“We Are the Same, Whatever We Do” :: The Legacy of Sly Stone
Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Photo: Stephen Paley/Courtesy of Sundance Institute
As I write these words, lingering letters and partially paralyzed phrases, all of which have been cast into the merciless matrix of the internet, it seems our country has done it now. A righteous reaction to past, present, and future affairs that have always been dominant in the US, the people have had enough, and it’s time for another revolution to wash out the cancerous content that fills our streets, the spirit of our subconscious, and our harmonious homes. Quickly pivoting, what immediately comes to mind when you think about the dynamical decades of the 1960s and 1970s? Music and culture? Political purgatory and racial injustice? The all-consuming narrative of the Vietnam War, or cool cars? LA is currently a war zone, and various other cities around the US are reacting swiftly as our history begins to repeat itself once again, but this time we’ll be alone, more than we were only yesterday. One of the most legendary figures in music, poetic politics, and foundation fusion has departed from this raging rock of chaos and magic and has officially moved on to bigger and better things. Sly “Sylvester Stewart” Stone, wasn’t just a member of a sonic society of soulful sounds, but one of the greatest minds of his generation to eagerly establish an evolution in art that to this day, this very day, stands as the blistering background to the times we’re living, and have always lived in.
Photo: Herb Greene
A fierce figure that burned bright and lit nocturnal neighborhoods as far as the eye could see, there isn’t a greater example of someone in music than Stone, who could bring together the rapid rituals of rhythm and newfound funk to the ears and hearts of people carrying so much oppression, and distinctive disfunction on their shoulders. Their spines were casually crushed under the political pressure of the government, and a society of systemic sludge, a soundtrack was born, and continues to cut through the judicial jungles of our endless eternity into the darkness of chaos. Stone’s visceral voice was so rare, and his iconic image larger than life, as most of you reading this weren’t even born during these times, myself included, but could you imagine, as you have a million times before, walking through the sinister streets of America without MLK, or X to help continue guiding the gravity of culture forward? Instead, you hear the vibrant vibrations of Sly and The Family Stone’s fourth studio album “Stand!” bumping from a nearby record store just a few blocks away with its baptismal beats bringing you to your kindred knees right there in front of God, and everybody. What the late legend achieved in music and culture is truly revolutionary, and as we continue to beg for peace, while fighting for the injustices of the world, let us be reminded of what ultimately brings us together in the end, no matter who you are or what you are, the music. Stone sang about the soul, spirit, and the system that ultimately challenged those things, but he arose to the occasion and stood up against the tyranny that continues to reign. May he rest in peace.
Sylvester “Sly Stone” Stewart
March 15, 1943 - June 9, 2025
