Funk-rock pioneer Sly Stone dead at 82

Sly Stone's family expressed profound sadness in announcing his passing. Photo / Francois Guillot, AFP

Funk master and innovator Sly Stone, whose music drove a civil rights-inflected soul explosion in the 1960s, sparking influential albums but also a slide into drug addiction, has died, his family said Monday. He was 82.

The multi-instrumentalist frontman for Sly and the Family Stone – rock’s first racially integrated, mixed-gender lineup – “passed away peacefully, surrounded by his three children, his closest friend and his extended family”, after a prolonged battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other health issues, his family said in a statement.

“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,” it added.

With his vibrant on-stage energy, killer hooks and lyrics that often decried prejudice, Stone became a superstar, releasing pivotal records that straddled musical genres and performing a set that enraptured the crowd at Woodstock.

But he retreated to the shadows in the early 1970s and his personal struggles ultimately led to the group’s disintegration. He emerged sporadically for unfulfilling concert tours, erratic TV appearances and a flopped 2006 reunion on the Grammy Awards stage.

An effervescent hybrid of psychedelic soul, hippie consciousness, bluesy funk and rock built on Black gospel, Stone’s music proved to be a melodic powerhouse that attracted millions during a golden age of exploratory pop – until it fell apart in a spiral of drug use.

Over the course of just five years, his diverse sound co-operative left an indelible impact on American and world music, from the group’s debut hit Dance to the Music in 1967 and their first of three No 1 songs, Everyday People a year later, to the 1970s rhythm and blues masterpiece If You Want Me To Stay.

For many, Stone was a musical genius creating the sound of the future.

It was “like seeing a black version of the Beatles,” funk legend George Clinton told CBS News of his longtime friend’s stage presence.

“He had the sensibility of the street, the church, and then like the qualities of a Motown,” Clinton added. “He was all of that in one person.”

-Agence France-Presse