| 1937-1970. (Not to be confused with the still-living classical guitarist of the same name). The conked, rotund, scat-singing tenor who probably should have been the lead singer of The Rainbows; he was the first group member to achieve solo success, not long after their brief existence. From Washington, DC, but he made his name in Chicago, singing for Chess Records (Bo Diddley may have been the one to bring him into the fold), with hits like "I'm No Romeo", "I Do Love You" (later a hit for a group called GQ, years after Stewart's 1965 original), "Sitting in the Park" (also GQ-ified, with less success), and perhaps the most unique (and breezy) version of George Gershwin's "Summertime". Ballads and blues a specialty. Stewart died in a 1970 auto accident. |
