MUSIC
ED DRONDOSKI
13
Fort Pierce’s Gary Stewart climbed to the
top of the country and western charts but
remained firmly rooted in his hometown
The framed triple platinum album, in which Stewart wrote Hollywood for Alabama, is displayed at the Stewart home.
Nearly 12 years after his death, Gary Stewart holds a
place as an influential figure for bridging rock and
country music and remains Fort Pierce’s favorite
musical son.
As Stewart’s star was rising in the music world, he still felt
more comfortable playing at local clubs and honky-tonks.
When his debut album for RCA Records, Out of Hand, was
climbing up the country music charts in 1975, Stewart could
be seen sitting on the steps outside the old Fort Pierce Hotel
lounge, chatting with friends and fans while taking a break
from a performance there.
She’s Actin’ Single (I’m Drinkin’ Doubles) from the album
would reach No. 1 on the country singles chart. Time magazine
would call him the “king of honkytonk” and Rolling
Stone magazine would name him one of the up-and-coming
performers for that year.
Stewart had successfully crossed the boundaries of country
and rock ‘n’ roll with a throbbing, gritty voice that distinguished
him from all other singers of both genres.
Skinnier than a railsnake and a natural good-timing man,
Stewart had a heart of gold and was perfectly happy hangin’
with local folks. The hotel lounge, since torn down along
with the rest of building, remained a popular nightclub along
the Indian River Lagoon through the 1970s. It was a place for
local bands, so the appearance by someone of Stewart’s new
status was an extraordinary experience. It fed his reputation
as a kind of renegade from the limelight and the Nashville
scene.
SAME OLD GARY
He’d listen to questions from a star-struck admirer and
tell him what “nice guys” the Jordanaires, the singers who
backed Elvis, were to work with, but when break time was
over, he would head back into the lounge for another set to
stir up the crowd.
It was a small-town crowd listening to a big-time country
rocker. He wasn’t just a big fish in a small pond; he was a big
fish in the biggest pond. Yet he was the same old Gary.
“Gary was always a nice guy, always a funny guy, unique,
always unique,” said longtime friend and musician Tommy
Schwartz, who remembered thinking Stewart was on his way
to stardom when he first met him, just after Stewart’s first >>