Sly Stone life and biography

Sly Stone (born Sylvester Stewart) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most famous for his role as frontman for Sly & the Family Stone, a band which played a critical role in the development of soul, funk and psychedelia in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1993, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

"Sly was definitive cool," says Gnarls Barkley vocalist Cee-Lo. Sly Stone's funk was so revolutionary in its conception, its writing, its arranging, it can be easy to overlook his remarkable singing. "Sometimes he sounded like he wasn't trying, and that confidence can be very attractive," Cee-Lo adds. Stone's vocals mutated from the wild exuberance of "Dance to the Music" to hazy isolation on There's a Riot Goin' On, creating moods that were radically different but no less powerful. "He started as that cheerleader," says the Roots' Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, "then pulled back the Wizard of Oz curtain and revealed a lonely shell of a man." Family Stone bass player Larry Graham says Stone's singing was always shifting: "We were never surprised when he laid down a great vocal track. We all just expected it."

Stone went on to record four more albums as a solo artist (only High on You (1975) was released under just his name; the other three were released under the "Sly & The Family Stone" name). In 1976, Stone assembled a new Family Stone and released Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I'm Back. 1979's Back on the Right Track followed, and in 1982 Ain't But the One Way was released, which began as a collaborative album with George Clinton, but was scrapped and later completed by producer Stewart Levine for release. None of these later albums achieved much success.

In 1987, Stone released a single, "Eek-a-Boo Static Automatic", from the Soul Man soundtrack, and the song "I'm the Burglar" from the Burglar (film) soundtrack. He also co-wrote and co-produced "Just Like A Teeter-Totter," which appeared on a Bar-Kays album from 1989. From 1988 to 1989 Sly Stone wrote and produced a collection of unreleased recordings in his home studio in New Jersey, "Coming Back for More" and "Just Like A Teeter-Totter" are a part of that collection of about 20 songs.

A few home-studio recordings (most likely from the late 1980s) with Stone's voice and keyboards over a drum machine have made their way onto a bootleg. One Stone-penned demo called "Coming Back for More" appears to be autobiographical and includes the verse: "Been so high, I touched the sky and the sky says 'Sly, why you tryin' to get by?' Comin' back for more." His son, Sylvester Jr., told People Magazine in 1997 that his father had composed an album's worth of material, including a tribute to Miles Davis called "Miles and Miles."

A Sly & the Family Stone tribute took place at the 2006 Grammy Awards on February 8, 2006, at which Stone gave his first live musical performance since 1987. Sly & the original Family Stone lineup (minus Larry Graham) performed briefly during a tribute to the band, for which the headliners included Steven Tyler, John Legend, Van Hunt, and Robert Randolph.

On December 6, 2009, Sly signed a new recording contract with the LA based Cleopatra Records and on August 16, 2011, I'm Back! Family & Friends was released, the first Sly Stone album since 1982's Ain't But the One Way. The album features re-recorded versions of Sly & the Family Stone's greatest hits with guest appearances from Jeff Beck, Ray Manzarek, Bootsy Collins, Ann Wilson, Carmine Appice and Johnny Winter, as well as three previously unreleased songs.

Discography:
1967: A Whole New Thing
1968: Dance to the Music
1968: Life
1969: Stand!
1971: There's a Riot Goin' On
1973: Fresh
1974: Small Talk
1975: High on You (credited only to "Sly Stone")
1976: Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I'm Back
1979: Back on the Right Track
1982: Ain't but the One Way
2009: The Woodstock Experience (Live compilation)
2011: I'm Back! Family & Friends (credited only to "Sly Stone")

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