Sylvester “Sly” Stewart, better known as Sly Stone, was born on March 15, 1943 in Denton, Texas and raised in Vallejo, California. From a young age he displayed extraordinary musical talent, by age 11 he was already fluent on keyboards, guitar, bass and drums.

In the early 1960s, he gained local fame as a DJ at San Francisco soul station KSOL and as a record producer for Autumn Records; this early eclecticism foreshadowed the genre-blending sound he’d become known for.

In 1967 he recruited musicians, including his siblings and bassist Larry Graham, to form Sly and the Family Stone, one of the first commercially successful interracial, mixed-gender bands in popular music.

Between the late 1960s and early 1970s, the band released a string of landmark albums and singles, including “Dance To The Music,” “Everyday People,” “Stand!,” “Hot Fun in the Summertime,” “I Want to Take You Higher,” “Family Affair,” and more, fusing rock, soul, gospel and psychedelia to help birth modern funk. Their boundary-breaking sound and message of unity left an indelible mark on generations of artists across genres.

Though creative output waned after the mid-1970s and Sly later retreated from the spotlight, the influence of his music endured — his work as front-man, bandleader, songwriter and producer helped redefine the landscape of pop, soul, rock and funk music. Sly died on June 9, 2025 after five quiet, happy, sober years surrounded by family.