US funk pioneer Sly Stone dies aged 82
Sly Stone, the driving force behind Sly and the Family Stone, a multiracial American band whose boiling mix of rock, soul and psychedelia embodied 1960s idealism and helped popularise funk music, has died at the age of 82, his family said on Monday.
Stone died after a battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other health issues, a statement from his family said.
'While we mourn his absence, we take solace in knowing that his extraordinary musical legacy will continue to resonate and inspire generations to come,' the statement said.
Stone was perhaps best known for his performance in 1969 at the historic Woodstock music festival, the hippie culture's coming-out party.
His group was a regular on the US music charts in the late 1960s and early 1970s, with hits such as Dance to the Music, I Want to Take You Higher, Family Affair, Everyday People, If You Want Me to Stay, and Hot Fun in the Summertime. But he later fell on hard times and became addicted to cocaine, never staging a successful comeback.
The confident and mercurial Stone played a leading role in introducing funk, an Afrocentric style of music driven by grooves and syncopated rhythms, to a broader audience.
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