John Stewart, 68, died of a brain aneurism on Saturday. He was best-known as a member of the Kingston Trio and the writer of “Daydream Believer,” a hit single for the Monkees and Anne Murray that was covered by dozens of other artists.
In this obituary from the Associated Press, I learned he had a significant link to Route 66.
He eventually recorded more than 40 solo albums. Others included “The Lonesome Picker Rides Again, “Airdream Believer” and “Rough Sketches,” the latter a collection of songs about the iconic American highway Route 66.
“Rough Sketches” was released in 1997, and the song titles make it obvious of the Mother Road’s inspiration to the project: “Neon Road,” “Cadillac Ranch,” “The Dogs of San Jon,” “Angel Delgadillo” are a few.
Listening to sound samples, Stewart’s voice sounds like a weathered John Mellencamp. The accompaniment is often acoustic and spare.
At the Bloodlines fan site, this is what it said about Stewart’s connection to Route 66:
Q. What is the connection between J.S. and Route 66?
A. J.S. has been traveling the road for several years and documenting his travels in song. Route 66 is often a metaphor for the growth an change of the face of America.
Tom DeLisle reported after Stewart’s death that he’d been ill for some time:
It can now be said that John was told last summer, shortly before Trio Fantasy Camp 8, that he was suffering from the initial stages of Alzheimer’s disease. That news was kept from the public in the hope that his condition would stabilize and allow him to work in the following years until the disease took its eventual toll. Indeed he had stabilized in the time since Camp, and was able to bravely perform several concert shows and do the studio work on his new album.
If there is a blessing in his passing, it is that he will now be spared the true ravages of that awful disease. He will not suffer the gradual personal mental reductions caused by Alzheimer’s, though he had already lost his ability to drive, owing to California law. In fact, one of the new songs on the upcoming album is “I Can’t Drive Anymore,” a typically honest and emotional personal reaction to his situation.
Speaking personally, losing John creates a hole in my soul. I had agonized for months over the Alzheimer’s prognosis. But after talking with many of his friends and family yesterday, I can see that — facing a debilitating future — it was — and this is so hard to say — the right time for him to go. This is what he would have wanted, in light of what he ultimately faced.
Here’s a performance from August of his biggest song:
UPDATE: Dang. I’d nearly forgotten about this song. “Gold,” with Stevie Nicks on backup vocals, was a top 10 hit in 1979:
I picked up “Rough Sketches” in 1999 in Williams, AZ, and the CD or some MP3 extracts have never been too far away ever since. Liner notes say the songs were from a musical John wrote called “Johnny Flamingo on the Blue Dream Road”. I have no idea whether that musical, described as a “folk opera” was ever performed. I recall thinking, on the first play, that a future “Smooth Sketches” version would be nice but I quickly got hooked on the tunes with little more than John’s voice, harmonica, and guitar. I’ve enjoyed the songs on many a two-lane road but nothing compares to popping “Rough Sketches” in the player as I start down an isolated stretch of Sixty-Six.
I’m certainly saddened by John’s passing but, learning now of his illness, know that Tom Delisle’s “right time for him to go” comment is right.
Give me Fairlanes, give me top down
Show me the Neon Road
Give me Tulsa give me Flagstaff
Show me the highway home
I’ll have to get that album now. I didn’t know he had become smitten with the old road. A real Route 66 Believer.