Sly Stone — who easily ranks among the most important Bay Area musicians of all time– died Monday in Los Angeles.
He was 82.
The Woodstock veteran, who had reportedly been in poor health over the last few, died “surrounded by family after contending with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other ailments,” Stone’s publicist Carleen Donovan told the Associated Press.
Stone (whose real name was Sylvester Stewart) will be remembered of the magnetic front man of the Bay Area-based Sly and the Family Stone, the funk-rock-soul act which changed the face of popular music with such pioneering albums as “Dance to the Music” and “Stand!” in the late ’60s and early ’70s.
The group’s “psychedelic sou” music, brilliantly captured on such top 10 hits as “Everyday People” (1968), and “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” mesmerized legions of listeners and inspired countless musicians who would try to follow in Stone’s footprints.
It’s easy to point out such fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Fame acts as George Clinton, Michael Jackson and, especially, Prince — as well as more contemporary artists like Bruno Mars and Beyonce — as being directly influenced by Stone’s work. Yet, the visionary singer-songwriter’s impact was so great and far-reaching that it would be hard to find any soul-funk acts of the last half-century who don’t owe a debt of gratitude to Sly Stone.
In that regard, Stone had every bit as great an influence — if not greater — than any Bay Area act you want to mention, from the Grateful Dead to Metallica to Green Day.
Born in Denton, Texas on March 15, 1943, Stone would later move with his family to Vallejo. His parents were deeply religious and Stone grew up in church, where he’d become familiar with the gospel music genre that would so deeply factor into Sly and the Family Stone sound.
At an early age, he’d form the family gospel band alongside his sisters Rose and Loretta and his brother Freddie and the descriptively dubbed Stewart Four would release the 78 rpm gospel music single (“On the Battlefield” with “Walking in Jesus’ Name” on the flipside).
