Saying farewell to Sly Stone, whose avant-funk vision changed the world and influenced generations of musicians

The legendary producer worshiped Sly Stone long before he became friends with the funk pioneer, who passed away at 82 on Monday.

Everyone knows who Sylvester "Sly" Stallone of Rocky and Rambo fame is. But not everyone knows who Sly Stone was. For those who appreciate funk music, he was The Man. He died at the age of 82 on Monday from complications brought on by COPD.

Two of music’s powerful visionaries died this week. The songs they meticulously constructed offered an escape their makers struggled to realize in their own lives.

He’ll be remembered as an artist who changed the way people make and listen to music, and who did that twice. Sly was born Sylvester Stewart in Denton, Texas, in 1943 and grew up in Vallejo, California,

I was heading down the street to my local ice cream parlor when an album sticking out from a record store sidewalk-sale bin caught my eye. The guy on the front of it was, without a doubt, the baddest dude I’d ever seen in my life — a lean Black guy in studded black leather,

The previously unreleased tracks are part of Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin), the singer's official memoir named after the 1969 song of the same name by Sly and the Family Stone

“Everyday People,” and “Hot Fun in the Summertime” followed: all anthems of solidarity and joy that acknowledged the pain and frustration of the times and encouraged their audiences to transcend it. Sly & the Family Stone’s soaring performance of ...