Stone, whose real name is Sylvester Stewart, was the frontman of the 1970s funk group Sly and The Family Stone.

He sued former manager Gerald Goldstein and several companies in Los Angeles, alleging they kept 20 years of royalty payments and leveraged Stone's work and rights to accumulate as much as $80 million in assets.

The complaint said Stone has been homeless at times and is dependent on Social Security. Goldstein paid Stone some money until 2007, when the payments stopped, the lawsuit states.

Stone depended on Goldstein to handle his financial affairs, the suit states.

"Some of these artists are being robbed of their intellectual property and the fruits of their genius by unscrupulous people who prey on their trusting nature and lack of business and legal knowledge," Stone's attorney Robert J. Allan wrote in a statement.

Scott Drake talks to Robert Allan