SAN JOSE, Calif. — Sly Stone — who ranks among the most important American musicians of all time– died Monday in Los Angeles.

He was 82.

The Woodstock veteran, who had reportedly been in poor health over the last few days, died “surrounded by family after contending with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other ailments,” Stone’s publicist Carleen Donovan told the Associated Press.

Stone (whose real name was Sylvester Stewart) will be remembered as the magnetic front man of the Bay Area-based Sly and the Family Stone, the funk-rock-soul act that changed the face of popular music with such pioneering albums as “Dance to the Music” and “Stand!” in the late ’60s and early ’70s.

The group’s “psychedelic soul” music, brilliantly captured on such top 10 hits as “Everyday People” (1968) and “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” mesmerized legions of listeners and inspired countless musicians who would try to follow in Stone’s footprints.

It’s easy to point out such fellow Rock & Roll Hall of Fame acts as George Clinton, Michael Jackson and, especially, Prince — as well as more contemporary artists like Bruno Mars and Beyonce — as being directly influenced by Stone’s work. Yet, the visionary singer-songwriter’s impact was so great and far-reaching that it would be hard to find any soul-funk acts of the last half-century who don’t owe a debt of gratitude to Sly Stone.

In that regard, Stone had every bit as great an influence — if not greater — than any Bay Area act you want to mention, from the Grateful Dead to Metallica to Green Day.

Born in Denton, Texas on March 15, 1943, Stone would later move with his family to Vallejo. His parents were deeply religious, and Stone grew up going to church, where he’d become familiar with the gospel music genre that would so deeply factor into Sly and the Family Stone sound.

At an early age, he’d form the family gospel band alongside his sisters Rose and Loretta and his brother Freddie, and the descriptively dubbed Stewart Four would release the 78 rpm gospel music single “On the Battlefield” with “Walking in Jesus’ Name” on the flipside.

A musical prodigy, who had mastered several different instruments by the time he was a teen, Stone performed in a number of bands in high school and college. He’d also work as DJ at KSOL radio station in San Francisco and do sideman work, on keyboards, for acts such as Marin Gaye, Dionne Warwick and the Ronettes.

He’d then form Sly and the Family Stone, which would quickly garner a healthy following in the Bay Area and catch the attention of the mighty Epic/CBS record label.

The group released its first full-length, “A Whole New Thing,” on Epic in 1967 — and very few people noticed. Yet, it was a different story for the follow-up, 1968’s “Dance to the Music,” which raced into the top 20 on the R&B charts thanks to the popularity of the title track (which was a top 10 hit on the pop charts and ended up achieving gold status).

The group hit its peak of popularity at the end of the ’60 and early ’70s — in part due to a very well-received performance at the legendary Woodstock Festival in 1969. The result was four consecutive top 20 albums on the pop charts — “Stand!,” “There’s a Riot Goin’ On” (which hit No. 1), “Fresh” and “Small Talk.

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