Sly Stone, the legendary bandleader of Sly and the Family Stone, has died at 82. These five songs show the power of his influence.

You can hear Sly Stone's influence in tracks by 2Pac, A Tribe Called Quest, and De La Soul --sampling classics like "Sing a Simple Song" and "Family Affair."

Sylvester Stone, who, along with his band The Family Stone, had a major impact on rock, funk, R&B, and hip-hop music, has passed away. He was 82. His family says that the musician passed away after a health battle that included COPD, a progressive lung disease.

Sly Stone, the visionary multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter who led Sly and the Family Stone – in doing so helping to pioneer what would come to be known as funk music – has died at the age of 82, his family announced on social media.

Stone had a capacity for summing up the zeitgeist of an America in social transition, from collective joy to racial harmony, and from the search for transcendence to the broken idealism in which the 1960s ended.

Queen Latifah has hailed Sly Stone as a “genius ... pioneers, whose impact on modern music cannot be overstated. The 55-year-old star has taken to social media to heap praise on the funk ...

Sly Stone, the visionary force behind Sly and the Family Stone , has died at 82, leaving an indelible mark on music and culture.