John Coburn Stewart (September 5, 1939 – January 19, 2008) was an American songwriter and singer. He is known for his contributions to the American folk music movement of the 1960s while with The Kingston Trio (1961–1967) and as popular music songwriter of The Monkees' #1 hit "Daydream Believer" and his own #5 hit "Gold", among several hundred original songs composed over a career of more than 40 years.Born in San Diego, California, Stewart was the son of horse trainer John S. Stewart and spent his childhood and adolescence growing up in southern California, living mostly in the cities of Pasadena and Claremont with his parents. He graduated in 1957 from Pomona Catholic High School, which at the time was a coeducational school.[1] He demonstrated an early talent for music, learning the guitar and banjo. He composed his first song, "Shrunken Head Boogie," when he was ten years old. In an interview in Michael Oberman's Music makers column (The Washington, DC Star Newspaper) on Oct. 30, 1971, Stewart said, "I bought a ukelele when I was in Pasadena. I would listen to Sons of the Pioneers records. Tex Ritter really turned me on to music. 'I Love My Rooster' was Top Ten as far as I was concerned."
Musical career
Stewart's first venture into popular music was with a high school garage band known as Johnny Stewart and the Furies. Influenced by the reigning icons of the day, Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly, the Furies toured southern California colleges and coffee houses, releasing one single, "Rockin' Anna," which was a minor, regional hit.
Following the breakup of the Furies and a short time as a member of The Woodsmen, Stewart teamed up with Gil Robbins (father of actor Tim Robbins) and John Montgomery to form The Cumberland Three, a group patterned after and heavily-influenced by the increasingly popular Kingston Trio. The major accomplishment of The Cumberland Three was a two LP album set of Songs from the Civil War, with each album containing a compilation of songs from the Confederacy and the Union, respectively. In all, the Cumberland Three released three albums, after which Stewart left the group to join the Kingston Trio, replacing Trio founder Dave Guard, in 1961.
Kingston Trio years
The Kingston Trio had emerged from the relatively crowded San Francisco folk music culture in 1957, using a mixture of calypso, pop, and folk styles, along with several forms of comedy, in their act. Relying on new pop-oriented arrangements of folk music classics as well as some original compositions, the Trio earned their first gold record with "Tom Dooley", and thereby launched a major revival in folk music that would lead to and influence the careers of Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul, & Mary, and John Denver, among others. The group had become one of the best-known and best-selling acts on the folk music scene, and were enjoying a lucrative recording and touring contract with Capitol Records, having ten albums under their collective belts, when Dave Guard departed the group in 1961 to explore other musical directions. Stewart was selected by the remaining members Nick Reynolds and Bob Shane as Guard's successor, bringing with him his respected skills as a musician, composer, and performer.
Reynolds, Shane, and Stewart would record a dozen albums together, taking the music of the Trio into new directions, including more original material, and performing covers of songs by relative newcomers Tom Paxton, Mason Williams and Gordon Lightfoot.
The pop-folk era began to wane as the music of groups such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones increasingly dominated the charts, and in 1967 the members of the Kingston Trio decided to disband.
Solo career, the post-Trio years
Stewart continued to write songs and record for Capitol, while touring as a solo act. It was during this time that he composed the hit "Daydream Believer" for The Monkees, a hit for Anne Murray as well, and the closest Stewart came to writing a "standard". He later toured with Robert F. Kennedy's ill-fated 1968 presidential campaign and met and married fellow folk singer Buffy Ford (with whom he remained until his death), and began recording a string of albums. These include his signature album, California Bloodlines, as well as Willard, Cannons In The Rain, and Wingless Angels [2].
Though usually successful with critics and a core group of fans, Stewart's albums were not considered commercial successes. He left Capitol after only two solo releases and was signed by Warner Bros. Records, where he also recorded just two albums before moving on to RCA Records. There he recorded three LPs (including a live performance album, The Phoenix Concerts). Stewart followed his release from RCA with a contract at the Robert Stigwood organization, the same organization that serviced the recording contracts for Eric Clapton, the Bee Gees, as well as several other disco performers. It was at RSO Records that Stewart enjoyed his most commercially successful years as a solo artist. Teaming with Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham (of Buckingham Nicks and, later, Fleetwood Mac), Stewart recorded and released Bombs Away Dream Babies, which included the #5 hit, "Gold," in 1979. Two other tracks from the album, "Midnight Wind" and "Lost Her in the Sun", would also hit the Top 40. The follow-up album, Dream Babies Go Hollywood, proved to be a commercial disappointment, and shortly thereafter Stewart dropped from the pop charts, though he continued to perform right up to the time of his death.
Later years
Stewart's later and most significant success was as a songwriter. Several of his songs were recorded by a number of popular acts, including Nanci Griffith ("Sweet Dreams Will Come"), Rosanne Cash ("Runaway Train", "Dance with the Tiger"), Joan Baez ("Strange Rivers"). He also continued to record new material, producing CDs on his own "Neon Dreams" label in between commercial releases. They usually coincided with one of his tours. His last album was The Day the River Sang in 2006.
Over his last years, Stewart teamed up with former Kingston Trio member Nick Reynolds to offer fans the ultimate Trio Fantasy: performing for and with Stewart and Reynolds. In 2005 and 2006 Bob Shane attended and performed a few songs with Stewart and Reynolds at the Trio Fantasy Camp, which is held annually in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Personal life
Stewart had a passion for painting, doing art shows and covers for his recordings and books. He continued to be a prolific songwriter and toured the United States and Europe regularly. He resided in California with his wife, Buffy Ford Stewart. Stewart's brother Mike, who died in 2002, founded the folk-rock group We Five in the mid 1960s.
Death
According to a close friend, Stewart suffered a massive stroke or brain aneurysm late January 18, 2008 and died January 19, 2008 at a San Diego hospital,[2] ten days before a scheduled performance in Scottsdale, Arizona.[3] He was 68 years old.
Discography The Cumberland Three
* Folk Scene U.S.A., 1960 * Civil War Almanac - "Yankees" Vol. 1, 1960 * Civil War Almanac - "Rebels" Vol. 2, 1960
The Kingston Trio
...The remaining Trio partners settled quickly on John Stewart, a 21-year-old member of the Cumberland Three, one of the myriad of groups that sprang up hoping to imitate the Kingston Trio's success. Stewart was already well-acquainted with Reynolds and Shane, having sold two of his early songwriting efforts to the Trio, and he was a proficient guitarist, banjoist, and singer who seemed to the partners to be perfectly positioned to replace Guard.[25] Stewart began rehearsing and recording with the group nearly immediately, commencing public appearances with the Trio in September 1961.
According to Shane, "We did nearly as well with John as we did with Dave."[44] Six of the group's next seven albums between 1961 and 1963 continued to place in Billboard's Top Ten and several of the group's most successful singles, including "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" and "Greenback Dollar", charted as well.[45]
...1967-Stewart commenced a long and distinguished career as a singer-songwriter, composing hit songs like "Daydream Believer" for The Monkees and "Runaway Train" for Rosanne Cash. He recorded more than 40 albums of his own, most notably the landmark California Bloodlines, and found chart success in the top forty with "Midnight Wind", "Lost Her in the Sun", and "Gold", the latter reaching number 5 in 1979.
Solo
* Signals Through the Glass, John Stewart and Buffy Ford, 1968 * California Bloodlines, 1969 * Willard, 1970 * The Lonesome Picker Rides Again, 1971 * Sunstorm, 1972 * Cannons In The Rain, 1973 * The Phoenix Concerts, 1974 * Wingless Angels, 1975[4] * Fire In The Wind, 1977 * Bombs Away Dream Babies, 1979 * John Stewart In Concert, 1980 * Forgotten Songs Of Some Old Yesterday, 1980 * Dream Babies Go Hollywood, 1980 * Blondes, 1982 * Revenge Of The Budgie, John Stewart and Nick Reynolds, 1983 * Trancas, 1984 * Centennial, 1984 * The Last Campaign, 1985 * Punch the Big Guy, 1987 * Deep In The Neon, 1991 * American Sketches, 1991 * Neon Beach, 1991 * Bullets In The Hour Glass, 1992 * American Originals, 1992 * Chilly Winds, 1993 * Airdream Believer, 1995 * Bandera, 1995 * Turning Music Into Gold - The Best of John Stewart, 1995 * American Journey, 1996 * Live at The Turf Inn, Scotland, John Stewart and Buffy Ford, 1996 * Rough Sketches, 1997 * Teresa and The Lost Songs, 1998 * One Night In Denver, 1998 * Gold, 1999 * John Stewart & Darwins Army, 1999 * Rocket Roy In The Real World, 1999 * Way too much fun, 2000 * Buster, 2000 * Wires From The Bunker, 2000 * Savannah, 2000 * Johnny Moonlight, 2000 * Front Row Music: Before The War, 2001 * Armstrong, 2001 * The Americans, 2002 * A Night At Jimmy Duke's - Johnny and The Nasty Britches, 2002 * The Runner, 2002 * Secret Tapes, 2002 * Ballads, 2003 * Havana, 2003 * Tanforan, 2003 * Earth Rider, 2003 * Songs To Drive By, 2003 * The Complete Blondes, 2003 * The Day The River Sang, 2006 * Bite My Foot, 2009 * The Amazing ZigZag Concert (2010) Road Goes on Forever (RGF/ZZBOX1974) Disc 3 of 5 CD Box set, recorded in April 1974
Such a wonderful artist....I could listen to Stewart forever...rest in peace.
