Cynthia Robinson Dies

Robinson joined Stone’s band in 1966 in an era when being a female, African-American trumpet player in a major band was an achievement, NPR noted. 

It’s her voice that urges fans to “Dance to the Music” and her horn heard in hits like “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin).” After the band broke up in the late 1970s partly due to Stone’s drug abuse, Robinson and bandmates including saxophonist Jerry Martini continued to play together as The Family Stone.

Robinson also played with such artists as Prince and George Clinton’s Funkadelic. Sly & The Family Stone were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.