Gary Stewart BIO
The King of the Honky-Tonks ... that was a very large pair of boots to fill. If you've followed Gary Stewart's music for the past 50 years, you'll know that those boots were slap full. Born in Kentucky and residing in Florida from the age of 12 until his passing, he spent most of his last 20 years as a mainstay of Texas music. Not meaning that he didn't have fans from Tokyo to Stockholm and further.
Gary certainly paid his dues. In his teens and on the road, Gary toured with a rock band called the Imps. Returning to his adopted home of Fort Pierce, Florida, he began playing at the Wagon Wheel in Okeechobee. Now speaking of honky-tonkin', the Wagon Wheel was as much fun as you could have on a Saturday night anywhere within a hundred miles. There he met stars like the Wilburn Brothers, Red Savine, and Mel Tillis. It was Mel that told Gary that if he was going to make it in the music business, he needed to write songs and take them to Nashville.
A few trips to Nashville later and "Sweet Thing and Cisco" by Nat Stuckey hit the top of the charts, Gary left his daytime job at an airplane factory and with his partner Bill Eldridge moved to Nashville and into fulltime songwriting positions. Soon they had songs on the charts by many of the top country artist of the day. All this was good fun and Gary was interacting with artists, pickers, and producers that either were or would become legends in the world of country music.
About that time, Gary first heard the Allman Brothers Band and with that all of his priorities changed. He had long wanted to return to the intimacy of the honky-tonk world and he had new ideas about the music that he wanted to play upon to his return to it. Before leaving Nashville and heading back to Florida, he recorded a few demos of some Motown songs that were later heard by Roy Dea, a well known Nashville producer that was just beginning an affiliation with RCA Records.
Before you know it, Roy had Gary talked into returning to Nashville and signing with RCA. The string of hits that followed includes "Drinkin' Thing", "Out of Hand", "She's Actin' Single I'm Drinkin' Doubles", and "Quits. Also songs that helped bridge the gap between country and rock such as "Steppin Out" and a cover of the Allman Brothers hit "Ramblin' Man". With a voice and style that was the most distinctive in country music, he was suddenly RCA's hottest property. His RCA album releases included Out of Hand, Steppin' Out, Your Place or Mine, Little Junior, Gary, and Cactus and a Rose.
As the RCA era had opened, he was on the concert tour with Charlie Pride as his piano player and opening act. Gary still longed to return to the place where he felt real music was played, the honky-tonks and soon was touring with his own band again. Most feel this was the beginning of his downfall with RCA as they couldn't promote him without his making concert appearances. Still, Gary knew what he wanted out of his music and that remained his first priority.
The 1980's came and Gary made his final two albums for RCA in partnership with Dean Dillon. Gary and Dean also had a hit with "Brotherly Love", the title song from one of their two albums together. Together they also wrote "An Empty Glass", one of Gary's most requested songs.
In 1988 Gary resumed his album-making career with Brand New, the album that would contain "An Empty Glass" and "Brand New Whiskey". With this release, he began a string of three CDs for the Hightone Record label, the last one near the end of 1993.
Gary continued to hold court in honky-tonks and dance halls all over Texas until his passing. His loyal subjects couldn't seem to get enough of him. With at least five generations of fans hooked on Gary's music, it becomes clear that his timeless tunes will stand next to those of Hank Williams Sr. and will be enjoyed for many years to come.
His producer and longtime friend Roy Dea summed it up when he said, "I never knew anybody who blew me away like Gary, an' I seen Elvis, Hank Williams, all of 'em." He continued, "You get hooked on Stewart--he's like a damned drug."
Gary truly remains the King of the Honky-Tonks and Ruler of the Ju kin' World.
- Shannon Stewart, Daughter
- Tommy Schwartz, Best Friend
Gary certainly paid his dues. In his teens and on the road, Gary toured with a rock band called the Imps. Returning to his adopted home of Fort Pierce, Florida, he began playing at the Wagon Wheel in Okeechobee. Now speaking of honky-tonkin', the Wagon Wheel was as much fun as you could have on a Saturday night anywhere within a hundred miles. There he met stars like the Wilburn Brothers, Red Savine, and Mel Tillis. It was Mel that told Gary that if he was going to make it in the music business, he needed to write songs and take them to Nashville.
A few trips to Nashville later and "Sweet Thing and Cisco" by Nat Stuckey hit the top of the charts, Gary left his daytime job at an airplane factory and with his partner Bill Eldridge moved to Nashville and into fulltime songwriting positions. Soon they had songs on the charts by many of the top country artist of the day. All this was good fun and Gary was interacting with artists, pickers, and producers that either were or would become legends in the world of country music.
About that time, Gary first heard the Allman Brothers Band and with that all of his priorities changed. He had long wanted to return to the intimacy of the honky-tonk world and he had new ideas about the music that he wanted to play upon to his return to it. Before leaving Nashville and heading back to Florida, he recorded a few demos of some Motown songs that were later heard by Roy Dea, a well known Nashville producer that was just beginning an affiliation with RCA Records.
Before you know it, Roy had Gary talked into returning to Nashville and signing with RCA. The string of hits that followed includes "Drinkin' Thing", "Out of Hand", "She's Actin' Single I'm Drinkin' Doubles", and "Quits. Also songs that helped bridge the gap between country and rock such as "Steppin Out" and a cover of the Allman Brothers hit "Ramblin' Man". With a voice and style that was the most distinctive in country music, he was suddenly RCA's hottest property. His RCA album releases included Out of Hand, Steppin' Out, Your Place or Mine, Little Junior, Gary, and Cactus and a Rose.
As the RCA era had opened, he was on the concert tour with Charlie Pride as his piano player and opening act. Gary still longed to return to the place where he felt real music was played, the honky-tonks and soon was touring with his own band again. Most feel this was the beginning of his downfall with RCA as they couldn't promote him without his making concert appearances. Still, Gary knew what he wanted out of his music and that remained his first priority.
The 1980's came and Gary made his final two albums for RCA in partnership with Dean Dillon. Gary and Dean also had a hit with "Brotherly Love", the title song from one of their two albums together. Together they also wrote "An Empty Glass", one of Gary's most requested songs.
In 1988 Gary resumed his album-making career with Brand New, the album that would contain "An Empty Glass" and "Brand New Whiskey". With this release, he began a string of three CDs for the Hightone Record label, the last one near the end of 1993.
Gary continued to hold court in honky-tonks and dance halls all over Texas until his passing. His loyal subjects couldn't seem to get enough of him. With at least five generations of fans hooked on Gary's music, it becomes clear that his timeless tunes will stand next to those of Hank Williams Sr. and will be enjoyed for many years to come.
His producer and longtime friend Roy Dea summed it up when he said, "I never knew anybody who blew me away like Gary, an' I seen Elvis, Hank Williams, all of 'em." He continued, "You get hooked on Stewart--he's like a damned drug."
Gary truly remains the King of the Honky-Tonks and Ruler of the Ju kin' World.
All we're trying to do is keep the music alive. God knows he was ahead of his time.
- Shannon Stewart, Daughter
- Tommy Schwartz, Best Friend
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