sly stone

Soul legend Bobby Womack dead at 70

Bobby Womack, one of soul music’s most gifted and influential singer-songwriters, has died at the age 70 years old. It has yet to be disclosed exactly how Womack passed, but the news was confirmed by his label, XL Recordings. The artist had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and colon cancer in recent years.

Black Music Month: Sly Stone, funk’s most mysterious genius

Sly developed funk into the sound we know best today and the Family Stone were unofficially the first, real funk band–paving the way for Parliament, the Commodores, the 70s incarnation of the Isley Brothers and Earth, Wind & Fire.