Billy Stewart

American pop, soul and rhythm & blues singer, drummer, pianist and songwriter, born ( March 24, 1937 ) in Washington, D. C., died ( January 17, 1970 ) in Neuse River, Smithfield, North Carolina (car accident). In the early 1960s, Stewart began working with A&R man Billy Davis where he recorded the songs “Fat Boy,” “Reap What You Sow,” and “Strange Feeling.” All three records made the Billboard Hot 100 and the Top 30 in the R&B charts. In 1965, Stewart returned to Chess Records where he created his unique word-doubling singing technique. He released the song, “I Do Love You” which reached # 6 on the R&B chart and #26 on the Billboard Hot 100. Later that year he recorded “Sitting in the Park,” which hit #4 on the R&B chart and #24 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1966, Stewart uniquely arranged one of the favorite arias from Gershwin’s opera, Porgy and Bess, “Summertime.” Because of his strength in music theory, Stewart brought exceptional excitement to this composition by his extraordinary cadenza scatting skills. The recording reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold more than 700,000 records. Stewart worked with The Stewart Gospel Singers, The Marquees, The Rainbows, and The Cairos.