My first exposure to John Stewart was from listening to the song he wrote for The Monkees, Daydream Believer. John was much more, a member of the Kingston Trio and one of the most influential performers in the folk music genre.
A lot was written about John today, but I liked this from one of my favorite musicians, Bill Mumy:
"IT'S A SAD MORNING. I JUST LEARNED THAT JOHN STEWART, THE LEGENDARY SONGWRITER SINGER WHO REPLACED DAVE GUARD IN THE KINGSTON TRIO, PASSED AWAY YESTERDAY.
JOHN WAS MY FRIEND AND MENTOR FOR SEVERAL YEARS. HE MANAGED AND PRODUCED MY OLD BAND REDWOOD BACK IN THE 70'S AND THE TIME I SPENT WITH HIM WILL ALWAYS BE PRECIOUS TO ME. I WAS LUCKY TO PERFORM WITH JOHN MANY TIMES. WE WROTE ONE SONG TOGETHER BACK IN 1970, THAT I ACTUALLY PERFORMED AT MY LAST SOLO ACOUSTIC GIG A FEW MONTHS AGO AT GENGHIS COHEN... JOHN CO-WROTE A COUPLE OTHER REDWOOD SONGS WITH PAUL GORDON AND I BACK IN THE DAY. I PLAYED AND SANG ON HIS "WILLARD" ALBUM ALONGSIDE THE GREAT JAMES TAYLOR, RUSS KUNKEL, BRYAN GARAFALO AND OTHERS, AND JOHN ALWAYS MADE ME FEEL GOOD.
WHEN I WAS A BOY, I IDOLIZED THE KINGSTON TRIO. I WENT TO SEE THEIR FAREWELL CONCERT IN 1967, AND JOHN RECOGNIZED ME FROM "LOST IN SPACE" FROM THE STAGE AND INTRODUCED ME TO THE AUDIENCE. IT WAS, AND REMAINS, ONE OF THE BIGGEST THRILLS OF MY LIFE. I WENT BACKSTAGE AFTER THE SHOW AND SAT WITH JOHN, NICK AND BOB, SHARED A SODA AND CHAT ABOUT MUSIC. I INVITED JOHN TO THE SET OF LOST IN SPACE AND HE CAME. HE LOVED BEING ON THE STUDIO LOT AND WE BECAME FRIENDS. ONCE REDWOOD GOT GOING, JOHN GENEROUSLY TOOK US UNDER HIS WING AND HELPED US SO MUCH WORDS CAN'T DESCRIBE.
JOHN WAS A SINGULAR TALENT. A WISE, FUNNY, DYNAMIC PERFORMER AND AN AMAZING SONGWRITER. HIS GUITAR AND BANJO PLAYING WAS EXCELLENT. HIS SENSE OF RHYTHM AND GROOVE WAS GREAT. I HADN'T SEEN HIM OR HIS LOVELY WIFE BUFFY IN MANY YEARS. HE WILL BE MISSED.
HE'S NOW WHERE THE CHILLY WINDS DON'T BLOW - Bill Mumy"
'til Sleepy Jean Cheers Up
Keep the Adventure Alive,
