The New York Post reported this week that music legend Sly Stone has fallen on hard times and is homeless and living out of a van. Stone blames his money problems on his former manager and has sued him. The article implies that Stone may be suffering from some mental illness, perhaps related to his history of drug abuse, noting he is disheveled and paranoid, believing the FBI is after him.
It is sad to hear that someone so talented who was on top of the world is living this unfortunate life. Stone says he has new songs, and he did release an album of his songs re-recorded
In the 1960s and into the 1970s, Sly and the Family Stone made some great music. In the book Mystery Train
In the essay, Marcus writes about the war and the lack of trust in political leaders in the days leading up to Watergate, and how such a time may lead to either a culture of cynicism or one that is fake and safe. But Stone “was clearing away the cultural and political debris that seemed piled up in mounds on the streets, in the papers, in the record stores; for all the darkness of what he had to say and how he said it, his music had the kind of strength and the naked honesty that could make you want to start over.”
I wonder how much Stone’s sense of the insanity of those times led to his own personal madness. His current condition is unfortunate for us as well as for him. During these times featuring worldwide fears when we are still too often faced with a choice between cynicism and make-believe, we need artists with strength and naked honesty.
What do you think led to Stone’s current situation? What is your favorite Sly and the Family Stone song? Leave a comment.
(Some Related Chimesfreedom Posts)
I was recently thinking about the saying “it’s better to burn out than to fade away”. I think this was because people are talking about the 20th anniversary of Pearl Jam’s Ten. Anyway as I love what Eddie Vedder is doing now, maybe even more than in the ’90’s, I was thinking that fading away might not be that bad after all. But in reading about Sly, maybe the saying is right. . .
Sorry, but suggesting that it would be better for Sly Stone to have “burned out” than to “fade away” is absolute rubbish.
If he really is down and out then that is extremely sad and its a reflection on the prevailing greed and f-you culture in America that there are no mechanisms in place to help him out.
Idolising death by burn-out is incredibly wrong. No one should wish that on any other person.
Thanks for the comments. The line about burning out and fading away from Neil Young’s song that also was quoted in Kurt Cobain’s suicide note is often used more about the idea of what type of music legacy one leaves. I don’t know if Young had it in mind, but the line reminds me of the poem “To An Athlete Dying Young” by A.E. Housman:
“Smart lad, to slip betimes away,
From fields where glory does not stay;
And early though the laurel grows,
It withers quicker than the rose.”
In reality, of course, you are correct that Sly Stone’s situation exposes a weakness in a society that allows such a great artist (or anyone) to end up in his current state.
Thanks for the comments, which have me thinking that by chance several posts this week touch on artists who had unfortunate endings to their careers, including one coming up tomorrow.