Impoverished Sly Stone sues his former manager. living on Soc. Security

[Liberal_in_LA]

Sly Stone sues ex-manager, claiming millions kept

Thursday, January 28, 2010

(01-28) 15:40 PST LOS ANGELES, (AP) --

Sly Stone sued a former business manager and others on Thursday, claiming tens of millions of dollars in royalties were kept from the singer who now depends on Social Security to survive.

Stone, whose real name is Sylvester Stewart, was the frontman of the 1970s funk group Sly and The Family Stone.

He sued former manager Gerald Goldstein and several companies in Los Angeles, alleging they kept 20 years of royalty payments and leveraged Stone's work and rights to accumulate as much as $80 million in assets.

The complaint said Stone has been homeless at times and is dependent on Social Security. Goldstein paid Stone some money until 2007, when the payments stopped, the lawsuit states.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/01/28/entertainment/e145237S38.DTL&tsp=1#ixzz0dxp70ovT

[Warpy]

1. He should have showed up for more of his concerts, I guess

If he was robbed, he needs some of it back.

However, a lot of people were pretty disgusted with him back in the day.

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. Really? I only knew him from the music, never went to a concert

[Bobbieo]

3. from what I remember, quite a bit of his money went into hs veins!!!!

and yes, he was the best!

[madokie]

27. It matters not where he was spending his money

it matters that he is being ripped off. Seen them in concert a couple times and it was alway a good show.

[Gregorian]

4. What a shame. Such a crucial musical icon.

I've had arguments with a friend who did production work with Sly. I bring up how important his contribution to our musical culture has been. And all I get back is that he was stoned and incapable of conducting his affairs.

I hate to see people who have such talent end up with such hardship. What a brilliant man. And his gang, too.

[Bobbieo]

6. I'm currently faced with this crap in my own family - DIL in hospital

had one helluva time finding a vein to draw blood.

[Yurovsky]

5. Best act at Woodstock, hands down...

late '60s, early '70s Sly & the Family Stone was the baddest act in the WORLD. He took what James Brown, Little Richard, Motown, and rock and roll, and fused in into a sound and a stage presence that changed R&B.

Just ask Prince...

Sorry to hear he's fallen on hard times, and color me shocked to hear of another musician having been taken advantage of by corrupt management.

[SidDithers]

17. +1...

One of my absolute favourite mp3s is a 15 minute medley of Dance to the Music / Hey Music Lover / Higher from their Woodstock performance.

Sid

[appal_jack]

19. Brilliant Musician

Sly brought so much joy to this world via his music.

Managers should have conducted themselves more honorably.

Funny how a musician is expected by some (not you Yurovsky, but a few on this thread) to be a vigilant lawyer-like manager of his own financial affairs above and beyond his creative energies. Imagine if we demanded that the bean-counters and hype-mongers in management compose a brilliant song before they could keep any of their earnings. F'n management vultures would starve to death first.

From Sly's situation to the present trillions to Wall St., I think that America is the embodiment of a kleptocratic dictatorship of the pencil-pushers.

-app

[corpseratemedia]

21. +1

[Yurovsky]

29. A lot of people don't realize it, but the Beatles...

were essentially broke when they split in 1970. Between bad management, bad record deals, and poor business decisions (Apple was a great concept, but you can't just offer to give away money and expect people not to take you up on it ad nauseum) they barely had enough to pay the lawyers who were trying to legally dissolve the band.

The financial fortunes of the Fab Four (and their heirs) didn't really take off (into the stratosphere) until around the time the "Anthology" set came out. Since then they've made billions, but they've also given much to charity and to supporting the arts. I read the other day that despite the downturn in CD/download sales, the Beatles still continue to sell big numbers (the remastered catalogue last year, and if they can iron out a deal with iTunes, the $$$ will continue to flow unabated).

I don't expect brilliant artists to be great businesspeople any more than I expect a great businessperson to be a brilliant artist. Rarely do the two merge (some might point to Jimmy Buffett or Jay-Z, but they're certainly the exception, rather than the rule, and I won't debate their artistic merits relative to the Beatles or Sly Stone...).

I hope Sly can get some help. Hell if he had a website I'd PayPal him $20 just out of appreciation for the incredible music he created.

[datasuspect]

7. Sly Stone can stay at my house anytime.

i'll cover food and beer.

[FreakinDJ]

8. there it is

[G_j]

9. saw him a couple of times

once at the Newport jazz festival, where Miles had a major epiphany after watching Sly and his connection with such a diverse audience.
His show blew us all away It poured rain, and was the most fun anyone can imagine.

[Gregorian]

14. I'm so jealous!

That must have been great. I don't think I've ever gotten more fun out of just a record. But to see that live must have been unreal. And I've seen Miles, James Brown...

I even got kicked out of a rental house after one day, because I moved into my room and played Sly's records. That lady sure didn't like it. :)

[G_j]

15. during Dance to the Music

there was an absolute downpour, people were loving it, evryone was dancing on the hillside, a completely ecstatic moment.

talk about peak experiences,

[democratus]

20. Damn

I'm jealous.

Sly is great. Troubled soul perhaps but who isn't. Fuck the managers.

[sendero]

10. Love me some Sly..

... I hope he can wrangle a few bucks from these assholes, I don't have much doubt he was robbed.

[gmoney]

11. BOOM-chacka-lacka-lacka BOOM-chacka-lacka-lacka BOOM-chacka-lacka-lacka BOOM

[Gregorian]

16. You can make it if you try!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvlaY2nt2W4

[Raine]

12. Too bad

loved him in Woodstock.

[Joe Fields]

13. This is really sad.

I grew up on his music and still listen to it nearly every day. To see a man with such talent slide so far, and to be taken thoroughly advantage of breaks a person's heart. I hope he is eventually able to recoup what can be proven to be his, if, in fact Stone's allegations are true.

[mopinko]

18. see if you can come to chicago, sly. maybe someone here can help, like

http://bluesheaven.com/
willy dixon's foundation that specializes in getting royalties that musicians that have been screwed on. i think they focus on blues artists, but i gotta think they would help sly.

[mzmolly]

22. Very sad.

I've always wondered what happened to him. I hope he'll recover some of what he has rightfully coming to him.

[Cetacea]

30. +1000

[treestar]

23. Reality show time!

[spanone]

24. sadly, sly snorted his career

[Nye Bevan]

25. First I read this as "Sly STALLone"

Then I thought "wait, wasn't that the plot of Rocky 5?"

It's been a long week....

[kwassa]

26. A musical genius destroyed by his drug habit.

I think Sly was hugely original and influential, one of the most important musical figures from the '60s. His bassist Larry Graham invented the slap bass technique that was widely copied in the world of funk music. Sly's music crossed genres, and the messages in the music was wonderful, the melodies memorable, and all of is very dancable.

[L0oniX]

28. No show Sly ...pissed off a lot of people.