American musician Sly Stone died at the age of 82 on Monday 9th of June, 2025. His family made a statement and announced his death. The news has left his fans saddened.
Sly Stone was the lead of the band Sly and the Family Stone. The band changed the music scene by blending different genres of music, including soul, funk, rock, R&B, and psychedelic, together.
Taking to Instagram, his family announced his demise, “It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved dad, Sly Stone of Sly and the Family Stone.”
The family also revealed Sly Stone’s cause of death as COPD. According to the family, Sly passed away surrounded by his three children, his best buddy, and his extended family. Sly passed away peacefully after a protracted struggle with COPD and other underlying health conditions.
For a long time, Sly Stone had various health problems as well. His health issues started after his drug addiction, especially to cocaine and PCP. He had revealed his heavy drug addiction in his memoir as well.
COPD: What is it?
Damage to the airways or other parts of the lungs causes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. Inflammation and other issues brought on by this damage obstruct airways and make breathing challenging.
Long-term exposure to irritating smoke, fumes, dust, or chemicals is one of the most common causes of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). One of the primary causes of COPD is cigarette smoking, or even passive smoking.
Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are the two most common types of COPD. People with COPD may have these two symptoms in varying degrees, and they typically coexist.
In contrast to some other illnesses, COPD frequently has a known etiology and a known preventative measure. Cigarette smoking is typically closely associated with COPD. Avoiding smoking is the greatest approach to avoid developing COPD. Quitting smoking today can help people with COPD slow down the rate at which their illness deteriorates. If you work with chemicals, make sure to take all the precautionary measures to not inhaling the chemical fumes.
Although there are some therapies for COPD, it is regrettably incurable. Inhaled medicines that reduce and expand airways are the main techniques. Bronchodilator inhalers are the most important drugs used to treat COPD. They relax the airways to keep them open. Short-acting bronchodilators start working in a few seconds and have a four to six-hour half-life. They are often used when flare-ups happen. Although they take longer to start functioning, long-acting bronchodilators have a longer half-life. These can be used in conjunction with inhaled steroids and are taken once a day.
About Sly Stone
Sly Stone was a pioneer in his area, not just another popular musician and producer. He was born on the 15th of March, 1943. Sly Stone is just his stage name. His real name or birth name is Sylvester Stewart. He led the band Sly and the Family Stone and was their lead vocalist. Sly and the Family Stone changed the music scene of the 1960s and 1970s by introducing the world to a combination of different musical genres. The band pioneered in blending funk music with rock and soul. They also added psychedelic music to take their music a level up. This combination was revolutionary in its day.
When they were younger, “The Stewart Four”—Freddie, Rose, Loretta, and Sylvester—sang gospel songs at churches. In August 1956, they issued the 78 rpm record “On the Battlefield” b/w “Walking in Jesus’ Name” regionally. However, Vaetta, the youngest sister, joined the band when Loretta quit.
Rise of Stardom
What brought Sly and the Family Stone to the attention of the music world was their 2nd album. The album became an instant hit and garnered a lot of love from fans and appreciation from critics. Their fourth album, Stand! (1969), had the number-one hit song “Everyday People,” and sold almost three million copies, despite the poor sales of their third album, Life (1968). In the summer of 1969, Sly and the Family Stone were among the biggest names in music because of two more top-five hits: “Hot Fun in the Summertime” and “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)”/”Everybody Is a Star.”
The band’s recent success and ascent to fame were fraught with problems. Relationships within the band were deteriorating, particularly between Larry Graham and the Stone brothers. Epic requested more production that could be sold. The Black Panther Party insisted that Stone make his music more militant and representative of the struggle for black power, replace Greg Errico and Jerry Martini with black musicians, and take David Kapralik’s position as manager.
Legacy
Stone released four additional solo albums, issuing three of them under the ‘Sly & The Family Stone’ name. He published only one of those albums, High on You (1975), under his own name. In 1976, Sly Stone decided to create the band again. This time, however, he didn’t bring his siblings back; instead, he found new members to join the band. Sly Stone and George Clinton began working on Ain’t But the One Way as a joint effort, but Stone later abandoned the project. Producer Stewart Levine completed it for release, and it came out in 1982, following 1979’s Back on the Right Track. None of these subsequent albums were very successful.
Family
In a sold-out concert at Madison Square Garden on June 5, 1974, Stone wed model-actress Kathy Silva. The couple filed for divorce in 1976. Sly Stone has three kids. Kathy gave birth to the first one, Sylvester Jr. He and Cynthia Robinson, a member of his band, had two daughters: Sylvyette and Novena Carmel.
Conclusion
Sly Stone’s death has left a void in the music industry. He revolutionized music in the 1960s and 1970s by bringing psychedelic rock and funk into mainstream music. His impact on music and his legacy will live on for a long, long time even after his passing.
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