Fans of the legendary Sly and the Family Stone band are reeling from news that original member and trumpeter Cynthia Robinson has died. Robinson had been battling cancer and kept fans aware of her journey combating the disease via social media.
Robinson was born on January 12, 1946. According to Robinson’s own account to Family Stone biographer Joel Selvin, she discovered a love of music as a teenager while listening to her mother’s records. Robinson said that she dreamed of backing some of her favorite music acts playing the trumpet.
The Sacramento, California native got her feet wet playing in backing bands for B.B. King, Lowell Fulsom and other related acts. As one of the first and only Black women playing the trumpet, Robinson naturally stood out and caught the attention of Sly Stone in 1966.
Initially she joined Stone’s Sly and the Stoners band but remained with the bandleader as the Family Stone band began to emerge. The Family Stone released their debut, A Whole New Thing, in 1967 but it wasn’t until 1969’s Stand! that the band started to ignite. This year, the album was considered for selection by the Library of Congress to be included in the National Recording Registry.
Little Known Black History Fact: Cynthia Robinson was originally published on blackamericaweb.com
