It is with deep regret that I wanted to pass on the death of John Stewart. John passed away this morning with his family by his side in San Diego passing away at the same hospital he was born.

John was a member of the Kingston Trio for years and wrote songs that captured the essence of the real America and the people who made the country interesting. From sitting in a room of Jamie Wyeth paintings and writing songs about the characters in those paintings, John like Steinbeck,Twain or Charles Kuralt, captured the true American experience with his words and images. His words said so much at times “Don Quixote’s windmills were giants in his eyes to see things as they really are it can only make you wise”.

He had a life of perfoming with the Kingston Trio all over the world to writing “Daydream Believer” to having the hit song “Gold” in the 1970’s. But he was so much more deeper than those things which were just the surface and what most people saw and heard. It was beneath the surface with the songwriting and singing that touched so many that John’s true beauty was.

All the best to everyone.

Jim Musselman (Appleseed)

John Stewart’s first folk group was the Cumberland Three, a band that also included Gil Robbins, the father of actor Tim Robbins. His original songs got the attention of the Kingston Trio, and in 1961 they asked John to join the group when origianal member Dave Guard left the group.

The Kingston Trio had auditioned several potential replacements, including Roger McGuinn who would go on to form the Byrds, but they chose John Stewart to give the trio a new edge. Over the next six years, the Kingston Trio recorded some of their strongest albums with John Stewart, before the group disbanded in 1967.

After leaving the Kingston Trio, Stewart launched his solo career. He wrote a song that would become a huge hit for the Monkees – “Daydream Believer”. A decade later he would team up with Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks to record the 1979 hit “Gold”. John would continue to record and perform, and he would see many of his songs recorded by other artists through the rest of his career including Rosanne Cash’s #1 country hit “Runaway Train”.

Our condolences to John’s family and friends. His music will always be with us.