Sly Stone, the visionary leader of the groundbreaking funk group Sly and the Family Stone, whose genre-defying music and multiracial band transformed American pop in the late 1960s and early 1970s, died Monday at his home in Granada Hills, California. He was 82.
His death was confirmed by his family. The cause was complications related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Born Sylvester Stewart in Denton, Texas, on March 15, 1943, Stone grew up in Vallejo, California, where he played church music with his siblings and developed a voracious appetite for multiple genres. A skilled multi-instrumentalist, he worked as a San Francisco disc jockey and producer before forming Sly and the Family Stone in 1966.
The band—racially integrated and gender-inclusive—stood apart in an era of deep national division. With Stone at the helm, they blended soul, rock, funk, and psychedelia into a bold, kinetic sound that electrified audiences and reshaped popular music, and proving that there was no black music, no white music, just music.
Hits like “Dance to the Music,” “Everyday People,” and “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” topped charts and became civil rights-era anthems. Their 1969 performance at Woodstock remains one of the festival’s most celebrated moments. Albums such as Stand! and There’s a Riot Goin’ On are widely considered milestones in American music.
Stone’s success, however, was undercut by years of drug abuse, erratic behavior, and legal troubles. By the 1980s, he had largely withdrawn from public life. Yet his influence endured, resonating through the work of artists like Prince, Public Enemy, and D’Angelo.
He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017. In 2023, he published a memoir, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin). A documentary about his life, Sly Lives!, directed by Questlove, premiered this year at Sundance.
Stone is survived by three children, several grandchildren, and siblings with whom he first sang gospel as a child.
In a statement, his family said: “Sly lived loud, loved deeply, and changed music forever. We will miss him, but his sound will never fade.”
A Statement From The Family of Sly Stone:
— Sly Stone (@RealSlyStone) June 9, 2025
It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved dad, Sly Stone of Sly and the Family Stone. pic.twitter.com/fui01RnzyR
Sly and the Family Stone on YouTube
