Sly Stone, who led Sly and the Family Stone, the biracial, mixed-gender psychedelic soul-rock-funk group, has died. The news of his passing at age 82 follows a long battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). His family shared the news on June 9, 2025, without revealing the precise date or place of his death. Stone, born Sylvester Stewart on March 15, 1943, in Denton, Texas, led the band to great success, scoring hits like “Dance to the Music” and “Hot Fun in the Summertime.”
“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved dad,” the family wrote. “Sly passed away peacefully, surrounded by his three children, his closest friend, and his extended family. While we will mourn his absence, we take solace in knowing that his extraordinary musical legacy will continue to resonate and inspire for generations to come.”
The family’s announcement of his passing noted that Stone had recently completed the screenplay for his life story.
Prior to the formation of the Family Stone, Stewart established himself in the San Francisco Bay Area as a disc jockey and record producer. But it was in the role of bandleader, keyboardist, songwriter and singer of the band that he changed the course of popular music. During their heyday from 1967 to 1971, the group earned five Top 10 pop singles, three of which went to #1: “Everyday People,” “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Self Agin)” and “Family Affair.”
Sly and the Family Stone, which also included his brother Freddie Stone, Cynthia Robinson, Jerry Martini, Larry Graham, Greg Errico, and others, were one of the most celebrated acts at the 1969 Woodstock festival and the 1970 documentary film of the event made the band one of the most popular in the land. At 26, the band’s charismatic leader took the audience on a magic trip with “I Want to Take You Higher.”
Errico paid tribute, writing, “The sad day has come. RIP Sylvester Stewart, you were one of a kind.”
Stone published his memoir, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) in 2023, written with Ben Greenman. [Order it in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here.] He was the subject of a 2025 documentary, Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius), from Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. The film has a 92% positive rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
“For as long as I can remember folks have been asking me to tell my story, [but] I wasn’t ready,” said Stone about his 2023 memoir. “I had to be in a new frame of mind to become Sylvester Stewart again to tell the true story of Sly Stone. It’s been a wild ride and hopefully my fans enjoy it too.”
The one-time star had faced a variety of health-related and financial issues for decades including serious drug addiction and tax problems. Even at his peak, Stone became so unreliable that he would occasionally cancel concerts at the last minute. Decades later, his COPD severely impaired his lungs and to promote the book he was largely limited to conducting interviews via email. In an interview with TIME, Stone was asked about his memories from decades earlier. “There are stories I remember and stories I have heard about myself,” he wrote. “Some of the stories people told about me were right on and others were right off. All of that together makes for a life story.”
The same interviewer asked him about recalling and facing up to the difficult times he faced. “Remembering wasn’t always easy. Sometimes things came back and other times I needed to hear the story of what other people thought happened so that I could go back there in my memory and get a clearer idea. The more I went the main thing I felt was that I wanted to forgive other people and also to forgive myself.”
One of the few indisputable geniuses of pop music, Sly Stone was a trailblazer and a legend. He created a new kind of music, mixing Black and white, male and female, funk and rock. As a songwriter, he penned some of the most iconic anthems of the 1960s and ’70s, from “Everyday People” to “Family Affair.” As a performer, he electrified audiences with a persona and stage presence that set a lasting standard for pop-culture performance.
Related: The story behind Sly’s “Dance to the Music”
Yet his life was also a cautionary tale, known as much for how he dropped out of the spotlight as for what put him there in the first place. After a rapid rise to superstardom, Stone spent decades in the grips of addiction.
Related: Musician deaths of 2025
Sly and the Family Stone’s recordings are available in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here.
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