What was Sly Stone's birth name?

Sly Stone’s birth name was Sylvester Stewart.

Born on March 15, 1943, in Denton, Texas, Stewart moved with his family to Vallejo, California, where he grew up in a religious and musical household. He and his siblings performed gospel music as children, and the family even recorded a local 78 rpm single in 1956.

Stewart adopted the stage name Sly Stone as his career developed. The nickname “Sly” reportedly began with a childhood misspelling of “Sylvester,” while “Stone” became the surname used by several members of his musical family. He later became the frontman of Sly and the Family Stone, blending soul, rock, gospel, psychedelia and funk.

The name can cause confusion because “Sly Stone” is both a stage identity and the name by which he is best known. It is not a separate birth name, and the “Stone” family name should not be mistaken for the name of the band itself. Sly and the Family Stone’s landmark recordings helped make funk a major force in late-1960s and 1970s popular music.