Gary Stewart: I Am From the Honky-Tonks

Foto: Jimmy McDonough collection

Noen utvalgte sitater fra entusiastiske anmeldere:

"One of the most adventurous and daring books about a popular musician to come in a long time." -Rolling Stone Magazine

"A mesmerizing story of a man born to sing and suffer." -Country Music Hall of Fame

"Intimate, raw, and often heartbreaking… one of the finest books ever written on a country music singer" –Travis Kitchens, Wall Street Journal

"A fascinating, hard-bitten, uncompromising portrait of a man at odds with the world. It is, like Gary Stewart's life, a wild ride" –The Times (UK)


"McDonough’s book, 40 years in the writing, doesn’t stray from the tragedy, but also celebrates the intensity of [Stewart’s] life." –Uncut

Foto: Grandal Stewart

Spilleliste som kan følge deg gjennom boken:

Gary Stewart: I Am from the Honky Tonks
The untold, and torrid history of a man who lived life as if “the plane could crash tomorrow.”

Dette var en bok jeg hadde ventet lenge på, om ikke førti år som det tok å skrive boken, men lenge nok til at jeg slukte de 544 sidene på noen få dager.

Dette er en sjelden bra musikkbiografi, spekket med intervjuer, bilder og fakta om den legendariske countrysangeren Gary Stewart. Han er kanskje ikke like kjent som de aller største navnene i sjangeren, men på sitt beste var han fullt på høyde med dem.

I boken får vi følge den fasinerende Stewart-klanen som flytter fra Kentucky til Florida, på mange måter countrymusikkens svar på The Addams Family.

På midten av 1970-tallet toppet Gary Stewart listene med honky-tonk hits som «She’s Actin’ Single (I’m Drinkin’ Doubles)» og «Drinkin’ Thing». Han høstet beundring fra artister som Bob Dylan, The Allman Brothers Band og Tanya Tucker.

Gary Stewart levde hardt og forsvant så godt som helt fra musikkscenen, helt til Jimmy McDonough oppsøkte ham i Florida og innledet et nært førti år langt prosjekt som skulle ende opp som Gary Stewart: I Am from the Honky Tonks, som er McDonoughs niende biografi.

Gary Stewart and Jimmy McDonough, in Stewart's double-wide in Fort Pierce, Florida, late '80s (Foto: Carole Nicksin)

“The outrageous tale of a true country outlaw.”
Dette er en fortelling om sex, rus og honky-tonk country, formidlet i McDonoughs særegne stil, en blanding av muntlige kilder, levende prosa og et personlig nærvær.

Resultatet er en utrolig historie om en spinn-vill Kentucky-familie som red på suksessen før alt sporet av i et ruspreget 70-talls Florida.

I sentrum står det stormfulle og tragiske kjærlighetsforholdet mellom Gary Stewart og hans kone Mary Lou.

Boken bygger på hundrevis av timer med intervjuer med Stewart selv, Mary Lou, familie, musikere, produsenter og andre nærstående, samt kolleger som Willie Nelson, Dickey Betts, Dean Dillon og Charley Pride.

Tammy Wynette, Gary, Mary Lou, Willie Nelson, mid-'70s (Shannon Ashburn collection)

Jeg var heldig og fikk noen ord med forfatteren Jimmy McDonough:

Hi Jimmy!
You’ve spent many years of your life telling Gary Stewart’s story. What made Gary Stewart worth all that time?
He is a great artist. I have written about/been around many extremely talented musicians. He moved me the most.

Would the book about Gary Stewart have been different if he had been alive when you finished it?
Yes. A happy ending.

What was it about Gary Stewart that made such a strong personal impression on you?
He burned like a rocket, to cop a line from Billy Joe Royal.

If Gary Stewart were alive now. How would he react to I Am From the Honky-Tonks?
Perhaps throw a knife that would’ve connected this time. And then pat me on the back as I lay dying.

What might Gary’s artistic trajectory have looked like without substance abuse? Many artists tend to peak early in their careers, do you think Gary would still have been creating strong work in 2026 if he had lived?
I think he would’ve been creating strong work in 2026, substance abuse or not. He always had another surprise left in him.

Gary and the Drugstore Cowboys, (L to R, Dub Robinson, Robert “Cotton” Payne, and Randy Toman) (credit Jimmy McDonough collection)

Was it fame that messed up his life?
It certainly didn’t help.

After having lived so closely with his story through research and writing, how do you hear Gary Stewart’s music today?
I smile. Usually after I finish I biography I don’t want to hear the subject in question for a few years (and in some cases never). Not Gary. I have a deeper appreciation of his utter greatness.

What’s the difference between writing a strong biography and simply compiling facts?
Facts are great, everybody loves a fact. But I want the feeling of the people to be there. That is equally important to me.

Who has been the most difficult person to interview for any of your books? Have you made any enemies over the years from writing?
Well, Neil Young, only because he was impossible to pin down for interviews, despite agreeing to do the book.
Enemies? You’d have to ask others. I’m a fun-loving guy who gets along with everybody. REALLY.

Jimmy with producer David Briggs and Frank «Poncho» Sampedro (Crazy Horse) at the RNR Hall of Fame , Neil Young induction

When you write about people with darker sides and self-destructive lives, how do you balance honesty with respect?
I only write about people I admire. Sometimes that unravels, but I still try to remember what drew me to them in the first place: their talent.

Have you ever found that the myths surrounding an artist are more popular than the truth?
Sure. I went into the Al Green story thinking what I had read was the whole story. I uncovered something vastly different. At times I want to quit that book. Funnily enough few have read SOUL SURVIVOR, so the myths remain intact.

What surprised you most about Gary Stewart as a person when you began digging into his story?
His wit. His kindness. His knowledge of arcane subjects unrelated to music.

If you could spend one last evening with Gary Stewart and ask him two questions, what would you ask?
Here’s three:

1. Was it worth it?

2. What made you write “A Woman Will Tear the Heart Out of a Man”? It bugs me no end I heard that one after he was long gone.

3. Who were you rooting for in the Civil War?

byNWR > Gary Stewart: The Lost Tapes

There’s currently a renewed interest in country music. Do you think Gary Stewart will reach a new, younger audience, or remain a cult figure in the shadow of arena-friendly bro-country and pop-country stars?
I do. But given the fragmented nature of our culture these days the latter could still remain true.

Which writers or individuals have most influenced or shaped you as a writer?
Jack Kirby. Hubert Selby, Jr.
True crime writers like Gordon Burn and Brian Masters.

Are there still people you dream of writing a book about, and what makes them a dream project?
Some people I wanted to write about: Don Rickles, Charlie Feathers, Rodney Dangerfield, Lou Reed.

What are you really looking for when you write about other people’s lives?
The flame within their heart.

Now that you’re putting this book behind you, what have you learned, and what do you carry with you as a person?
I’ve learned there are things in life that can’t be undone and that there is a trajectory to certain people’s lives that can’t be stopped and can sadden you forever.

What would you like your readers to take away after reading the book?
Gary Stewart was a great artist. The Stewarts were a great family. But as Nixon once said of Sinatra, “Nobody’s perfect.”

Gary blasting away in a honky-tonk, mid-to-late seventies (credit Shannon Ashburn collection)

Om du ønsker å klikke deg videre:

Jimmy McDonough
Instagram
Facebook
Jimmy McDonough, King of the Crazy Biographers - YouTube
GARY STEWART: I AM FROM THE HONKY-TONKS | WOLF+SALMON
Gary Stewart- King of the Honky Tonks
I Remember Gary Stewart aka Little Junior
Ball of Fire: An Interview with Jimmy McDonough | Los Angeles Review of Books
Author Talk: Jimmy McDonough on honky-tonk legend Gary Stewart

Foto: Grandal Stewart