Rock and Roll Hall of Fame trumpeter Cynthia Robinson has died.
Robinson was a founding member of Sly and the Family Stone and played trumpet in the iconic funk band. She died on Monday aged 69 following a battle with cancer, Billboard reports.
Born in Sacramento, California, Robinson was one of the first female black trumpeters to gain notoriety in a major recording act. Robinson was a member of Sly Stone’s first band, The Stoners, in the mid-1960s. Later, she became a founding member of Sly and the Family Stone, with Robinson’s voice appearing on every album the band recorded from 1967’s A Whole New Thing to 1974’s Small Talk.
Following the band’s break-up in 1975, Robinson continued to work with Stone as well as bassist Larry Graham’s funk outfit, Graham Central Station. During her long and illustrious career, Robinson also played alongside George Clinton and Prince.
Robinson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside her Sly and the Family Stone colleagues in 1993, becoming the first first female and first African-American trumpet player to be inducted into the Hall.
Below, you can read a tribute to Robinson from The Roots’ Questlove.