Riley "Grandma's Roadhouse" (Mo-Fok Records, 1970) (LP)
(Produced by Joe Mills)
Gary Stewart was a sideman for this obscuro hippie-soul/country-rock outing, playing in a small band led by singer Riley Watkins on lead guitar and vocals, along with Gary Stewart (harmonica, lead guitar, piano and vocals), Bill Eldridge (rhythm guitar), Jim Noveskey (bass) and Jim Snead on drums. This album was recorded in Nashville, but sure doesn't feel like it... It's fun stuff, with a rough-and-ready proto-Southern rock feel that Stewart's fans will recognize from his later records. Watkins is kind of iffy singer, but the music is still fun. Originally released as a vanity pressing, this has seen the light of day in the reissue renaissance of the post-millennial digital era. Worth checking out, particularly if you're a Gary Stewart fan. [Note: Stewart and Eldridge were also in a long-term songwriting partnership, with Gary Stewart midway through a 1968-73 run on Kapp Records, where he released a handful of non-charting country singles... See below.]
Gary Stewart "Out Of Hand" (RCA Victor, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Roy Dea, Bill Harris & Mike Shockley)
Gary Stewart "You're Not The Woman You Used To Be" (MCA Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Jerry Bradley, Owen Bradley & Walter Haynes)
Following the runaway success of Gary Stewart's RCA debut, the folks at MCA revisited their back catalog of his old stuff on Kapp and Decca Records, singles-only tracks which failed to chart and were probably mostly seen as songwriter's demos meant to attract the attention of established country stars. The result was this belated album, which collects tracks from 1968-73, almost all of which were co-written with his longtime songwriting partner Bill Eldridge, who was also in the band Riley. It's an uneven collection of material, reflecting the use of various producers spread out over several years, as well as a see-what-sticks attitude typical of the time. Still, the resurrection of these obscure tracks was a real boon for Stewart's fans, and some of the tracks are pretty striking. Not included was his 1971 Decca single, "She's The Next Best Thing"/"Something To Believe In," or any of the singles released under Eldridge's name, which were also co-written with Gary Stewart, songs such as "Birmingham," "I Need A Woman," "River Town" and "So Many Ways Of Saying She's Gone," all of which would probably fit well with any reissue disc of Stewart's early work.)
Charley Pride/Various Artists "In Concert With Host Charley Pride" (RCA, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Doug Nelson)
A double album with live performances by Nashville superstar Charley Pride and a passel of other artists in the mid-1970s RCA lineup, including stalwarts such as Dolly Parton and Jerry Reed, as well as newcomers like Ronnie Milsap and (surprisingly!) our man, Gary Stewart, whose "Out Of Hand" had just topped the charts that year (and was his only track on this album).
Gary Stewart "Steppin' Out" (RCA Victor, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Roy Dea)
Gary Stewart "Your Place Or Mine" (RCA Victor, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Roy Dea)
Gary Stewart "Little Junior" (RCA Victor, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Roy Dea, Bill Harris & Bill Vandevort)
Gary Stewart "Gary" (RCA Victor, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Roy Dea)
Gary Stewart "Cactus And A Rose" (RCA Victor, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Chips Moman)
Gary Stewart & Dean Dillon "Brotherly Love" (RCA Victor, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Eddie Kilroy)
Gary Stewart & Dean Dillon "Those Were The Days" (RCA Victor, 1983) (EP)
(Produced by Blake Mevis)
Gary Stewart "Brand New" (Hightone Records, 1988)
(Produced by Roy Dea)
After a few years in the wilderness, Gary Stewart found a new home at the Oakland-based Americana-and-blues indie, Hightone Records, which might not have had the same commercial reach as a major label, but they definitely "got" Stewart and fully supported his artistic vision. This back-to-basics honkytonk gem was made with longtime producer Roy Dea, and is mostly made up of Gary Stewart originals, including several co-written with his wife, Mary Lou Stewart, and a couple others with Dean Dillon. The title track off this album, "Brand New Whiskey," was also recorded by the top forty duo Brooks & Dunn a decade later, though not released as a single.
Gary Stewart "Battleground" (Hightone Records, 1990)
(Produced by Roy Dea & Bill Harris)
Gary Stewart "I'm A Texan" (Hightone Records, 1993)
(Produced by Roy Dea)
In the liner notes, the Kentucky-born, Florida-raised Stewart readily admits he's not really from the Lone Star State, but claims the right to call himself an honorary Texan, after all the greasy roadhouse bars he's played in... And who are we to argue? Likewise, the songwriters he chose aren't rigorously Texan either, with material ranging from rockabilly and R&B covers such as Dave Bartholomew's "One Night," Dan Penn's "Dark End Of The Street," and the driving twangtune "Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor," which was most famously recorded by Johnny Horton back in 1958. There are also tunes by folks such as Mickey Newbury and bluegrasser Alan O'Bryant, and three songs (including the title track) from the husband-wife duo of Wild Bill Emerson and Jody Emerson, who were known for providing a few neotrad hits to George Jones and others. There's only one song co-composed by Gary Stewart himself, "It's True," though it's a doozy. Sadly, this proved to be Stewart's last studio album, but like the other Hightone albums, it's a rock-solid if under-appreciated gem. Notably, roots-blues icon Tracy Nelson sings harmony on here as well.
Gary Stewart "Live At Billy Bob's Texas" (Smith Music Group, 2003)
(Produced by Bill Smith)
Discography - Best-Ofs
Gary Stewart "Gary's Greatest: 17 Original Hits" (Hightone Records, 1991)
Picking up the slack for the major labels, Hightone gave up the goods with this excellent retrospective of Stewart's RCA years. Most of the great Stewart classics are on here, and that means a bunch of really great, really memorable hard country music all in one place. This is fairly interchangeable with the RCA Essential disc that came out a few years later... Both are highly recommended.
Gary Stewart "The Essential Gary Stewart" (RCA-Nashville, 1996)
Pure gold. I dunno what the deal is with there being two extremely similar best-ofs out there on two different labels... I'm not complaining mind you, just curious. Either one of these discs should rock your world.
Gary Stewart "Best Of The Hightone Years" (Hightone Records, 2002)
Pretty impressive that his hard-luck, hard-drivin,' hard-drinkin' hard country formula still sounded so damn good, even this late in the game. These 1988-'93 recordings have all the fire and wit of his classic '70s material... In fact, this is simply a damn fine country record, period. Recommended!
Gary Stewart "All American Country" (Sony-BMG, 2003)
Gary Stewart "RCA Country Legends" (Sony-BMG, 2004)
Tributes
Mike & The Moonpies "Touch Of You: The Lost Songs Of Gary Stewart" (Prairie Rose Music, 2020)
(Produced by The Moonpies & Adam Odor)
This tribute album from the Austin-based Mike & The Moonpies (aka Silverada) spotlights some of Gary Stewart's "lost" songs, ten tracks that were never recorded during Stewart's lifetime.
Links
Hick Music Index
The 1970s wouldn't have been the same without Gary Stewart (1944-2003), seein' as how he almost single-handedly brought rowdy drinkin'-and-fightin' honkytonk songs back into vogue. Oh, sure, there was Moe Bandy, who tossed off one good ole boy anthem after another, but those were mostly just cute novelty songs. Listening to Mr. Stewart, on the other hand, could actually make you a little bit nervous... like, hey, what would happen if you went into a really gnarly redneck bar and got some dude mad?? Stewart's formula was raw honkytonk misery and a little southern rock THWACK over the head. Like Delbert McClinton, Stewart understood the powerful influence the blues had on country music, and was about as house-rockin' as a country boy could get. Towards the end of the decade he drifted a bit, but resurfaced in the late '80s with a series of solid releases on the independent Hightone label.