In the mid-1960s, Stone worked as a disc jockey for San Francisco, California, soul radio station KSOL, where he included white performers such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones in his playlists. Early on, a classmate misspelled his name 'Slyvester,' and ever since, the nickname followed him. The nickname Sly was a common one for Sylvester throughout his years in grade school. After high school Stone studied music at the Vallejo campus of Solano Community College. With his brother, Fred, he formed several short-lived groups, like the Stewart Bros. The Viscaynes released a few local singles, including 'Yellow Moon' and 'Stop What You Are' during the same period, Sylvester also recorded a few solo singles under the name Danny Stewart. The fact that the group was integrated made the Viscaynes 'hip' in the eyes of their audiences, and would later inspire Sylvester's idea of the multicultural Family Stone. One of these was the Viscaynes, a doo-wop group in which Sylvester and his friend Frank Arellano-who was Filipino-were the only non-white members. While still in high school, Sylvester had settled primarily on the guitar and joined a number of high school bands. By the time he was seven, Sylvester had already become proficient on the keyboards, and by the age of eleven, he had mastered the guitar, bass, and drums as well. Sylvester was identified as a musical prodigy. All of the other Stewart children, including youngest sister Vaetta ('Vet'), would later adopt the surname 'Stone' and pursue musical interests. The eldest sister, Loretta, was the only Stewart child not to pursue a musical career. Sylvester and his brother Freddie along with their sisters Rose and Loretta formed 'The Stewart Four' as children, performing gospel music in the Church of God in Christ and even recording a single local release 78 rpm single, 'On the Battlefield' b/w 'Walking in Jesus' Name', in 1952. Born March 15, 1943, before the family had moved to Vallejo, California, in the North Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, Sylvester was the second of the family's five children.ДЄs part of the doctrines of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), to which the Stewart family belonged, the parents вЂ“ K.C and Alpha Stewart вЂ“ encouraged musical expression in the household.

The Stewart family was a deeply religious middle-class household from Denton, Texas. He took part in a Sly and the Family Stone tribute at the 2006 Grammy Awards, his first live performance since 1987. In 1993, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the group.

The group would score hits including ' Dance to the Music' (1968), ' Everyday People' (1968), ' Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)' (1969), ' I Want to Take You Higher' (1969) ' Family Affair' (1971) and ' If You Want Me to Stay' (1973) and acclaimed albums including Stand! (1969), There's a Riot Goin' On (1971) and Fresh (1973).Д«y the mid-1970s, Stone's drug use and erratic behavior effectively ended the group, leaving him to record several unsuccessful solo albums. In 1966, Stone and his brother Freddie joined their bands together to form Sly and the Family Stone, a racially integrated, mixed-gender act. In the mid-1960s, he worked as both a record producer for Autumn Records and a disc jockey for San Francisco radio station KDIA. Д«orn in Texas and raised in the Bay Area of Northern California, Stone mastered several instruments at an early age and performed gospel music as a child with his siblings (and future bandmates) Freddie and Rose. Crawdaddy! has called him 'the founder of progressive soul'. Sylvester Stewart (born March 15, 1943), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer who is most famous for his role as frontman for Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the development of funk with his pioneering fusion of soul, rock, psychedelia and gospel in the 1960s and 1970s.

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