Sly Stone, one of the pioneers of funk music as mastermind for Sly and the Family Stone, is now homeless and living out of a white van in Los Angeles.
Stone, now 68, is suing his manager Jerry Goldstein for $50 million, alleging fraud and 20 years of stolen royalty payments. Back in the 1960s and 70s, Stone lived in a 5,432-square-foot mansion in Beverly Hills, hosting parties for other music legends: Stevie Wonder, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Etta James and Miles Davis.
“I like my small camper,” Stone told the NY Post. Stone parks his van on a residential street in the rough LA neighborhood of Crenshaw. A retired couple allows Stone to shower at their house and makes sure he eats, while their son serves as his assistant and driver. He continues to record music on a laptop computer, from inside the walls of his home on wheels.
Earlier this year, Stone released an album of his hits that he had re-recorded with other artists. Stone says. “I see all the guys playing those old songs. Today, Sly Stone -- one of the greatest figures in soul-music history -- is homeless, his fortune stolen by a lethal combination of excess, substance abuse and financial mismanagement.
A retired couple makes sure he eats once a day, and Stone showers at their house. Inside the van, the former mastermind of Sly & the Family Stone, now 68, continues to record music with the help of a laptop computer.
Stone has been difficult to pin down for years. The San Fran-based group released a string of hits beginning with the 1968 album “Dance to the Music,” followed by “Everyday People,” “Family Affair,” “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” and “Stand!”
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