FUNK LEGEND SLY Stone has gone from living in a mansion to making his home in a van.
The New York Post reports that Stone, who headed the group Sly & The Family Stone, is homeless having lost his money through “financial mismanagement”, drug abuse and “excess”.
He now lives in a campervan in Crenshaw, Los Angeles, and showers at a neighbour’s house.
San Francisco’s Sly & The Family Stone were a soul and funk band, famous for songs like Family Affair and Dance to the Music as well as their mixed-race and mixed-gender line up.
But the group broke up in 1975 amid rumours of drug abuse and violence, and Stone went on to be arrested for cocaine possession in the 1980s.
Although he later lived in mansions and had a flashy lifestyle, Stone’s funds rapidly diminished.
Last year, Stone sued his former manager, Jerry Goldstein, for $50 million amid allegations of fraud and stolen royalty payments. In 2007, he moved out of his home in Napa Valley and by 2009 he had moved into his van.
But it hasn’t quelled his creativity – he told the New York Post that he’s still making music, and has recorded hundreds of new tracks in his van.
