Hollywood is paying tribute to Sly Stone after information of the funk-rock pioneer’s dying was introduced Monday.
Stone died after a “extended battle with COPD and different underlying well being points,” his household mentioned Monday.
“Sly handed away peacefully, surrounded by his three youngsters, his closest pal, and his prolonged household,” his household wrote in an announcement. “Whereas we mourn his absence, we take solace in figuring out that his extraordinary musical legacy will proceed to resonate and encourage for generations to return.”
Sly shot to prominence within the music business in 1968 alongside his band Sly and the Household Stone with their hit “Dance to the Music,” which landed within the high 10 on each the pop and R&B charts. The group continued to ship a collection of crossover tracks, together with “Summer season of Love,” together with “Stand!,” “Scorching Enjoyable within the Summertime,” “Runnin’ Away,” “If You Need Me to Keep” and “Time for Livin’,” which emerged to outline their hometown of San Francisco.
In an announcement to The Hollywood Reporter, Dionne Warwick, whom Sly used to play the keyboard for early in his profession, mentioned, “I met Sly throughout his years as a DJ. I’ll miss him as I do know everybody will. My condolences to his household.”
On the 2025 BET Awards carpet, Grammy nominee Durand Bernarr advised THR, “I hope that he knew he was cherished and he was revered and we’re rooting for him.” Additionally on the BET Awards, American Idol alum and “Over” singer Fortunate Daye commemorated his affect on the music business, additionally telling THR, “Might he relaxation in paradise in the present day.”
In an announcement to THR, Grammy winner Ray Parker Jr. mentioned, “He was my hero. Sly wrote the perfect songs on the earth and bridge the black and white worlds like no different. I’m fairly positive each one in every of his albums had a No. 1 Pop hit. The guitars on ‘Thank You for Letting Me Be Myself’ communicate for themselves. There’s by no means been something prefer it earlier than and is difficult to think about can be once more.”
Paul Stanley, co-founder and co-lead vocalist of KISS, mentioned on X, “Sly Stone Has Died. In 1968 I noticed Sly & the Household Stone debut on the Fillmore East in New York Metropolis opening for Jimi Hendrix. They have been a freight prepare of bombastic, joyous SouI that may quickly climb the charts and alter the sound of R&B for thus many different artists. Relaxation In Soul!”
On Instagram, Jamie Foxx wrote, “Legend RIP SLY.”
Questlove, director of the Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) documentary, paid tribute to Sly on Instagram, writing, “From the second his music reached me within the early Seventies, it grew to become part of my soul. Sly was an enormous — not only for his groundbreaking work with the Household Stone, however for the novel inclusivity and deep human truths he poured into each observe. His songs weren’t nearly combating injustice; they have been about remodeling the self to remodel the world. He dared to be easy in essentially the most complicated methods — utilizing childlike pleasure, wordless cries and nursery rhyme cadences to specific grownup truths.”
The Rock & Roll Corridor of Fame, which Sly and the Household Stone have been inducted into in 1993, wrote on X, “1993 Inductees Sly & The Household Stone made it potential for Black widespread music to burst free by itself phrases, with singer, songwriter, and producer @HigherSlyStone on the helm, extending the boundaries of pop and R&B with every new tune.”
The Sundance Movie Competition additionally shared an announcement on X: “Sly Stone modified music endlessly. A visionary, a insurgent, a genius. His sound formed generations and his spirit broke boundaries.”
Beneath, learn extra tributes to Stone.
