Warren Haynes Pays Tribute To Sly Stone: ‘He Changed Everything’

Sly & The Family Stone's music bridged the worlds of funk, rock, soul, R&B and gospel in a way that had never been done before. Warren Haynes was among the many musicians who were heavily influenced by the band.

Haynes eulogized frontman Sly Stone, who sadly passed away at age 82 on Monday, with a touching remembrance shared on social media. The Gov’t Mule guitarist noted when Stone came around he “changed everything.” Warren also explained how listening to a Sly & The Family Stone record opened a “pathway to Rock music that [he] would soon discover.”

“As I’ve said many times, I grew up on Soul music. In my house, as a kid, James Brown, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Wilson Pickett, Stevie Wonder, and Aretha Franklin ruled the roost. Before I discovered Hendrix and Cream, it was all about Motown, Memphis, and Muscle Shoals. Then along came Sly. He changed everything,” Haynes noted.

“It was Soul music and Rock music, but strangely defied both. It was something new, funky as James Brown and as otherworldly as Hendrix. The music was raw, the sound was dirty, and the grooves were undeniable, with lyrics that challenged the listener in a way that had never happened before. It seemed to come from another planet, an amalgamation of influences that no one could pinpoint,” Warren continued.

“His voice was tremendous, as were all the voices in the Family. They were all intertwined into the songs in a way that had previously been reserved for legitimate Soul acts like The Temptations and The Four Tops. But this wasn’t legitimate or traditional. It was mold-breaking and redefining in the same way that James Brown and Jimi Hendrix blew open the door with something the world had never heard,” added the Asheville native.

“Somewhere in between those two, Sly brought us something fresh and powerful that couldn’t be labeled. Traditional Soul music fans loved it. Hippies loved it. Casual fans just discovering the music on the radio were moved by it. It was infectious in a way that appealed to so many people for all different reasons,” added Haynes.

Warren concluded the note by detailing his initial experience with Stone’s music. “I’ll never forget hearing songs like ‘I Want to Take You Higher’ and ‘Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)’ for the first time. I had never experienced anything like that,” Haynes recalled. “When my oldest brother brought home a Sly and the Family Stone record, a light bulb came on for me that illuminated a pathway to Rock music that I would soon discover. A whole other world of music was about to open up, and I was at that impressionable age where everything made a deep impact. And it was Sly that opened that door. He changed everything.”

Tributes to Sly Stone have come pouring in from other musicians following his death. Read a selection of them below: