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Sly Stone, Funk-Rock Pioneer Who Led the Family Stone, Dies at 82
Sly Stone, the multitalented musician whose psychedelia-laced funk enraptured Woodstock Nation in the late '60s and early '70s, has died. He was 82.
Its ultimate lineup included his brother Freddie on guitar and sister Rose on keyboards; a pair of Italian-Americans, Greg Errico and Jerry Martini, on drums and saxophone, respectively; a black woman, Cynthia Robinson, on trumpet; and Larry Graham, who contributed uniquely popping, fuzzed-out bass. An appearance in Rhode Island at the July 1969 Newport Jazz Festival, for which promoter George Wein expanded the lineup with rock acts, sparked a disturbance as fans vaulted the venue’s fences, and led to the barring of similar groups at future fests. In 2006, he made a jaw-dropping appearance at the Grammy Awards; sporting a glued-on fauxhawk atop his shaved pate, he briefly fronted a group that included his old bandmates and such stars as Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry and R&B singer John Legend during a medley of Family Stone hits.
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