John Stewart dies

[The Rez]

A friend changed skies this early morn'

John Stewart has gone home . . .

1939 - 2008

The small hyphen between the years made a difference in people.

The opening and closing dates of the curtain's
rise and fall only define his time with The Music

The Music shall have no end . . .

Rez

[Dream Street Rose]

Hi Rex,

I am sorry to hear about John. I know his passing has touched you in a special way that most of us can not relate to. Just remember, He has not gone, Just gone on ahead.

Send me a PM later if you want to.

DSR

[RM]

The news of Dan Fogelberg's passing felt like a body blow.........this news is a dart straight to the heart.

I guess it was time to use his "Ticket to the Stars".

[Jesse Joe]

Sad to hear this, very well said RM... Thanks for the info Rez.

[talbot10]

Originally Posted by The Rez

A friend changed skies this early morn'

John Stewart has gone home . . .

1939 - 2008

The small hypen between the years made a difference in people.

The opening and closing dates of the curtain's
rise and fall only define the time of The Music

The Music shall have no end . . .

Rez

Very beautifully said Rez. I am so sorry to hear of John's passing.
I can hear the beautiful sound of "California bloodlines" dancing
in my head.
Bill

[brink-]

I feel the same way Ron. Such a loss again.

[Yuri]

Bloodlines - The music no longer flows....
Very sad indeed.
Yuri

[Don Quixote]

Looks like we've lost another good one...I had no idea that he wrote "Daydream Believer" for the Monkees.
We'll say another prayer for him, Rez, and one for you.
Best,
DQ

[fezo]

I am so sorry to hear this. I had just gotten notice that he was coming out this way and was eager to see him again. Sadly it was not meant to be.

I have just this minute gotten the news. I've got to collect my thoughts a while and will be back in.

A very sad day.

[The Rez]

Bless Your Hearts All,

Like y'all - I can't imagine *not* being touched by The Music.

Like the soldier carrying The Flag in battle - who falls -
another grabs hold of The Precious before it hits the ground.

So it is with The Music . . . The Blessed Music . . .

DSR was kind to turn me toward John's website:
http://www.chillywinds.com/

There you'll read an account by Tom De Lisle
one of John's deepest friends.

Blessings,

Rex

[charlene]

After reading this yesterday Rez I went to his website (as I didn't know his music) to read about him..A sad loss indeed..

[fezo]

Oh, do yourself a favor and check some of his music out. California Bloodlines is the place to start. After that there are maybe 40 choices!

A singular talent. There will never be another.

[ELizabeth]

In losing John Stewart we have lost a poet and so much more. My heart aches to know I will not see him this summer at McCabes. I had hoped for just one more performance. Be well in the arms of God Angel Bravo...you and your music will be sorely missed.

[Jesse Joe]

In this video to me anyway, there is a "Lightfoot" style { presence on stage} entertainer.

YouTube - John Stewart

[ELizabeth]

Absolutely Lightfootesque Jesse Joe. For me the two men had a great deal in comon musically and lyrically.

[Winter's Claw]

I'm shocked and saddened. He and Gordon are my two favorite singer-songwriters. I encourage all you Lightfoot fans who haven't heard Stewart yet to start listening. I think he's in the same league as Gord, definitely. Great lyrics, great melodies, great sounding records, great story-telling. R.I.P.

[Jesse Joe]

Well I must admit Winter's Claw that I for one am not too familiar with his music, and I feel Ive missed something special. Sure like his style on that video 3 post up. Will definitely start listening to his music more. But now he's gone...

[Jesse Joe]

Originally Posted by ELizabeth

Absolutely Lightfootesque Jesse Joe. For me the two men had a great deal in comon musically and lyrically.

Happy to read your post Elizabeth, knowing that Im not alone with this Lightfootesque.

[Borderstone]

Sorry I haven't been around folks. Work,as well as slow library PC's have kept me away from the site. I heard of John Stewart's passing on IMDB . Yet another great musician from a great era is gone.

I only really of him through his hits "Gold" and "Midnight Wind". Only later did I find out about his association with The Kingston Trio. Certainly an unforgettable voice too.

[Yuri]

TheStar.com - Obituary - John Stewart, 68: Wrote 'Daydream Believer'
January 21, 2008
JOHN ROGERS
The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES – John Stewart recorded some of pop music's most acclaimed solo albums, helping create a style that came to be called Americana, but he was always best known for writing the Monkees' enduring hit "Daydream Believer.''

Stewart, who came to prominence in the 1960s as a member of folk music's Kingston Trio, died Saturday at a San Diego hospital after suffering a brain aneurism. He was 68.

"He was a lovely man and a very gentle soul and I guess the only thing you can say today is that the world is less one great songwriter," the Monkees' Micky Dolenz told The Associated Press on Sunday.

Stewart left the Kingston Trio shortly before the Monkees released "Daydream Believer" in 1967, then went on to record nearly four dozen solo albums, including the critically acclaimed ``California Bloodlines" and "Bombs Away Dream Babies." The latter included the hit single "Gold," in which he dueted with Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks.

Still, as with "Daydream Believer," he was likely best known for writing songs for others, including Joan Baez, Nanci Griffith, Roseanne Cash and Anne Murray.

"He was a cult hero, he never made it super huge," said his manager, Dean Swett. "He was one of those outlaw rebels, one of the people who refused to conform to what the record labels expected him to be.''

A husky-voiced singer and accomplished guitarist who delivered his lyrics in a poignant, often longing voice, his music was hard to classify. It fell somewhere between rock, country and folk and eventually came to be called Americana.

He wrote "Runaway Train," a country hit for Roseanne Cash, and ``Strange Rivers," which Joan Baez included on her 1992 "Play Me Backwards" album. Nanci Griffith dueted with him on "Sweet Dreams" and Murray, like the Monkees before her, had a hit with ``Daydream Believer.''

"There are certain songs that you just go in humming. It was one of those," Dolenz said of "Daydream Believer," which also was Stewart's best-known recording. Although he sang background to Davy Jones' lead on the Monkees' version, Dolenz performs the song himself at his solo shows.

"To this day it is one of the biggest songs that I do in concert," he said.

Stewart joined the Kingston Trio in 1961, replacing Dave Guard in the group that had helped usher in an American folk music revival in the late 1950s.

"John truly was the right fit. A first rate entertainer and gifted songwriter," the group said in a statement on its Web site.

He recorded more than a dozen albums with the trio before going on to a solo career in 1967. A year later he released "California Bloodlines," which included the minor hit "July You're a Woman.'' ``Bombs Away Dream Babies" came out in 1979.

He eventually recorded more than 40 solo albums. Others included ``The Lonesome Picker Rides Again, "Airdream Believer" and ``Rough Sketches," the latter a collection of songs about the iconic American highway "Route 66.''

Stewart was said to be at work on still another album at the time of his death.

Stewart's wife, Buffy, and children were at his side when he died, according to a statement on the Kingston Trio's Web site. There was no immediate word on funeral arrangements.

[imported_Next_Saturday]

John Stewart, who came to prominence in the 1960s as a member of folk music's Kingston Trio, died Jan. 19 in San Diego, Calif. after suffering a brain aneurism. He was 68.
He recorded some of pop music's most acclaimed solo albums, helping in the process to create a style that came to be called Americana. Still, throughout his career John Stewart would always remain best known as the man who wrote the Monkees' most enduring hit, "Daydream Believer."

Stewart, who left the Kingston Trio shortly before the Monkees released "Daydream Believer" in 1967, went on to record nearly four dozen solo albums, including the critically acclaimed "California Bloodlines" and "Bombs Away Dream Babies." The latter included the hit single "Gold," in which he dueted with Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks.

But, as with "Daydream Believer," he was likely best known for writing songs for others, including Joan Baez, Nanci Griffith, Roseanne Cash and Anne Murray.

"He was a cult hero, he never made it super huge," said his manager, Dean Swett. "He was one of those outlaw rebels, one of the people who refused to conform to what the record labels expected him to be."

A husky-voiced singer and accomplished guitarist who delivered his lyrics in a poignant, often longing voice, Stewart's music was hard to classify. It fell somewhere between rock, country and folk and eventually came to be called Americana.

He wrote "Runaway Train," a country hit for Roseanne Cash, and "Strange Rivers," which Joan Baez included on her 1992 "Play Me Backwards" album. Nanci Griffith dueted with him on "Sweet Dreams" and Murray, like the Monkees before her, had a hit with "Daydream Believer."

Stewart joined the Kingston Trio in 1961, replacing Dave Guard in the group that had helped usher in an American folk music revival in the late 1950s.

He recorded more than a dozen albums with the trio before going on to a solo career in 1967. A year later he released "California Bloodlines," which included the minor hit "July You're a Woman." "Bombs Away Dream Babies" came out in 1979.

He would eventually record more than 40 solo albums. Others included "The Lonesome Picker Rides Again, "Airdream Believer" and "Rough Sketches," the latter a collection of songs about the iconic American highway "Route 66." He was said to be at work on still another album at the time of his death.

Stewart's wife, Buffy, and children were at his side when he died, according to a statement posted on the Kingston Trio's Web site.

[The Rez]

May I please tell a wee tale John on occasion shared concerning Daydream Believer:

When John wrote Daydream Believer, his line was:

"Now you know how *funky* I can be" [John's Own Recording]

NOT . . . REPEAT *NOT*

"Now you know how *happy* I can be" [ala The Monkees & Anne Murray]

Anne is quoted as saying, "Only the songwriter knows what this song really means"
That's because *happy* just don't work! Plug in *funky* and the song's focus
becomes a rather *earthy* piece as intended. *Happy* makes the song nonsense.

Screen Gems told John that Davey Jones would not be allowed to sing *funky*
The word must change to *happy*. John explained the lyric importance of *funky*

Screen Gems told John The Monkees simply would not record Daydream Believer unless Davey sang *happy* Davey Jones [at least on TV] was *happy*
Davey Jones, said Screen Gems, was not to be *funky*

John said, "Happy works for me . . . !"

Rez

PS:

Some 20yrs ago, in Toluca Lake, I had the opportunity to tell Anne face-to-face
about the original lyric. Her reaction proved to me that she could very well have
pulled off *funky* Brava!

I suspicion her new "Duets" album version will be, nonetheless, *happy*

[Rob1956]

I got to know a lot about John and his music due to longtime Chicago radio personality Steve Dahl being a big fan. Steve had John on his show several times and played a great deal of his music over the last 30 years. Very sad news.

[Paul Farnham]

This is very sad news. I've been a fan of his since I first heard "The Phoenix Concert" album in the early 70's. "July You're A Woman" remains on my set list still.

[charlene]

Originally Posted by The Rez

Some 20yrs ago, in Toluca Lake, I had the opportunity to tell Anne face-to-face
about the original lyric. Her reaction proved to me that she could very well have
pulled off *funky* Brava!

I suspicion her new "Duets" album version will be, nonetheless, *happy*

Great story! - Funky - yep - life can be funky..no doubt 'bout it..

LOL - Yes, Anne can be an earthy, down to basics gal!!..When she started out she didn't want to wear shoes onstage..and despite others trying to get her to put on shoes she did what she wanted. And then along came k.d.Lang in bare feet- and she's certainly one who sets her own rules.
the Duets album has some great stuff. Anne has bolstered many a career (besides her own) with her singing..