Here's a fitting
tribute, written by my friend, Dave Hinckley, in yesterday's N.Y. Daily
News:
R.I.P. JOHN STEWART: John Stewart, who died Saturday at
the age of 68, was best known for his seven years with the Kingston Trio
and maybe for writing the Monkees' hit "Daydream Believer."
But
that was only a part of what he accomplished over a 50-year career that
included one of the great songs of modern country music, "Runaway
Train," and some 40 albums.
Stewart was an "Americana"
performer, one of the pioneers in a style that has carved a life almost
totally apart from the traditional "music business."
Like
Emmylou Harris, Joe Ely, Lucinda Williams, Tom Russell, John Prine and
others, Stewart doesn't show up much on mainstream commercial radio.
You can find him on college radio, the Internet, satellite or
WFUV (90.7 FM), playing a mix of folk, country, blues, pop and gospel
with a little jazz or Island lilt.
Stewart often wrote about
history and American ideals, putting complex ideas into compelling songs
with basic, solid rhythms. Maybe his most famous work in that style was
"California Bloodlines."
But he was neither ponderous nor
preachy. He said a few years ago that he loved the lighthearted pop
goofiness of "Daydream Believer." He also loved that its success freed
him to write all his other songs with fewer money worries.
He
hit the charts several times with the Kingston Trio, a group he said he
loved, and once as a solo, with 1979's "Gold." His last pop success was
"Runaway Train," which he sang himself and then went to No. 1 for
Rosanne Cash in 1988.
If he never reached his early daydream of
becoming the next Elvis, John Stewart left a body of work that makes any
music fan believe.
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on 1/22/2008, 6:39 pm
