Editing Sly Stone (section)

===Later years===
Stone went on to record four more albums as a solo artist (only ''[[High on You (Sly Stone album)|High on You]]'' (1975) was released under just his name; the other three were released under the "Sly & The Family Stone" name). In 1976, Stone assembled a new Family Stone and released ''[[Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I'm Back]]''. 1979's ''[[Back on the Right Track]]'' followed, and in 1982 ''[[Ain't But the One Way]]'' was released, which began as a collaborative album with [[George Clinton (funk musician)|George Clinton]], but was scrapped and later completed by producer [[Stewart Levine]] for release. None of these later albums achieved much success.

Stone also collaborated with [[Funkadelic]] on ''[[The Electric Spanking of War Babies]]'' (1981), but was unable to reinvigorate his career. In the early 1980s Sly Stone was also part of a George Clinton/Funkadelic family project with [[Muruga Booker]] called "The Soda Jerks," who recorded an album worth of material, of which only one song has been released. However, Muruga still has plans to release the material from the project.

In June 1983, Stone was arrested and charged with cocaine possession in [[Fort Myers, Florida]].<ref name="PEOPLE.com">{{Cite magazine |first=Ralph |last=Novak |url=http://people.com/archive/the-decline-and-fall-of-sly-stone-vol-45-no-24/ |title=The Decline and Fall of Sly Stone |volume=45 |issue=24 |date=June 17, 1996 |magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]] |access-date=November 1, 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref> He served 3 years probation, and was then jailed again for violating parole.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sly Stone jailed for violating probation - UPI Archives |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/06/08/Sly-Stone-jailed-for-violating-probation/1470550123200/ |access-date=2025-02-13 |website=UPI |language=en}}</ref>

Stone managed to do a short tour with [[Bobby Womack]] in the summer of 1984, and he continued to make sporadic appearances on compilations and other artists' records. In 1986, Stone was featured on a track from [[Jesse Johnson (musician)|Jesse Johnson]]'s album ''Shockadelica'' called "Crazay". The music video featured Stone on keyboards and vocals, and received some airplay on the [[Black Entertainment Television|BET]] music network.

In 1986, Stone released a single, "Eek-ah-Bo Static Automatic", from the ''[[Soul Man (film)|Soul Man]]'' soundtrack, and the song "I'm the Burglar" from the ''[[Burglar (film)|Burglar]]'' soundtrack. He also co-wrote and co-produced "Just Like A Teeter-Totter", which appeared on a [[Bar-Kays]] album from 1989.
From 1988 to 1989 Sly Stone wrote and produced a collection of unreleased recordings in his home studio in New Jersey. "Coming Back for More" and "Just Like A Teeter-Totter" are a part of that collection of about 20 songs.

In 1990, he gave an energetic vocal performance on the [[Earth, Wind & Fire]] song "Good Time". In 1991, he appeared on a cover of "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" performed by the Japanese band [[13CATS]], and shared lead vocals with Bobby Womack on "When the Weekend Comes" from Womack's 1993 album ''I Still Love You''.

In 1992, Sly and the Family Stone appeared on the [[Red Hot Organization]]'s dance compilation album, ''[[Red Hot + Dance]]'', contributing an original track, "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) (Todds CD Mix)."  The album attempted to raise awareness and money in support of the AIDS epidemic, and all proceeds were donated to AIDS charities.

In 1995, ex-landlord Chase Mellon III accused Stone of trashing the Beverly Hills mansion Mellon rented to him in 1993. Mellon says that he found bathrooms smeared with gold paint, marble floors blackened, windows broken and a gaunt Stone emerging from a guest house to say, "You’re spying on me." Sly Jr., then studying to be a recording engineer, told ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'', "Nobody purposely destroyed the house. I’d thrown parties. My dad had a few get-togethers. We weren't aware of the damage." The damage, however, was not just superficial. "Sly never grew out of drugs," says ex-wife Silva. "He lost his backbone and destroyed his future."<ref name="PEOPLE.com" />

His last major public appearance until 2006 was during the 1993 [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] induction ceremony where Stone showed up onstage to be entered into the Hall of Fame along with the Family Stone. In 2003, the other six members of the original Family Stone entered the studio to record a new album. Stone was invited to participate, but declined.

"I feel like Sly just doesn't wanna deal with it no more," [[Bootsy Collins]] told ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]''. "It's like he's had it – it ain't no fun no more. It's a curse and a blessing. The curse part of it is the business you have to deal with, and then the blessing part is you get to be a musician and have fun…."{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}

A few home-studio recordings (most likely from the late 1980s) with Stone's voice and keyboards over a drum machine have made their way onto a bootleg. One Stone-penned demo called "Coming Back for More" appears to be autobiographical and includes the verse: "Been so high, I touched the sky and the sky says 'Sly, why you tryin' to get by?'" His son, Sylvester Stewart Jr., told ''People Magazine'' in 1997 that his father had composed an album's worth of material, including a tribute to [[Miles Davis]] called "Miles and Miles."{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}

On August 15, 2005, Stone drove his younger sister [[Vet Stone]] on his motorcycle to Los Angeles' [[Knitting Factory]], where Vet was performing with her Sly & the Family Stone [[tribute band]], the Phunk Phamily Affair. Stone kept his helmet on during the entire performance, and was described by one concertgoer as looking a little like [[Bootsy Collins]]. A film crew doing a documentary on Sly & the Family Stone, later released as ''[[On the Sly: In Search of the Family Stone]]'', was at the show and captured this rare sighting on film. Stone, according to his web site, is producing and writing material for the group's new album. In addition, Stone renamed the group "Family Stone."{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}

In 2009, the documentary film ''[[Coming Back for More (film)|Coming Back for More]]'' detailed his dire financial situation.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/aug/18/sly-stone-living-on-welfare | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Sean | last=Michaels | title=Sly Stone living on welfare, claims documentary | date=August 18, 2009}}</ref> On August 18, 2009, ''[[The Guardian]]'' reported that the forthcoming documentary, ''Coming Back for More'' by Dutch director Willem Alkema, claims Stone is homeless and living off welfare while staying in cheap hotels and a camper van. The film alleges that Stone's former manager, [[Jerry Goldstein (producer)|Jerry Goldstein]], cut off his access to royalty payments following a dispute over a 'debt agreement', forcing Stone to depend on welfare payments.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/aug/18/sly-stone-living-on-welfare | location=London | work=The Guardian | title=Sly Stone living on welfare, claims documentary | first=Sean | last=Michaels | date=August 18, 2009}}</ref> On September 25, 2011, Alkema wrote in the ''New York Post'' that Sly Stone was homeless and living out of a white camper-van in Los Angeles: "The van is parked on a residential street in Crenshaw, the rough Los Angeles neighborhood where ''Boyz n the Hood'' was set. A retired couple makes sure he eats once a day, and Stone showers at their house."<ref>{{cite web|last=Alkema|first=Willem|title=Funk legend Sly Stone homeless and living in a van in LA|url=http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/the_rise_and_fall_of_sly_stone_qijyKoYzmAqer1PA0YogSJ|work=New York Post|date=September 25, 2011 |access-date=July 23, 2012}}</ref>

Stone had filed suit against Goldstein for $50&nbsp;million in January 2010, accusing Goldstein of cheating him out of years' worth of royalty payments for the songs he had written. He testified that he had not been paid any royalties between 1989 and 2009. The litigation further claimed that Goldstein had used fraudulent practices to convince him to give up the rights to his songs, and made the same claim about the Sly and the Family Stone trademark.<ref>The Detroit Free Press, January 30, 2010, page 11A</ref> Goldstein filed a countersuit for slander following a rant by Stone at the [[Coachella Festival]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/gossip/2011/09/sly-stone-homeless-sly-and-the-family-stone.html | work=Los Angeles Times | title=Ministry of Gossip | date=September 27, 2011}}</ref> In January 2015, a Los Angeles jury ruled in favor of Stone, awarding him $5&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite magazine| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/sly-stone-awarded-5-million-in-royalty-lawsuit-20150128 | magazine=Rolling Stone | title=Sly Stone Awarded $5 Million in Royalty Lawsuit | first=Daniel | last=Kreps | date=January 28, 2015}}</ref> However, in December 2015, the award was overturned when an appellate court ruled that the trial judge had not told the jury to take into account the fact that Stone had assigned his royalties to a production company in exchange for a 50% ownership stake. In May 2016, Stone's attorneys appealed that decision.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-sly-stone-royalties-20151211-story.html |title=Why Sly Stone still can't collect royalties from his classic songs |first=Randall |last=Roberts |date=December 12, 2015 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=January 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://thesource.com/2016/07/23/sly-stone-of-the-legendary-sly-and-the-family-stone-awarded-5-million-in-unpaid-royalties/ |title=Sly Stone of the Legendary Sly and the Family Stone Awarded $5 Million in Unpaid Royalties |last=Eustice |first=Kyle |date=July 23, 2016 |work=The Source |access-date=January 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.law360.com/articles/821880/sly-stone-royalties-suit-gets-new-trial-after-appeal |title=Sly Stone Royalties Suit Gets New Trial After Appeal |last=Sieniuc |first=Kat |date=July 27, 2016 |publisher=Law360.com |access-date=January 8, 2017}}</ref>