Sly Stone, the great revolutionary of black music, dies

BarcelonaSylvester Stewart, known artistically as Sly Stone, died on Sunday at the age of 82 in Los Angeles, where he had lived since the 1970s. Without the musician and the handful of iconic albums he released in the late 1960s and early 1970s with the band Family Stone, there would likely be no Prince, the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Stone revolutionized the funk and soul of the era with a style that incorporated rock and psychedelia and launched political slogans: an inflamed, interracial soundtrack (two of the band members were white) in tune with the turbulent spirit of the times. The cause of death was "a long battle with chronic lung disease" and "other underlying health issues," his representatives explained.

Stone emerged as a musical prodigy in the mid-1960s and in 1966 he joined his band with his brother Freddie's. The resulting lineup, Sly & the Family Stone, not only featured black and white musicians, but also men and women. A revolutionary band whose other key player was Larry Graham, one of the greatest bassists in the history of black music. Their first album, A whole new thing (1967), already included his first big hit, Dance to the music, a funk and soul anthem that served as the group's calling card. Later came other rhythmic bombs such as Everyday people (1968), Hot fun in the summertime (1969) and the groundbreaking Don't call me nigger, whitey (1969).

The band's first peak in album format was the explosive Stand! (1969), which sold 3 million copies in the United States. Songs like And I want to take you higher opened the doors of the Woodstock Festival for the group, where they gave one of their most iconic performances. The energetic, psychedelic soul of this album darkened in the following masterpiece, There's a riot going on (1971), a title that functioned as a response to What's going on by Marvin Gaye. More introspective and politically committed, the album was recorded almost solo by Stone himself, highlighting the internal problems within the group, which disbanded in the mid-1970s due to its leader's addictions.

As Stone's legacy became increasingly present in American music, the musician's figure faded in the American music landscape. Marked by his drug problems, the musician's subsequent career was at best erratic. Despite collaborating with George Clinton and releasing a few albums alone during the 1980s, his public appearances became increasingly rare. In 2006, the Grammy Awards dedicated a grand tribute to him that culminated in a performance by the musician, who was only able to sing a few verses and ended up drowned out by the smoke cannons on stage.

In 2009, the documentary Coming back for more revealed that Stone had lost his mansion and was living in a van due to a dispute with his manager. Stone's legal conflict and financial difficulties continued into the following decade, when the musician reappeared in public several times, but performed only rarely.