & The Family Stone and a pioneer in the field of pop, funk and soul, has died at 82 in Los Angeles. In a statement posted by his family, it is detailed that Stone has been fighting “a prolonged fight against chronic pulmonary disease and other associated health problems.” He died “surrounded by her three children, her best friend and her family.”
Before founding the band with which he would reach recognition and fame, Sylvester Stewart was born in Denton (Texas) in 1943, but soon moved with his family to Vallejo, near San Francisco. Stone acted as a announcer on a musical radio and gave trompet classes, composition and musical theory in the Vallejo Junior College, which would give him the basis to later become the great multi -stertiveist that was.
In 1966, he recruited his brother Freddie, his sister Rose and other members of his family to be part of his new group: Sly & The Family Stone. The ‘Life’ (1968) discs, ‘Stand!’ (1969) and ‘There’s a Riot Goin’ On ‘(1971) were key to blur the line between funk, soul, rock and psychedelic music. During his brief tour, Stone became both an icon of black music and a reference for future generations.
Addictions and fame changed their career and Stone progressively disappeared from public life. Over the years, he was arrested more than one occasion for possession of narcotics and never managed to return to the stage. In 2011, the New York Post found him living in a van in Los Angeles. However, since then his figure has been rediscovered thanks to Questlove.
He directed ‘Summer of Soul’ (2001), Oscar winning tape for the best documentary in which one of the most electric concerts of The Family Stone, and ‘Sly Lives!’, Was fully focused on the figure of the artist. Questlove also honors him today: »He lived enough to survive many of his disciples and feel the waves of his genius to return in the form of hip hop samples, documentaries and memories. Even so, none of that will replace the raw beauty of its original work ».
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