A new full-length feature documentary on funk icons Sly and The Family Stone is set to be released this year. While no official date has been given, the film will chronicle the funk band’s influence upon popular music and will give an account of Sly Stone’s remarkable fall from grace, in which he struggled with drug addiction and homelessness while pursuing a high-profile lawsuit against his former managers over millions in allegedly unpaid royalties. In a landmark victory, Stone was awarded a $5 million verdict in 2015.
The director of the film, Brady Spensor, told Deadline in an official statement that, “This was [produced] at a time in his life when things were really difficult for Sly. I became his friend at his most down and out, most financially broke, and feel incredibly grateful for Sly’s trust and participation allowing me to document the end of a tragic spiral, then the transition and the outcome of Sly winning a significant lawsuit that may have influenced The Music Modernization Act.”
Sly Stone is one of the greatest musicians in the history of recorded music. Sly and The Family Stone was among the first bands in popular music that was integrated into race and gender. The group would score hits such as “Dance to the Music” (1968) and “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” and acclaimed albums such as Stand! and There’s a Riot Goin’ On.
