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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sly Stone, Family Stone Architect Who Fused Funk, Rock, and Soul, Dead at 82
Sly Stone, one of the most influential and groundbreaking musicians of the late Sixties and early Seventies who smashed the boundaries of rock, pop, funk, and soul, died on Monday. He was 82. The cause of death was a 'prolonged battle with COPD and other underlying health issues,' according to a statement by his family. 'It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved dad, Sly Stone of Sly and the Family Stone,' Stone's family said. '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.' More from Rolling Stone Wayne Lewis, Founding Member of Atlantic Starr, Dead at 68 George Wendt's Cause of Death Revealed Hear Sly and the Family Stone Rock a Small Club in 1967 With Funky 'I Gotta Go Now' The family added that Stone 'recently completed the screenplay for his life story, a project we are eager to share with the world in due course.' At the peak of his success, when hits like 'Dance to the Music' and 'Everyday People' were high on the charts, the wildly inventive musician and singer presented a glowingly optimistic image in step with the times, bringing together Black and white audiences, uplifting crowds with electrifying shows. But the unpredictability that was the core of his genius gave way to a long decline, as his personal demons destroyed what he had once been. Born Sylvester Stewart in Texas in 1943, Stone started making music with his siblings as a child: The Stewart Four (Sylvester, his sisters Rose and Vaetta, and his brother Freddie) made their first single, 'On the Battlefield,' in 1952. He moved to California with his family as a kid, and later became a familiar voice in the Bay Area's music scene. As a staff producer at Autumn Records, he put together hits like Bobby Freeman's 'C'mon and Swim'; he also produced 'Somebody to Love' by Grace Slick's pre-Jefferson Airplane band, the Great Society. He was also a DJ on KSOL and KDIA, and later noted that 'in radio, I found out about a lot of things I don't like. Like, I think there shoudn't be 'Black radio.' Just radio. Everybody be a part of everything.' Stone's own band, Sly & the Family Stone, came together over the course of 1966 and 1967. It really was a family of sorts: Sly and his siblings Rose and Freddie were joined by cousins Greg Errico and Jerry Martini, as well as bassist Larry Graham and trumpeter Cynthia Robinson. The Family Stone's breakthrough hit was 1968's 'Dance to the Music,' in which their voices and instruments, high and low, each took a turn in the spotlight. A racially mixed band with male and female members, playing soul-infused rock together was a rare sight at the time — a utopian vision of what pop music could be. Hits like 'Life,' 'Stand!,' 'Everyday People,' and 'Hot Fun in the Summertime' followed: all anthems of solidarity and joy that acknowledged the pain and frustration of the times and encouraged their audiences to transcend it. Sly & the Family Stone's soaring performance of 'I Want to Take You Higher' at Woodstock in 1969 was a triumph of that era, and the band finished the decade with an enormous hit: 'Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),' whose joyful funk masked the existential horror and lacerating sarcasm of its lyrics. Their next album was supposed to be called The Incredible and Unpredictable Sly & the Family Stone — a sideways reference to Stone's habit of blowing off gigs. He finally released his masterpiece, There's a Riot Goin' On, in late 1971. Recorded with help from Bobby Womack and an early drum machine, it was a bleak, scarred, wobbly vision — the soured remains of the Sixties dream. 'I think that's kind of his like, help the medicine go down approach,' Questlove told Rolling Stone in March. 'He paints a very dark, lyric, paranoia, self-confessional thing almost in every record, but it's so happy-sounding.' The Family Stone disintegrated over the next few years, as Sly sank deep into drug abuse and became even more erratic. He married Kathy Silva on stage in front of a crowd of 20,000 at a sold-out Madison Square Garden show in 1974, but within months, the band had broken up, and the marriage, which produced a son, Sylvester Jr., didn't last much longer. 'He beat me, held me captive, and wanted me to be in ménages à trois,' Silva said years later. 'I didn't want that world of drugs and weirdness.' Sylvia left in 1976. Sly had two more children, Sylvette and Novena Carmel. Sly persevered, making one attempt after another to win back the public: His 1976 album was called Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I'm Back, and the one that followed it three years later Back on the Right Track. After 1982's half-finished Ain't But the One Way, he never released another album of new, original material, despite persistent rumors that he was working on the magical record that would get his career back on its feet. He collaborated with George Clinton, on whom he'd been a huge influence; he turned up for guest vocals on records by the Bar-Kays and Earth, Wind and Fire. Stone's personal troubles continued. He was arrested for cocaine possession multiple times in the 1980s, and he served 14 months in a rehab center beginning in 1989. Between Sly & the Family Stone's 1993 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the 2006 tribute to them at the Grammy Awards (for which Sly appeared for a few minutes with an enormous blond mohawk, then wandered off), he all but vanished. Interviewed by Vanity Fair in 2007, he claimed he had 'a library' of new material, 'a hundred and some songs, or maybe 200.' In 2011, the New York Post reported that he was living in a camper van in Los Angeles; that same year, he released I'm Back! Family & Friends, mostly lackluster new rerecordings of his Sixties classics. But the specter of his glory years remained. Stone's great 1960s and early-Seventies records inspired Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock to incorporate electric instruments and funk grooves into jazz; Prince and the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Roots have all covered Sly & the Family Stone songs. A little over a year after the release of Stone's autobiography, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin), a documentary, 2025's Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius), reexamined Stone's legacy. The film, directed by Questlove, focused on how Stone's legacy and influence continues to reverberate through popular music along with how Stone carried the weight of that influence personally until it became a burden. 'My intent was always to use Sly Stone to tell our story, my story, D'Angelo's story, Lauryn Hill's story, Frank Ocean's story,' Questlove told Rolling Stone. 'When you're talking about 'blowing it,' a lot of times the fear of failing or the fear of returning to where you came from — which is the very bottom — causes you anxiety about your future, and then causes you to fumble it.' The film featured commentary from George Clinton, Chaka Khan, D'Angelo, Q-Tip, and Family Stone members Larry Graham and Jerry Martini, among several others. 'I feel like a piece of my heart left with Sly. We were best friends for 60 years. He credits me with starting the band, but it was his musical genius that made music history,' Martini said in a statement to Rolling Stone. 'He will always be in my heart and I will continue to celebrate his music with the Family Stone. We extend our sincere love, condolences and prayers to his children and his family. Rest well my dear friend. You will be greatly missed.' Best of Rolling Stone Sly and the Family Stone: 20 Essential Songs The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked
UPI
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- UPI
Sly Stone, of '60s funk band Sly and the Family Stone, dies at 82
1 of 4 | Sly Stone, frontman of the group Sly and the Family Stone, performs in concert at Olympia Hall in Paris on July 23, 2007. Stone, who had been a recluse since the mid-1980s, died Monday at the age of 82 after a "prolonged battle" with lung disease. File Photo by David Silpa/UPI | License Photo June 9 (UPI) -- Sly Stone, the legendary Sixties and Seventies funk singer, songwriter and producer of the band, Sly and the Family Stone, died Monday at the age of 82. Stone, whose hits included "Dance to the Music," "Everyday People" and "Thank You," had been fighting a "prolonged battle" with lung disease and other health issues when he died, according to his family. "It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved dad, Sly Stone of Sly and the Family Stone," his family wrote Monday in a statement. "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." Stone was born Sylvester Stewart in Texas in 1943 and released his first single, "On the Battlefield," with his two sisters and brother, in 1952. A friend's misspelling of his name during grade school stuck, and he became known as "Sly." Stone later found success in California as a disc jockey on KSOL and KDIA, where he "found out about a lot of things I don't like. Like, I think there shouldn't be 'Black radio.' Just radio. Everybody be a part of everything," he said. The musician also worked as a record producer for Autumn Records, where he produced San Francisco-area bands. One of his singles, Bobby Freeman's "C'mon and Swim," reached No. 5 on the U.S. pop chart in 1964, while "Somebody to Love" by Grace Slick's band the Great Society, before Jefferson Airplane, was also a hit. Sly and the Family Stone was formed in 1966 after he, his sister Rose, brother Freddie and two cousins joined forces, along with other Black and White musicians, to make up one of the first racially mixed bands. Stone was also among the first musicians to do both vocals and play instruments, as can be heard in the funk-infused 1969 hit "Thank You," where he recounted his life's successes and addictions. Stone later called the band's early morning performance of "I Want to Take You Higher" and the crowd's reaction at 1969 Woodstock "legendary," in his 2023 memoir Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin). "The call, the response. It felt like church. The horns went up into the sky. When the show was over, we were wet and cold. I don't remember how I left, maybe the same way I came in, but I wasn't there to see Jimi Hendrix close the festival," Stone wrote. Other hits, including "Family Affair" and "Hot Fun in the Summertime" followed as the music turned darker to acknowledge the turbulent times of the 1960s and '70s, which included the Vietnam War, racial tensions and the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and President John F. Kennedy. A new documentary produced by Questlove, called Sly Lives! (Aka The Burden of Black Genius), focuses on Stone's music and torment. "I think that's kind of his like, help the medicine go down approach," Questlove told Rolling Stone in March. "He paints a very dark, lyric, paranoia, self-confessional thing almost in every record, but it's so happy-sounding." Sly and the Family Stone broke apart over Stone's drug abuse, including his arrest in 1981 when cocaine and freebasing paraphernalia were found in his car. The singer-songwriter went into seclusion after the band called it quits. By 2011, the funk music icon was homeless and living out of a van in Los Angeles, when he was again arrested for cocaine possession and insisted he "was ok." In 2015, he was awarded $5 million in a lawsuit against a former manager and attorney who were diverting his royalties. Two years later, he received a lifetime achievement award at The Grammys. "Sly was a monumental figure, a groundbreaking innovator and a true pioneer who redefined the landscape of pop, funk and rock music," his family said. "His iconic songs have left an indelible mark on the world and his influence remains undeniable." Notable deaths of 2025 Jill Sobule Jill Sobule attends the GLAAD Media Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., on March 30, 2023. Sobule, the Jill Sobule attends the GLAAD Media Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., on March 30, 2023. Sobule, the singer-songwriter behind "I Kissed a Girl," "Living Color" and "Supermodel," died at the age of 66 on May 2 from a house fire. Photo by Greg Grudt/UPI | License Photo
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sly Stone death: Funk and soul legend of ‘Dance to the Music' fame dies aged 82
Sly Stone, the singer-songwriter who rose to fame with the band Sly and the Family Stone, has died. He was 82. 'After a prolonged battle with COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease] and other underlying health issues, Sly passed away peacefully, surrounded by his three children, his closest friend and his extended family,' a statement from his family read, per Variety. '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.' Stone's family also shared that he 'recently completed the screenplay for his life story, a project we are eager to share with the world in due course.' The group rose to fame with the 1969 smash hit 'Dance to the Music.' Stone, born Sylvester Stewart in Denton, Texas, was the second of five children. His parents, K.C. and Alpha Stewart, were both deeply religious and raised their children as such. Growing up, Stone, his brother Freddie, and two sisters, Loretta and Rose, formed the Stewart Four. Together, they performed gospel music and locally released the single, 'On the Battlefield.' Considered a child prodigy, Stone had mastered the keyboard at seven years old. By 11, he had become proficient at the guitar, bass, and drums as well. In 1966, Stone and Freddie, who had been performing in separate bands, Sly and the Stoners and Freddie & the Stone Souls, respectively, decided to merge the two groups, creating Sly and the Family Stone. With Stone as the lead singer, Freddie on guitar and vocals, their sister Rose on vocals and keyboard, Cynthia Robinson on trumpet, Greg Errico on drums, Jerry Martini on saxophone, and Larry Graham on bass, the band released their debut album, A Whole New Thing, in 1967. While the album was mildly received, it did feature their first hit single, 'Dance to the Music,' which they later included on their 1968 album of the same name.
Los Angeles Times
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Lulu Roman, ‘Hee Haw' comedian who became a gospel singer after trading drugs for God, dies at 78
Lulu Roman, the 'Hee Haw' comedian turned gospel singer, has died at 78 in Bellingham, Wash., her son Damon Roman confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter. The 'On the Battlefield' singer died Wednesday evening, according to a news release obtained by The Times. She called Mount Juliet, Tenn., her home for many years, but was living with her son in Washington state when she died. 'Lulu Roman has been a dear friend for over 40 years,' country and bluegrass singer Ricky Skaggs said Thursday on X (formerly Twitter). 'We loved her. Such a talented person. A great entertainer, a great singer and a wonderful Christian lady. We will miss her sweet smile and great hugs.' 'Sing with the angels now sweet friend!' singer Stella Parton tweeted. 'I loved her joyful attitude,' 'God Bless the U.S.A.' singer Lee Greenwood said in a statement. 'She always lifted everyone up and her voice will live on forever in the country music community. She was a legend in our industry and will be missed!' Roman explained in a 2024 interview that she was a 'screamin' crazy' comic performer in Dallas strip clubs when 'Hee Haw' was cast in 1969. She was born Bertha Louise Hable in Dallas in 1946 at a home for unwed mothers, given up for adoption and raised in an orphanage. Significantly overweight from comforting herself with food, she was never adopted, according to Florida Weekly, instead getting hooked on drugs when she was in high school. 'I think food became my drug probably the day that they put me in the orphan's home,' she told CBN when she was in her 60s. 'Sugar became my friend, because it didn't hurt me. And it didn't talk back to me, it didn't call me names. I think sugar became a comfort to me when I was very young.' A thyroid condition didn't help. 'I was the proverbial hippie,' she told Florida Weekly in 2020, working as a heavy-set comedic go-go dancer. Country and gospel music weren't on her radar. 'I was into the drug scene.' Buck Owens, a famous musician friend who in the late 1960s was about to be on 'Hee Haw,' dropped her name for consideration by the folks casting the show. 'They needed one boy next door, one fat dumb man, one fat dumb woman,' Roman said in her 2024 chat with Nashville station WTVF. 'Buck said, 'I got your girl! She's in Dallas!'' 'And they took his word,' she said after telling the same story on the 'Larry's Country Diner' podcast in 2021. Roman was cast on the show, which would go from a summer replacement series for 'The Smothers Brothers' to a hit running for 23 seasons. Roman appeared in 158 of the show's 352 episodes, including its first and last. She was missing from the corny comedy show from early 1971 to 1973 after getting arrested for drug possession and sentenced to time behind bars. 'What I was unconsciously trying to do was kill myself,' she told Florida Weekly, admitting she used weed, speed, LSD and methamphetamine. 'I tried many times, but it never worked out. I had no idea that God had any kind of a calling on my life.' According to the outlet, in 1973 she became a Christian and 'Hee Haw' brought her back to sing gospel music on the show. She eventually released more than a dozen albums and sang with Dolly Parton. She was inducted into the Country Gospel Music Hall of Fame in the late 1990s. After acting in the 1972 Robert Blake movie 'Corky,' Roman appeared in the 'Hee Haw' spin-off 'Hee Haw Honeys' in the late 1970s and two episodes of 'The Love Boat' in 1983. In 2001, she showed up on 'Touched by an Angel.' As the 2000s began, Roman could no longer ignore her health, she told CBN. 'I was about 380 some-odd pounds. I was in a scooter. I could not walk. My legs were in trouble. My back was in trouble,' she said. 'I came to the place that I was 60 some-odd years old, about 61, 62. I said, 'Father, I can't be an effective witness for you like this. I can't travel. I can't stand up. I can't breathe.' And so I knew that I had to make a change. I had to make a life change.' With lap-band surgery in 2005 and a focus on portion control, she dropped 200 pounds. The band was removed in 2009, but she finally managed to keep the weight off. 'I was terrified. I was,' she told CBN. 'But then I said, 'Father, I'm going to trust you that you're going to allow me to maintain this.'' On Thursday, the singer's former publicist Ben Laurro told People, 'Lulu Roman was unsung. She endured much adversity in her life that helped her become a joy to others.' Married twice, Roman is survived by her older son, Damon Roman, and in 2017 was predeceased by her younger son, Justin Collin Roman.
