D.C. native William Stewart II, extensively generally known as “Billy Stewart,” had a profound affect on the nationwide music scene by his rhythm and blues tunes.
Stewart, born in 1937, began his music profession together with his 4 brothers in a bunch generally known as the 4 Stewart Brothers. Stewart would carry out together with his brothers on the DMV-based WUST studios. He ultimately served as a fill-in for a bunch generally known as The Rainbows. Via the Rainbows, he met singer Bo Diddley. It was Diddley who invited Stewart to be a backup musician in his group. Stewart left the District and went to Chicago with Diddley and shortly began singing on his personal at Chess Data.
“What distinguished Billy Stewart from different Chess artists was his distinctive model,” Robert Pruter, creator of “Chicago Soul,” mentioned on the PBS documentary “Fats Boy: The Billy Stewart Story.”
“He appeared like no person else at Chess Data,” Pruter defined.
Stewart was famous for his talent in phrase doubling, scatting and riffing in songs. All through the years, he obtained recognition for songs equivalent to “Sitting within the Park,” “Fats Boy,” “I Do Love You” and a radical interpretation of George Gershwin’s “Summertime.”
Stewart died in a broad daylight automotive accident in North Carolina in January 1970 on the age of 32. He’s buried in Nationwide Concord Memorial Park in Landover, Maryland. Stewart was inducted into the Washington Space Music Affiliation Corridor of Fame in 2002 and the Nationwide Rhythm & Blues Corridor of Fame in 2021.
“Billy Stewart was a visionary and an innovator,” mentioned former radio and tv announcer Charlie Neal in “The Fats Boy” documentary. “He was a artistic genius and a singular expertise. He was a legend.”
