Billy Stewart

• Name — Billy Stewart • Birth Name — William Larry Stewart II • Born — 24 March 1937 • Birthplace — Washington, D.C., U.S. • Died — 17 January 1970 • Place of death — Smithfield, North Carolina, U.S. • Genre — * R&B • Chicago soul • northern soul • Occupation — Singer, musicians • Instrument — Vocals, piano, drums • Years Active — 1955–1970 • Label — * Chess Records • Okeh Records

Stewart was 12 when he began singing with his younger brothers Johnny, James, and Frank as the Four Stewart Brothers. They later had their own radio show every Sunday for five years at WUST in Washington, D.C. He was a graduate of Armstrong High School, now Friendship Armstrong Academy in the city. Billy Stewart made the transition to secular music by filling in occasionally for the Rainbows, a Washington D.C. area vocal group led by the future soul star, Don Covay. Through the Rainbows that Stewart met Marvin Gaye, an aspiring singer. Rock and roller Bo Diddley is credited with discovering Stewart playing piano in D.C., and inviting him to be one of his backup musicians. By 1955, Stewart had a recording contract with Diddley's label, Chess Records and Diddley played guitar on Stewart's 1956 recording of "Billy's Blues". A strong seller in Los Angeles, "Billy's Blues" reached the sales top 25 in Variety magazine. Stewart switched to Okeh Records and recorded "Billy's Heartache", backed by the Marquees, a D.C. area group which featured Marvin Gaye. Back at Chess in the early 1960s, Stewart began working with A&R man Billy Davis. He recorded a song called "Fat Boy" and then had additional success with his recordings of "Reap What You Sow" and "Strange Feeling", both making the Billboard Hot 100 and the Top 30 on the R&B charts. Major chart success was not far away and in 1965, Stewart recorded two self-written songs, "I Do Love You" (No. 6 R&B, No. 26 pop), which featured his brother Johnny Stewart as one of the backing vocalists with his partner James English, and "Sitting in the Park" (No. 4 R&B, No. 24 pop). Billy Stewart's idiosyncratic improvisational technique of doubling-up, scatting his words and trilling using his lips made his style unique in the 1960s. In 1966, Stewart recorded the LP Unbelievable. The first single released from the album was Stewart's radical interpretation of the George Gershwin song, "Summertime", a Top 10 hit on both the pop and R&B charts. The next single was Stewart's cover version of Doris Day's hit "Secret Love", which reached the pop Top 30 and just missed the Top 10 on the R&B chart. He recorded throughout the remainder of the 1960s on Chess without major success. A weight problem worsened and he developed diabetes. Stewart suffered minor injuries in a motorcycle accident in 1969.

Stewart's weight caused him several health problems, culminating in diabetes. Stewart died in a car accident in January 1970, at age 32. Stewart was driving a Ford Thunderbird and approached a bridge across the Neuse River near Smithfield, North Carolina (presumably on US 301, since I-95 had not yet been completed in the area at that time. I-95 terminated in Rocky Mount, North Carolina prior to 1973.) His car left the highway, ran along the median strip at a slight angle to the highway, struck the bridge abutment and plunged into the river, instantly killing Stewart and three passengers. The other victims were in Stewart's band: Norman P. Rich, 39, of Washington, D.C.; William Cathey, 27, from Charlotte; and Rico Hightower, 27, of Newark, New Jersey. The four musicians were driving to a nightclub show in Columbia, South Carolina at the time and the car had been purchased only 12 days. It had been driven only 1,400 miles before the accident occurred. Stewart was buried in National Harmony Memorial Park in Landover, Maryland.

Sarah Stewart, the executrix of his estate, sued Ford Motor Company on behalf of his estate, claiming that mechanical failure was the cause of the accident. Ford prevailed in the first trial, but on appeal the court ruled that the trial court's refusal to give the requested jury instructions was in error and ordered the case reversed and remanded. The case was then settled out of court.

• Year — Title — Peak chart positions — Record label • US — US R&B • 1965 — I Do Love You — 97 — 2 — Chess Records • 1966 — Unbelievable — 138 — 7 • 1967 — Billy Stewart Teaches Old Standards New Tricks — — — — • 1974 — Cross My Heart (posthumous release) — — — — • "—" denotes releases that did not chart

• Remembered (Chess, 1970) • The Greatest Sides (Chess/Checker Records, 1982) • Greatest Hits (Evergreen, 1988) • One More Time – The Chess Years (Chess, 1990) • The Collection (Connoisseur Collection, 2001)

• Year — Title — Peak chart positions — Album • US — US R&B — UK • 1956 — "Billy's Blues" — — — — — — — Non-album singles • 1957 — "Strange Feeling" — — — — — — • 1962 — "Reap What You Sow" — 79 — 18 — — — I Do Love You • 1963 — "Strange Feeling" — 70 — 25 — — • 1965 — "I Do Love You" — 26 — 6 — ― • "Sitting in the Park" — 24 — 4 — — • "How Nice It Is" — 97 — ― — — — Cross My Heart • 1966 — "Mountain of Love" — 100 — — — — — Non-album singles • "Because I Love You" — 96 — ― — ― • "Love Me" — — — 38 — ― • "Summertime" — 10 — 7 — 39 — Unbelievable • "Secret Love" — 29 — 11 — ― — Billy Stewart Teaches Old Standards New Tricks • 1967 — "Every Day I Have the Blues" — 74 — 41 — ― • "Why (Do I Love You So)" — — — 49 — ― — Cross My Heart • 1968 — "Cross My Heart" — 86 — 34 — ― • "Tell Me the Truth" — ― — 48 — ― • 1969 — "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" — ― — ― — ― • "—" denotes releases that did not chart.