Wednesday, March 5, 2008

John Stewart

I just read that singer-songwriter John Stewart passed away on Jan 19th.I don't know how I missed this.John was a member of The Kingston Trio till 1967 but it is after that I recall him.His biggest song was"Daydream Believer" which was a huge hit for"The Monkees" and I think that Canadian girl who sang that awful"Snowbird"(Sorry Jenn) and is one of the few songs of theirs that holds up for me.It was his solo albums after that I fell in love with especially"California Bloodlines" of which I still play my LP.Have to get that one on CD.Stewart was one of those rare folks who wrote great songs and not many people knew who he was.In an age of pop tripe he was a real artist who stuck to his music and did things his way.If I were to compare him with others I would say Jimmy Webb especially his great"El Mirage" album and Eric Andersen's "Blue River" is a great album but I have an anthology album for"Time Run Like a Freight Train" my favorite song of his.If I want a little Stewart with a bit more pop folk sound I'll play some Andrew Gold or Jesse Colin Young and there is a Nitty Gritty Dirt Band song I love called"Rippling Waters".Another great song from that type is"Cosmic Cowboy" an early one by Michael Murphy.I think the album was called Geronimo's Cadillac or something close to that.

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