Sly Stone

Sly Stone
Stone performs with the Family Stone in 2007.
Stone performs with the Family Stone in 2007.
Background information
Birth nameSylvester Stewart
Born (1943-03-15) March 15, 1943 (age 81)
Denton, Texas, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, musician, band leader, record producer
Instrument(s)Vocals, keyboards, guitar, bass guitar, harmonica, organ
Discography
Years active1956–present
LabelsEpic Records, Warner Bros., Cleopatra
Websiteslystonemusic.com

Sylvester Stewart (born March 15, 1943), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer who is most famous for his role as frontman for Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the development of funk with his pioneering fusion of soul, rock, psychedelia and gospel in the 1960s and 1970s. AllMusic stated that "James Brown may have invented funk, but Sly Stone perfected it," and credited him with "creating a series of euphoric yet politically charged records that proved a massive influence on artists of all musical and cultural backgrounds."[3] Crawdaddy! has credited him as the founder of the "progressive soul" movement.[4]

Born in Texas and raised in the Bay Area city Vallejo in Northern California, Stone mastered several instruments at an early age and performed gospel music as a child with his siblings (and future bandmates) Freddie and Rose. In the mid-1960s, he worked as both a record producer for Autumn Records and a disc jockey for San Francisco radio station KDIA.[5] In 1966, Stone and his brother Freddie joined their bands together to form Sly and the Family Stone, a racially integrated, mixed-gender act. The group would score hits including "Dance to the Music" (1968), "Everyday People" (1968), "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" (1969), "I Want to Take You Higher" (1969) "Family Affair" (1971) and "If You Want Me to Stay" (1973) and acclaimed albums including Stand! (1969), There's a Riot Goin' On (1971) and Fresh (1973).

By the mid-1970s, Stone's drug use and erratic behavior effectively ended the group, leaving him to record several unsuccessful solo albums. He toured or collaborated with artists such as Parliament-Funkadelic, Bobby Womack, and Jesse Johnson. In 1993, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the group. He took part in a Sly and the Family Stone tribute at the 2006 Grammy Awards, his first live performance since 1987. He released the autobiography Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) in 2023.

  1. ^ "Passings". Billboard. No. 116. Nielsen. December 25, 2004. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  2. ^ Hoard, Christian; Brackett, Nathan, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. p. 524. ISBN 9780743201698.
  3. ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Sylvester "Sly Stone" Stewart". AllMusic. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  4. ^ Rubiner, Julia M. (1992). Contemporary Musicians: Profiles of the People in Music. Vol. 8. Gale Research. p. 257. ISBN 0-8103-5403-9.
  5. ^ Gentile, Dan (February 26, 2024). "Sly Stone's autobiography is full of wild Bay Area stories". SFGATE. Archived from the original on February 26, 2024. Retrieved May 29, 2024.

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