Gary Stewart

Gary Stewart: Gary Stewart Live at Billy Bob

by C. Michael Bailey
February 11, 2004

In 2003, when Live at Billy Bob’s Texas was released, I can say without qualification (beyond Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, George Jones, and Dwight Yoakam) that “country music" is populated by a group of anemic, rock-a-billy-wannabe punks.

There... I said it! (Perhaps not the greatest music criticism, but certainly the most honest.)

A son of Florida’s blue-collar class, Stewart avoided a lifetime of factory work by presenting songs he'd written to soon-to-be RCA country label leader ...