# RIP Sly Stone **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 9, 2025, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sly-stone/1019389 "2025-06-09T20:09:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2025, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sly-stone/1019389/1 "2025-06-09T20:09:56Z")
[Obit from the NY Times.](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/arts/music/sly-stone-dead.html) I’ve been watching the clip of him at Woodstock, leading the crowd in a “sing-along” (“say ‘Higher’ and throw the peace sign up, it’ll do ya no harm..”) periodically since 1970…it never gets old. Unfortunately no decent examples exist on You Tube. RIP Sly. Too funky for this world. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2025, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sly-stone/1019389/2 "2025-06-09T21:41:26Z")
Of the hundreds of live shows I’ve seen, one I 'll always remember was seeing Sly and the Family on their VERY short lived tour of the Midwest in the early 80s. What a lot of great music. Too bad the drugs got to him so hard. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2025, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sly-stone/1019389/3 "2025-06-09T21:42:25Z")
Thank you Sly, for being yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2025, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sly-stone/1019389/4 "2025-06-09T21:58:11Z")
Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) Yet I just had to listen to “Hot Fun in the Summertime” much pure greatness ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2025, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sly-stone/1019389/5 "2025-06-09T22:18:00Z")
Well I am jealous of Dinsdale, I am sure that was a great show. RIP Sly thanks for the great music. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2025, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sly-stone/1019389/6 "2025-06-09T22:31:19Z")
Ah, crap. I remember when “Dance To The Music” came out when I was in Vietnam in '68. Good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2025, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sly-stone/1019389/7 "2025-06-09T22:50:02Z")
I saw Sly and the Family Stone in 1973 or 74 at Murray State University in Kentucky. They were late, as usual, but damn they were great! I’ve been saddened to read of his troubles over the years. He really was a man ahead of his time, and perhaps an example of the often-cited “thin line between genius and madness.” He certainly had a streak of both. R.I.P. Sly. ---
**Author:** ![SwissMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@SwissMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwissMan)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2025, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sly-stone/1019389/8 "2025-06-09T23:01:14Z")
For anybody who has not seen it, I would highly recommend the Hulu documentary about Sly, **Sly Lives! (AKA The Burden of Black Genius)**, which was directed by Questlove. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2025, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sly-stone/1019389/9 "2025-06-09T23:04:16Z")
The attacks against DEI probably killed him. His band was the most iconically mixed of the time and maybe ever. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sly-stone/1019389/10 "2025-06-10T00:43:26Z")
I really like [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pnoVMEH7QI) clip of Sly and the Family Stone on Soul Train. I love how the instruments come in one at a time. RIP, Sly. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sly-stone/1019389/11 "2025-06-10T10:52:26Z")
That is superb. (Just discovered that the violinist was the same as in Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks ! (Sid Page)) RIP Sly. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sly-stone/1019389/12 "2025-06-10T11:04:46Z")
Damn, that’s a great performance. Thanks for the link! ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sly-stone/1019389/13 "2025-06-10T19:24:54Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > That is superb. I love when bands play shows “plug in” on shows and play live. Like the “The Old Grey Whistle Test” I recall a thread about “songs that reference other songs” In that one (“Falletin me”) song (and I may have missed one) he references four of his songs: - “Dance to the Music” - “Everyday People” - ‘Sing a Simple Song" - “You Can Make It If You Try” ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sly-stone/1019389/14 "2025-06-10T19:47:25Z")
I always thought of Sly as “Prince before Prince”. RIP, Sly, you were one of the true greats. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sly-stone/1019389/15 "2025-06-10T19:59:36Z")
Definitely, he had a huge influence on Prince, in every regard. And I hereby declare that “Thank You Falletinme…” is the goddamn funkiest song of all time. Thanks, Sly, for the music. ---
**Author:** ![anny\_m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@anny\_m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anny_m)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sly-stone/1019389/16 "2025-06-10T20:43:19Z")
I didn’t see Sly and The Family Stone once. They were supposed to do a free concert in Grant Park in Chicago to make up for being so late for a previous concert. Some friends and I decided to go. You will not be surprised to learn they were late for this show. Very late. So late the crowd got more than antsy. When law enforcement showed up we left. Got a few whiffs of tear gas on the way to the car. RIP, Sly. I always enjoyed your music. ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sly-stone/1019389/17 "2025-06-10T22:56:07Z")
> [@anny\_m](#): > > Got a few whiffs of tear gas on the way to the car. Golly! > Burns: Have the Rolling Stones killed > Smithers: But, sir… > Burns: You heard me! ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sly-stone/1019389/18 "2025-06-10T23:37:38Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > (Just discovered that the violinist was the same as in Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks ! (Sid Page)) Sid’s resume is quite impressive. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sly-stone/1019389/19 "2025-06-11T00:03:45Z")
i remember Sly getting busted on stage in Bay Area for back child support ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sly-stone/1019389/20 "2025-06-11T00:08:27Z")
Me and my friends put on a music show for the neighborhood and did Stand. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sly-stone/1019389.md?page=2)