RIP Sly Stone. He was 82.

Sly Stone has died at the age of 82 after a long period of illness, including COPD. His family released this statement:

“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.

“Sly was a monumental figure, a groundbreaking innovator, and a true pioneer who redefined the landscape of pop, funk, and rock music. His iconic songs have left an indelible mark on the world, and his influence remains undeniable. In a testament to his enduring creative spirit, Sly recently completed the screenplay for his life story, a project we are eager to share with the world in due course, which follows a memoir published in 2024.”

Where do we start with this guy? We need to rewind more than 50 years when his group, Sly and the Family Stone, took soul, funk, and gospel and then sprinkled it with a liberal amount of psychedelic rock and garnished it with social consciousness to create a new sound. The revolution of the late 60s and early 70s was funkified thanks to him.

Together, James Brown had an incalculable effect on the evolution of funk throughout the 1970s. Without Sly, disco may have turned out differently. Michael Jackson, Prince, Miles Davis, and even punky bands like Magazine were influenced by him.

And all those hip-hop samples of his music…wow. The site WhoSampled lists 1094 songs containing bits of Sly and the Family Stone. One example is “Insane in the Brain” by Cypress Hill which features a sample of Sly’s 1968 song, “Life”

For a while, he was extremely prolific, releasing four albums in two years. This track, released in 1968, was one of three number one singles.

There were others, too, including “Dance to the Music,” “I Want to Take You Higher,” and “Hot Fun in the Summertime.” They all still fresh today. If you’re unaware of these songs, spend some time today with this playlist.

Sly was at Woodstock in 1969 and performed at the historic Harlem cultural festival. He was one of the first musicians to experiment with a drum machine.

But the hits dried up in the 70s, and Sly began to spiral. His behavior became erratic, and he’d often not show up for gigs. There were arrests for cocaine, a short stint in prison, and a long disappearance from the music scene during the 1990s and the early 2000s. In 2006, he reappeared for a tribute at the Grammys, which seemed to presage some kind of comeback. Then came a not-so-great Coachella appearance in 2010 followed by period when he lived in his van and received most of his food from a kindly retired couple. He’d completely run out of money.

How? Royalty issues involving a former manager. He was awarded $5 million a 2015 lawsuit, but due to some contractual complications, he never saw any of that money. It appears, though, that his final years were a lot more comfortable.

If you want to learn more about the man, there’s a 2023 memoir, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin). Questlove also released a doc on Sly earlier this year.