WWTBAM Bored

A friend tells me that John Stewart died this morning from a stroke. He has good sources, but I haven't seen it confirmed in the news yet.

Just to be clear, this is John Stewart, not Jon Stewart.

When the lights go down in the California town
People are in for the evening
I jump into my car and I throw in my guitar
My heart beatin' time with my breathin'
Drivin' over Kanan, singin' to my soul
There's people out there turnin' music into gold

Well my buddy Jim Bass he's a-workin' pumpin gas
And he makes two fifty for an hour
He's got rythm in his hands as he's tappin' on the cans
Sings rock and roll in the shower
Drivin' over Kanan, singin' to my soul
There's people out there turnin' music into gold

Ah, the California girls are the greatest in the world
Each one's a song in the making
Singin' rock to me I can hear the melody
The story is there for the takin'
Drivin' over Kanan, singin' to my soul
There's people out there turnin' music into gold

Drivin' over Kanan, singin' to my soul
There's people out there turnin' music into gold

When the lights go down in the California town
People are in for the evening
I jump into my car and I throw in my guitar
My heart beatin' time with my breathin'
Drivin' over Kanan, singin' to my soul
There's people out there turnin' music into gold

Drivin' over Kanan, singin' to my soul
There's people out there turnin' music into gold
People out there turnin' music into gold
People out there turnin' music into gold

People out there turnin' music into gold, into gold
People out there turnin' music into gold, into gold

Still no official confirmation, but it's on this music fan board:
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts ... 54eb944ccf

Stewart wrote "Daydream Believer," which had a revival when it was used in "Shrek."

TheConfessor wrote:Still no official confirmation, but it's on this music fan board:
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts ... 54eb944ccf

Stewart wrote "Daydream Believer," which had a revival when it was used in "Shrek."

Um...

Stewart may well have written "Daydream Believer," but that wasn't in "Shrek." That song was "I'm a Believer," written by Neil Diamond.

KillerTomato wrote: Um...

Stewart may well have written "Daydream Believer," but that wasn't in "Shrek." That song was "I'm a Believer," written by Neil Diamond.

D'oh! That's what I get for trying to add some context to a post! You'll notice that I'm not one of the leaders in Lyrically Speaking this month. This is a good example of why that is.

Here's something official from the Kingston Trio's web site. John Stewart had early Alzheimer's, but a massive stroke got him first.
http://www.kingstontrio.com/html/kt_news.htm

Although it almost sounded merciful, in a way.

"Bombs Away Dream Babies" will always be one of my "stranded-on-a-desert-island" CD's, and "Midnight Wind" an all-time favorite single. Back in the day, "Gold" had us rolling the window down, cranking up the radio, and "singing" along. Although we had a Mondegreen Moment with the chorus:

"Riding on a cannon, singin' to my soul".

Somehow, it just seemed to fit.

Oh shoot.

I remember the "California Bloodlines" songs better than the later ones.

RIP

I will not forget the summer of '79, to which "Gold" was the essential soundtrack. The Montreal Expos unrequited pennant drive, and the somewhat barbarish yawp of Ted Tevan's sports talk show, in between the times CFCF radio 600 played Stewart's song. I had made the decision not to buy a TV when I moved to Montreal, so this was it for media culture..

I also have vinyl copies (I think two) of Bombs Away Dream Babies, for $0.99 each at a vast used-stuff-o-rama at the site where the Bibliothèque Nationale has since been constructed.