Cynthia Robinson Sly and the Family Stone Square
It's with a heavy heart that we report on the passing of Sly and the Family Stone co-founder and trumpeter Cynthia Robinson, who died this week at the age of 69. Robinson passed away after a struggle with cancer, but will always be remembered for her deeply funky legacy as a member of one of the most important Funk bands in history.
Before there was Sly and the Family Stone, of course, there was Sly's early band Sly and the Stoners. Robinson joined the group in the '60s and would go on to perform on A Whole New Thing, Stand!, There's A Riot Goin On and more. Essentially, every crucial Sly and the Family Stone recording has Robinson's trumpet to thank for pushing it out into the far fringes of soul. She helped blaze a trail that many still trek today. Robinson's performance credits also include stints in bands with Prince and George Clinton.
After Sly and the Family Stone parted ways, Robinson lent her trumpet skills to bassist Larry Graham's Graham Central Station, and would go on to perform with The Family Stone along with her daughter, Sylvette Phunne Stone. She, and the rest of Sly's group, became an inductee in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.
Robinson was born in Sacramento, California in 1946 and played in her school marching band. It was then that she met Stone, only to once again cross paths with him in Oakland while he was a radio DJ. From there, the rest is Funk history. There's not a hip-hop head, soul junkie or even modern pop-lover who hasn't in some way benefitted from her musical prowess. She'll be very deeply missed. Her loved ones have set up a foundation in her memory, and you can donate to the Cynthia Robinson Cancer Care Fund today.
