In Memoriam: John Stewart (1939-2008)
Going beyond the songwriting and guitar-picking, Stewart’s real trademark was the way that he related to his fans, this man who opened the doors to his heart and invited us to venture inside. Personally, I will always remember the way he coaxed a song into full bloom: Crystalline threads of poetry delicately weaving breath and lips into bright gales blowing the effervescence of humor and grace and mercy. Anyone who saw Stewart in concert was touched in some profound way – be it by the bold American stories told in pieces like Mother Country or Pirates of Stone County Road or by the wayward romance of Because of a Dancer or She Believes in Me. Moreover, those who saw him sing were blessed to witness an authentic and honest man at one with himself and his earthly mission: A mission only to make music and then share these swelling pools of angel-blood with the ears of this world.
