Tragic downfall: How Sly Stone went from funk royalty to homelessness
Fame is a very fickle thing. While you might be on top of the world at one point, you always run the risk of losing it all in the blink of an eye. The music world has seen countless examples over the years of ridiculously successful artists experiencing tragic downfalls when their work is no longer the flavour of the month. Even a true musical pioneer, like Sly Stone, who has enjoyed an incredibly successful, enduring career, is no exception to the unpredictability of fame and fortune.
During the late 1960s, Sly Stone was a name known the world over for his pioneering blend of psychedelic rock, soul, and funk. With his group, Sly and the Family Stone, the Texan musician penned an array of groundbreaking tracks which perfectly toed the line between commercial appeal and true musical quality; he was in the sweet spot, and the music industry rewarded him with fame, riches, and everything he could have ever asked for.
What’s more, Stone did not keep quiet about the riches that tracks like ‘Dance to the Music’ or ‘Everyday People’ brought him. The songwriter lived an archetypal life of excess, buying a colossal mansion in Beverly Hills, filling it with decadent artefacts and hosting endless parties there. Stone would rub shoulders with the stars in his Bel Air house, playing host to iconic figures of the time – the likes of Janis Joplin, Stevie Wonder, and even Jimi Hendrix. However, this move to Los Angeles coincided with a rise in drug use among the city’s rich and famous.
Stone was known to carry around a violin case full of drugs, with cocaine and PCP being particular favourites of his. Of course, he was certainly not alone in using illegal drugs, particularly during the early 1970s, when virtually every successful rock and roll musician was dabbling in various substances. However, Stone’s usage soon became a dependency that the songwriter never really recovered from.
On top of that dependency, the success of Sly and the Family Stone was not going to last forever. Following their initial run of successes, the band became fractured during the early 1970s, made worse by Stone’s drug use and newfound involvement with local gangsters. This also meant that the group were not recording as much material as they had been previously, leading to a waning of public interest in the group.
So, after years of conflict, erratic behaviour, and disastrous live performances, Sly and the Family Stone dissolved in 1975. Sly Stone himself continued to sporadically record and release solo albums, as well as re-releasing old material. However, the songwriter never came close to recapturing the incredible success of his early material with Sly and the Family Stone. There is no doubt about it: the money was drying up, but Stone’s drug habit demanded he keep spending.
Stone’s life post-Family Stone was dominated by drug use. His behaviour had become much more erratic, and he could barely get through a single live performance. His relationships – both personal and professional began to suffer. For many years, Stone lived away from the public eye, emerging once every few years for a public appearance before sinking back into the shadows. That was until 2011 when it was reported by the New York Post that Stone was living in a white campervan in a rundown neighbourhood of Los Angeles. Seemingly, he had lost everything.
It was reported that Stone was largely being looked after by a local retired couple, who would let him use their shower and make sure he had been fed. It was certainly a depressing glance at the dangers of drug use and the dark side of the music industry. Since that report, Stone has largely been off the grid, though he would occasionally make appearances or do performances of his classic hits.
Stone even sued his former manager, Jerry Goldstein, for $50 million, citing unpaid royalties. Although a court initially filed in favour of the songwriter, the decision was later dismissed due to an error by the judge. It is, at present, not known whether Sly Stone is still living in that white camper in Crenshaw or whether he has managed to finally knock the drugs and get back on his feet. Either way, his story is a tragic warning for those hoping to live a life of rock and roll excess.
