Sly Stone's North Texas family recalls groundbreaking musician's legacy

NORTH TEXAS - Sly Stone’s legacy started in North Texas, and Denton will always be remembered as his place of birth.

It was new, and it was different. The music of Sly and the Family Stone took off like a rocket in the late 60’s and early 70’s. And little as it’s known, it all started right here in North Texas.

 Sly Stone Dies Aged 82

In 1943, Sly Stone was born in Denton. His birth name was Sylvester Stewart. He sang in church when he was around 6 years old. Music was his calling. On Monday, the music pioneer passed away at his home in Los Angeles. He was 82.

FOX 4 managed to connect with three of Stone's cousins via Zoom. Wayne Rodgers in Denton, Abner Haynes, Jr. a truck driver on the road in Minneapolis, and David Haynes at home in East Texas.

They are heartbroken, joyous, proud, funny and full of stories, including one about how they all helped out their famous cousin during a concert tour.

Stone's Family Reminisces

What they're saying:

"He was our cousin," Abner said. "Every time he came through Texas, he was gonna call. We were going to hang out. He was family."

Stone’s cousins could not be more proud of his legacy, his musical genius, and their never-ending bond.

"They were the first American band that was integrated in race and gender," David said.

They were shocked to hear of Stone's passing.

"I heard this, and I had to pull over. To lose him… even though we didn’t see him as much as we used to, we were really proud of him," Abner said.

The family remembers a time when they acted as protection for their cousin and his famous friends during a tour.

"They came and did a concert with George Clinton & Parliament, and the Funkadelic, Bootsy Collins, and Roger and Zapp. I can recall the three of us were their bodyguards," David said.

"It was one of those unforgettable weekends. It was about 14 limousines from Dallas to Houston right there on I-45," David continued. "There was some kind of glitch that happened where we had to. They were going to fly, and some kind of way, that didn’t work, and we had to just drive."

Wayne's favorite Sly song was a lesser-known one, called, "My World."

"It was more of a ballad," Wayne said. "It was like, ‘my world, my wish upon a star, never ever far, the joy and all my fun. A woman and a girl, I got it down. Don't mess with me.’"

To the world, Stone was the pioneer of funk, a music legend tearing down barriers.

"Sly comes up and has a group with a white drummer, back then," Abner said. "It’s nothing now, but back then they were really standing up and making us younger guys… we were just really proud."

To these three, he was that and more.  

"It’s emotional. But it’s a blessing, and I'm very thankful that I come from a rich and proud family. I pray for his soul, and I hope he rests in peace."

Legendary former radio disc jockey Dewayne Dancer has shared space with hundreds of music stars and celebrities. He recalled how Stone's music was like no other, and moved the masses.

 "When you’re a genius like that, nobody ever really understands what you’re doing so it’s fresh, it’s new," Dancer said.

"Pop music was really strong. You're thinking, Beatles, the Stones, then James Brown, Temptations because of the Motown thing," Dancer said. "But when you marry all of that, what does it sound like? And put a heavy bass in it. It's the sound of America. And so he created this kind of hybrid music that everybody would like, and it worked."

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