Rose Stone (born Rosemary Stewart, March 21, 1945) is an American singer and keyboardist. She is best known as one of the lead singers in Sly and the Family Stone, a popular psychedelic soul/

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

band founded by her brothers, Sly Stone and Freddie Stone. She often wore a platinum-colored wig while performing with the band, and was noted for her strong

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 as a member of Sly and the Family Stone. After the band's dissolution in 1975, "Sister Rose" (as she was also known) married Sly Stone's former manager/co-producer, Bubba Banks. She later recorded a solo album on

Motown Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmant ...

, billed as Rose Banks. During the 1980s and 1990s, Stone worked as a backing session singer, appearing on recordings by

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon ...

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

Reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...

and

Bobbysocks! Bobbysocks is a Norwegian pop duo consisting of Norwegian Hanne Krogh and Swedish-Norwegian Elisabeth Andreassen. They won the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 with the song "La det swinge" ("Let it swing"). Elisabeth went by the surname Andreasson ...

. Stone is today part of the musical department at her brother Freddie's church. She returned to her gospel roots in 1983 when she sang on

Sandra Crouch Sandra Crouch (born July 1, 1942) is an American gospel music performer, drummer and songwriter. Musical career Crouch won a Grammy Award in 1984 for "Best Soul Gospel Performance, Female" for the 1983 album, "We Sing Praises," and was nominate ...

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

-winning album ''We Sing Praises'', soloing on the old hymn "Power in the Blood". She has been associated with the Crouch family and the music department of Christ Memorial COGIC in California for many years. She also sang backing vocals on the gospel-influenced tracks "You R Loved" and "Get Away" from Victoria Williams' 1994 album '' Loose''. Also in 1994, she sang backing vocals on two songs on psychedelic rock band

's fifth album '' Hoist''. She also appears on

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

' album ''

Escapology Escapology is the practice of escaping from restraints or other traps. Escapologists (also classified as escape artists) escape from handcuffs, straitjackets, cages, coffins, steel boxes, barrels, bags, burning buildings, fish-tanks, and ot ...

'' on the track "Revolution", a

duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...

with Williams. She is the featured soloist in the church choir in the movie '' The Ladykillers''. She is heard also in the music in the final credits. Her daughter, Lisa Stone, sang with

Vet Stone Vet Stone (born Vaetta Stewart; May 2, 1950, Vallejo, California) is an American soul singer. She is the sister of Sly Stone, Rose Stone, and Freddie Stone Freddie Stone (born Frederick Jerome Stewart, June 5, 1947) is an American pastor an ...

and Cynthia Robinson in a Sly & the Family Stone tribute band. In 2006, Stone reunited with the original Family Stone. In 2011 and 2012, Stone and her daughter Lisa toured with

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

as members of his vocal backing group. Stone appears briefly in a deleted scene "Judith's Youth" on the DVD of the movie ''

20 Feet from Stardom ''20 Feet from Stardom'' is a 2013 American documentary film directed by documentary filmmaker Morgan Neville and produced by Gil Friesen, a music industry executive whose curiosity to know more about the lives of background singers inspired the ...

''.

Discography

Albums * ''Rose'' (1976) * ''Already Motivated'' (2008)

References

1945 births Living people African-American women singers American funk singers American gospel singers Motown artists Sly and the Family Stone members American soul singers Musicians from Vallejo, California Singers from California 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers Members of the Church of God in Christ African-American Christians American soul keyboardists American rhythm and blues keyboardists American funk keyboardists Rhythm and blues pianists 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers Elton John Band members 20th-century women pianists 21st-century women pianists {{US-singer-stub