Whether or not you revere him because the King of the Honky Tonks, or simply bear in mind him for his iconic nation hits like “She’s Actin’ Single (I’m Drinkin’ Doubles),” anybody who is aware of their means round a classic nation music report assortment will inform you that Gary Stewart needs to be maybe essentially the most underrated musician in nation music historical past.
His affect was unbelievable. His prime songs and albums had been unforgettable. However he was all the time on the skin trying in, falling proper after a giant rise, and perfected the position of being his personal worst enemy. He was a perennial underdog, who nonetheless persevered to depart a legacy some performers with many extra hits and rather more cash would kill to have.
Many have labored to inform the story Gary Stewart in a means that respects and does justice to the compelling twists and turns he skilled over time, together with Saving Nation Music, which featured him on Episode 15 of the Nation Historical past X podcast. However no one has gone as deep, has gotten so intimate, has so fearlessly mined for the true essence of Gary Stewart as biographer Jimmy McDonough has.
Now after 40 years of obsessing over Stewart, chatting with him personally many occasions, visiting him in his hideaway doublewide in Florida, and simply usually hanging out with the Honky Tonk King to get to the guts of what made Gary Stewart tick, Jimmy McDonough is lastly prepared to inform Gary’s unabridged story.
Alongside together with his interviews with Stewart himself, McDonough additionally spoke to his spouse, finest pal, and life companion Mary Lou, quite a few relations, a number of band members, producers, associates, drug sellers, together with fellow nation stars who knew him nicely corresponding to Tanya Tucker, Willie Nelson, Dickey Betts, Charley Satisfaction, and songwriter Dean Dillon. Amassing 544 pages on Stewart, the e-book additionally contains many by no means seen earlier than images, together with the one which adorns the duvet taken by Gary’s brother Grandal.
For many who’ve obsessed over Gary Stewart over time, this will probably be your encyclopedia, however one which’s not a dry recitation of details. Gary Stewart was recognized for residing his life like “the airplane may crash tomorrow,” and that’s the identical power and angle Jimmy McDonough delivered to this work. After writing landmark biographies for Neil Younger, Tammy Wynette, and others, he swears that is his ultimate one.
Rumored for years, we now have the small print and launch date for Gary Stewart: I Am From The Honky Tonks. Sadly although, it’s not proper across the nook. The e-book gained’t be launched to the large public in hardback, eBook, and Audiobook till March of 2026. Nevertheless, writer Wolf + Salmon is making a restricted “Cadillac” Collector’s Version obtainable on November tenth, 2025 that will probably be restricted to 250 signed and numbered copies.
With so lots of the greats of nation music, their legacies don’t diminish over time, they solely develop stronger. Gary Stewart is a type of beneficiaries, and this new e-book will hopefully assist cement that legacy much more into the longer term.
