American funk legend Sly Stone, founder of the trailblazing group Sly and the Family Stone, whose songs drove a civil rights-inflected soul explosion in the 1960s, has died at the age of 82.

Stone's publicist confirmed he passed away in Los Angeles on Monday, surrounded by family, after suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other health issues.

"While we mourn his absence, we take solace

See Full Page