Latest news with #StewartFour
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.
Irish Examiner
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Sly Stone, pioneering funk and soul musician, dies aged 82
Sly Stone, the American musician who lit up generations of dancefloors with his gloriously funky and often socially conscious songwriting, has died aged 82. '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,' a family statement reads. '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.' With his group Sly and the Family Stone, Stone tied together soul, psychedelic rock and gospel into fervent, uplifting songs, and became one of the key progenitors of the 1970s funk sound alongside James Brown and others. The group's hits include three US No 1 singles – Everyday People, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) and Family Affair – plus Dance to the Music, I Want to Take You Higher, Hot Fun in the Summertime and more. The 1971 album There's a Riot Goin' On, a moody reflection on civil rights and the corrupted idealism of the postwar era created predominantly by Stone apart from the rest of his band, is widely regarded as one of the greatest of the 20th century. Born Sylvester Stewart to a Pentecostal religious family in Texas in 1943, Stone grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. His first music came in a gospel quartet with three siblings, the Stewart Four, who put out a locally released single in 1952. As a young man he became well known in the fertile musical scene of countercultural San Francisco: a multi-instrumentalist and radio DJ who had a series of local bands and worked as a producer for garage rock and psychedelia groups such as the Beau Brummels. In 1966, he fused his band Sly and& the Stoners with his brother Freddie's group Freddie and the Stone Souls, to form Sly and the Family Stone. Their breakthrough came the following year with Dance to the Music, and success was fully established by their fourth album in two years, Stand! (1969), which eventually sold more than three million copies. The band's stylistic and racial diversity attracted a broad audience, and they played both of the defining music festivals of 1969, Woodstock and the Harlem cultural festival. Hits continued more fitfully during the early 1970s, and the group – notorious for no-shows at concerts – slowly fractured amid increasing drug use. Stone would record There's a Riot Goin' On predominantly on his own, applying one of the earliest uses of a drum machine; albums such as Fresh!, with its Richard Avedon portrait of Stone on the cover, were also primarily his work. The band split entirely in 1975, though Stone continued to use the band name for solo releases. Despite having laid the rhythmic groundwork for disco, Stone couldn't sustain his career in the late 1970s, and his addiction to cocaine worsened. He continued to perform with peers such as Funkadelic and Bobby Womack, but album releases dried up after 1982's Ain't But the One Way. He was arrested in 1983 for cocaine possession, and for driving under the influence of cocaine in 1987, prompting him to flee California for Connecticut. He was apprehended two years later, and sentenced to 55 days in prison, five years' probation and a fine. His difficulties meant that he was little seen during the 1990s, and it wasn't until 2006 that he performed in public again, at a tribute to Sly and the Family Stone at the Grammy awards. He performed with the Family Stone on a tour the following year, but often erratically, and made a lacklustre appearance at 2010's Coachella festival. His final album, I'm Back! Family & Friends, featuring re-recordings of old songs alongside three new tracks, was released in 2011. In 2015 he was awarded $5m in a lawsuit against his former manager and attorney, successfully arguing that royalty payments had been diverted from him, though he ultimately wasn't awarded the money due to the terms of a 1989 royalties agreement with a production company. Difficulties with royalties meant that Stone spent many of his latter years in poverty; in 2011 he was living in a campervan in a residential area of Los Angeles – voluntarily, he claimed – and relying on a retired couple for food. 'Sly was a monumental figure, a groundbreaking innovator, and a true pioneer who redefined the landscape of pop, funk, and rock music,' the family statement added. '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.' That memoir, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin), was praised in a Guardian review: 'The charm, playfulness, humour and personality of Stone's songs come through in his on-page voice'. In a 2023 interview with the Guardian accompanying its publication, he said: 'I was always happy if someone took the things I was doing and they liked them enough to want to do them on their own. I'm proud that the music I made inspired people.' He was married from 1974 to 1976 to Kathy Silva, with whom he had a son, Sylvester Jr. He later had two further children: Sylvyette with Cynthia Robinson, and Novena Carmel. - The Guardian Read More Israeli forces seize Gaza aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg, ministry says
Perth Now
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Funk music icon Sly Stone dies aged 82
Sly Stone has died aged 82. The musician - who was best-known as the frontman for Sly and the Family Stone - "passed away peacefully" following a lengthy battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a group of lung conditions that cause breathing difficulties. A statement from his family reads: "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's family also hailed the music star as a "groundbreaking innovator, and a true pioneer". They said: "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." Stone first explored his love of music in the early 50s, when he performed in a gospel quartet - called the Stewart Four - along with three siblings. The group actually put out a locally released single in 1952. And in 1966, Sly and his brother Freddie merged their two groups to form Sly and the Family Stone. The group - who are widely considered to have played a key role in the development of funk music - released their debut album, A Whole New Thing, in 1967. Sly and the Family Stone's biggest hits included Dance to the Music, Everyday People, and Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin). What's more, There's a Riot Goin' On - their 1971 album - is often hailed as one of the best records of the 20th century. Sly and the Family Stone dissolved in 1975, amid drug problems and personality clashes. Sly subsequently recorded and toured with different line-ups, but his music career ultimately subsided amid his drug use.
