Sly was born Sylvester Stewart in Denton, Texas, in 1943. His nickname got here after a classmate misspelled his title. After he modified his stage title from Stewart to Sone, his brother and sister did the identical, they usually launched Sly and the Household Stone.
The group’s first large hit, Dance to the Music, was launched in 1967. A yr later, they launched their album of the identical title.
Two years later, their album Stand grew to become their greatest success, that includes hits like On a regular basis Individuals and Scorching Enjoyable within the Summertime.
Funk legend George Clinton paid tribute to Sly and the Household Stone in a 2023 interview.
“It was like seeing the Black model of The Beatles,” he gushed. “(Sly) had the sensibility of the road, the church, after which, like, the qualities of a Motown, you recognize, Smokey Robinson — he was all of that in a single particular person.”