Hollywood is paying tribute to Sly Stone after news of the funk-rock pioneer’s death was announced Monday.
Stone died after a “prolonged battle with COPD and other underlying health issues,” his family said Monday.
“Sly passed away peacefully, surrounded by his three children, his closest friend, and his extended family,” his family wrote in a statement. “While we mourn his absence, we take solace in knowing that his extraordinary musical legacy will continue to resonate and inspire for generations to come.”
Sly shot to prominence in the music industry in 1968 alongside his band Sly and the Family Stone with their hit “Dance to the Music,” which landed in the top 10 on both the pop and R&B charts. The group continued to deliver a series of crossover tracks, including “Summer of Love,” including “Stand!,” “Hot Fun in the Summertime,” “Runnin’ Away,” “If You Want Me to Stay” and “Time for Livin’,” which emerged to define their hometown of San Francisco.
In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Dionne Warwick, whom Sly used to play the keyboard for early in his career, said, “I met Sly during his years as a DJ. I will miss him as I know everyone will. My condolences to his family.”
At the 2025 BET Awards carpet, Grammy nominee Durand Bernarr told THR, “I hope that he knew he was loved and he was respected and we’re rooting for him.” Also at the BET Awards, American Idol alum and “Over” singer Lucky Daye commemorated his influence on the music industry, also telling THR, “May he rest in paradise today.”
Paul Stanley, co-founder and co-lead vocalist of KISS, said on X, “Sly Stone Has Died. In 1968 I saw Sly & the Family Stone debut at the Fillmore East in New York City opening for Jimi Hendrix. They were a freight train of bombastic, joyous SouI that would soon climb the charts and change the sound of R&B for so many other artists. Rest In Soul!”
On Instagram, Jamie Foxx wrote, “Legend RIP SLY.”
Questlove, director of the Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) documentary, paid tribute to Sly on Instagram, writing, “From the moment his music reached me in the early 1970s, it became a part of my soul. Sly was a giant — not just for his groundbreaking work with the Family Stone, but for the radical inclusivity and deep human truths he poured into every note. His songs weren’t just about fighting injustice; they were about transforming the self to transform the world. He dared to be simple in the most complex ways — using childlike joy, wordless cries and nursery rhyme cadences to express adult truths.”
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which Sly and the Family Stone were inducted into in 1993, wrote on X, “1993 Inductees Sly & The Family Stone made it possible for Black popular music to burst free on its own terms, with singer, songwriter, and producer @HigherSlyStone at the helm, extending the boundaries of pop and R&B with each new song.”
The Sundance Film Festival also shared a statement on X: “Sly Stone changed music forever. A visionary, a rebel, a genius. His sound shaped generations and his spirit broke boundaries.”
Below, read more tributes to Stone.
