How in the Hell is this man not in the Country Hall of Fame. I remember seeing him at the Texas Hall of Fame. Very sad he took his own life but dude on a music level deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Same with Keith Whitley but that's a whole different conversation.

[url] [/url]

Gary Stewart is one of my all time favorites.

The absolute best for songs about boozing.

It's fascinating how some major talents just always seem to fly under the radar. Gary Stewart should be one of the most recognizable names in country music. But most people today have never heard of him, even if they know his songs.

Mike and the Moonpies did a great tribute album to Stewart a couple of years ago, called "Touch of You: The Lost Songs of Gary Stewart," which dug deep into his catalog rather than focusing on the hits.

He was the real deal. He lived his songs too.

Quote:

---

Out of Hand
-----------------
The album is particularly prized within the honky tonk genre, regarded as a classic by a master of the genre.

A year after its release, Stewart would be dubbed by Time "the current king of honkytonk". AllMusic calls it "the separate but equal third element" with Back to the Barrooms by Merle Haggard and Honky Tonk Masquerade by Joe Ely in forming "honky tonk's unholy trinity". Rough Guides' volume on country music declares the album "a brilliantly conceived chunk of country that stands as one of the finest honky-tonk records ever cut in Nashville", while country music critic Bill Malone went broader in calling Out of Hand "one of the greatest honky-tonk country albums ever recorded."

- Wikipedia

---

I'm still moved when I hear "Drinkin' Thing", and if you like it edgy and slightly disturbing, give "Williamson County" from the same album a listen.

I remember they'd slap that thing on at the Chicken and play a whole side, and life was good.