Funk visionary’s groundbreaking sound shaped generations of artists from Prince to OutKast
Funk master and iconic music innovator Sly Stone, whose songs 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 on Monday. He was 82.
Stone was the multi-instrumentalist frontman for Sly and the Family Stone – rock’s first racially integrated, mixed-gender line-up.
He “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, Stone’s 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.
