Well, the bad news is it is Monday…the good news it is a Melody Monday! We both love music and hope you do too, it is a great way to get the ol’ blood flowing and the heart pumping to start out the workweek. The feature this week is Gary Stewart.
Gary Stewart was born in Jenkins, Kentucky back in 1944, the son of a coal miner and a housewife in Letcher County. In a story that has been all too common in coal country, Stewart’s father suffered a devastating injury that ended his career in the coal mines when Gary was just 15 years old. The family was forced to move and, unlike so many others who went north on the “Hillbilly Highway,” the Stewarts moved south to Florida, settling in Fort Pierce.
The musically talented Stewart began playing in both rock and country bands while in his teens, eventually encountering the great Mel Tillis, who e-e-e-e-encouraged (can’t help but reference Tillis’ famous stuttering) Gary to move to Nashville. He took the advice and headed to Music Row, where he met with some success as a songwriter but eventually retreated back to Florida after becoming disillusioned with the country music industry in 1970.
Gary Stewart suffered numerous setbacks and failures in the years following before finally getting a breakthrough with RCA Records in 1974 when his single “Drinkin’ Thing” slipped into the country Top 10 charts. His follow-up song “Out of Hand” went even higher to #4 on the chart to continue his momentum. He then hit #1 in 1975 with his smash (and my personal favorite) “She’s Actin’ Single (I’m Drinkin’ Doubles).” Here is the link to the song but be forewarned that the lyrics will reach into your chest and rip your heart out if you’re not careful and have been in a similar situation:
While never reaching those heights again, Stewart continued to successfully record and tour for the rest of the 1970s. He developed a cult following and was labeled a brilliant “honky tonk” singer but never really elevated beyond that status as he was slapped with the dreaded label of being “too rock for country, too country for rock.”
He teamed up with legendary songwriter Dean Dillon (who wrote so many great songs for George Strait) in the 1980s but soon began getting pulled in by his demons of alcoholism and drug addiction, which slowed his recording to a crawl. The death of his son Gary Joseph Stewart, lost to suicide, sent him further into a downward spiral.
He resumed touring in the late 1980s and recorded more albums in the 1990s but was never a major draw for the remainder of his career.
Gary Stewart returned to Letcher County on September 2, 1998 as the guest of honor for the Jenkins Days festival, and served as grand marshal for a parade through town. He was also present for the official dedication of the Letcher County portion of the Country Music Highway (U.S. 23), which is named in his honor. He ended the day by performing a free concert for a crowd of more than 5,000.
Gary Stewart’s wife of 42 years, Mary Lou, succumbed to pneumonia in November of 2003 and Gary Stewart’s will to live died with her. Having been married since he was 17, the distraught Stewart cancelled his scheduled performance at Billy Bob’s Texas before tragically ending his own life December 16, 2003, at the age of 59, less than a month following his wife’s demise.
Gary Stewart is still one of the most respected performers by fellow musicians and singers, even Bob Dylan is a big fan of his music. There’s no greater compliment than the respect of your peers. Gary Stewart accomplished a lot in his life, not a bad day’s work for the son of a coal miner – he did Appalachia proud and I hope he finally found the peace he sought.