Sly Stone

Sylvester Stewart was born in Denton, Texas, on March 15, 1943, the second of five children of K.C. and Alpha Stewart. His parents were devout members of the Church of God in Christ, a church that encouraged musical expression, and their middle-class household was full of music. In 1950 the family moved to Vallejo, California, in the North Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Sylvester, Freddie, Rose and their eldest sister Loretta sang gospel together in church as the Stewart Four, and in August 1956 they released a local 78 rpm single, "On the Battlefield" backed with "Walking in Jesus' Name". He was recognised early as a musical prodigy: proficient on keyboards by seven, and on guitar, bass and drums by eleven. The nickname Sly came from a fifth-grade classmate who misspelled his name as "Slyvester".

In high school Stone joined several bands, most notably the Viscaynes, a doo-wop group in which he and his friend Frank Arellano were the only non-white members. He also recorded a few solo singles under the name Danny Stewart and formed short-lived groups with his brother Freddie, such as the Stewart Bros. After high school he studied music at the Vallejo campus of Solano Community College.

In the mid-1960s Stone worked as a disc jockey on San Francisco soul station KSOL, mixing white rock acts such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones into a soul playlist, and as a staff producer at Autumn Records, where he produced The Beau Brummels, The Mojo Men, Bobby Freeman and The Great Society.

In 1966 his band Sly and the Stoners, with trumpeter Cynthia Robinson, joined forces with Freddie's band, Freddie and the Stone Souls, featuring drummer Greg Errico and saxophonist Jerry Martini. With Larry Graham on bass, Sly and the Family Stone were born. After A Whole New Thing (1967), "Dance to the Music" became their first hit in 1968. Stand! (1969) sold more than three million copies and produced "Everyday People", a number one single, followed by "Hot Fun in the Summertime" and "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)", which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks from February 14, 1970. The band played Woodstock in 1969.

There's a Riot Goin' On (1971) introduced a darker, more intimate sound, with Stone playing many parts himself, and included "Family Affair". Fresh (1973) and Small Talk (1974) followed. Drug use, missed shows and internal conflict wore the band down, and after a poorly attended engagement at Radio City Music Hall in January 1975 the original group dissolved.

Stone went on to release High on You (1975), Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I'm Back (1976), Back on the Right Track (1979) and Ain't But the One Way (1982). He worked with Funkadelic, toured with Bobby Womack in 1984, sang on Jesse Johnson's "Crazay" (1986) and Earth, Wind and Fire's "Good Time" (1990). In 2009 he signed with Cleopatra Records, which released I'm Back! Family and Friends in 2011 with guests including Jeff Beck, Ray Manzarek, Bootsy Collins and Johnny Winter.

From 1969 to 1972 Stone was in a volatile relationship with Deborah King, later Deborah Santana. On June 5, 1974, he married Kathy Silva on stage during a sold-out concert at Madison Square Garden, in outfits designed by Halston. Their son, Sylvester Jr., was born in September 1973. Silva filed for divorce in October 1974 and the couple separated for good in 1976.

His daughter Sylvyette, known as Phunne, was born in December 1975 to Family Stone trumpeter Cynthia Robinson. His daughter Novena Carmel, born in February 1982 to Olenka Wallach, became a singer and radio host. His siblings Freddie, Rose and Vaetta (Vet) Stone all made music, and gospel organist Moses Tyson Jr. and singer Lynn Mabry are cousins.

In later years he faced financial hardship and was reported to be living in a camper van in Los Angeles around 2011. In 2015 a Los Angeles jury awarded him 5 million dollars in a royalty case against his former manager, though the award was overturned on appeal later that year.

Stone grew up in the Church of God in Christ and began his musical life singing gospel. His music carried a message of unity and tolerance. "Everyday People" popularised the phrase "different strokes for different folks", and his band itself, mixed in race and gender, embodied that message. As a disc jockey he refused to keep music in separate boxes, playing white rock bands on a soul station. Rolling Stone quoted his view that there should not be "black radio", just radio, where "everybody be a part of everything".

Along with James Brown and Parliament-Funkadelic, Sly and the Family Stone pioneered late 1960s and early 1970s funk. Their blend of rhythm and blues, catchy melodies and psychedelia reshaped pop. Motown producer Norman Whitfield modelled The Temptations' harder, socially conscious records on their sound, and Stone's mix of race, gender and style shaped Prince and Rick James. Public Enemy, Fatboy Slim, Beck, the Beastie Boys and LL Cool J are among the many artists who sampled his records. Crawdaddy! credited him with founding the progressive soul movement. After his death, streams of Sly and the Family Stone rose by 563 percent, according to Billboard.

Stone was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Sly and the Family Stone in 1993. He received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017. In September 2025, months after his death, he was selected for induction into the National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame. The band had multiple number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including "Everyday People", "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" and "Family Affair".

Stone's memoir, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin), written with Ben Greenman, was published in 2023. Documentaries about him include Coming Back for More (2009) by Willem Alkema, On the Sly: In Search of the Family Stone (2017) by Michael Rubenstone, and Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) (2025), directed by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson. The 2005 tribute album Different Strokes by Different Folks featured The Roots, Maroon 5, John Legend, Joss Stone and Steven Tyler. Before he died he completed a screenplay based on his life.

From 1970 onward, Stone's drug use led to many cancelled or late concerts. In 1970 alone, 26 of 80 shows were cancelled, and audiences sometimes rioted. In June 1983 he was arrested on a cocaine possession charge in Fort Myers, Florida, and later jailed for violating probation. In 1995 a former landlord accused him of damaging a rented Beverly Hills mansion. His long legal fight with former manager Jerry Goldstein over royalties included a 5 million dollar jury award in 2015 that was overturned on appeal.

Sly Stone died at his home in Granada Hills, Los Angeles, on June 9, 2025, at the age of 82. His family said he died peacefully after a prolonged battle with COPD and other underlying health issues, surrounded by his three children, his closest friend and his extended family. They added that he had recently completed the screenplay for his life story. He was cremated at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Tributes came from the Recording Academy, Rolling Stone, Questlove, Chuck D, Vernon Reid and many more.