ROOTS of Country Music

The Professional Work of Wynn Stewart (1934 - 1985)

(Jun. 7, 1934 ~ Jul. 17, 1985 )

Career Highlights

Barn Dance Affiliate: Ozark Jubilee

Band Name

• The West Coast Playboys
• Tourist

Film, Night Club, Radio & TV

• Ernest Tubb’s  Midnight Jamboree, 3
• Hee Haw, 4
• The Jimmy Dean Show, 4
• The Johnny Cash Show, 4
• The Porter Wagoner Show, 4
• The Statler Brothers Show, 4
• The Wilburn Brothers Show, 4 

1-Film, 2-Night Club, 3-Radio, 4-TV 

Billboard Chart Data 

• No. 1 Singles: 1
• Top-20 Singles: 13
• Crossover Singles: 0
• Charted Singles: 31
• Chart Years Active: (1956-1985)

Career Labels:

• Capitol Records (1956, 1965 -1971)
• Challenge Records (1959-1964)
• RCA Records (1972-1973)
• Playboy Records (1976)

Billboard Top-20 Singles

1. Waltz of the Angels -1956
2. Wishful Thinking -1959
3. Big, Big Love -1961
4. It's Such a Pretty World Today*#-1967
5. Cause I Have You
6. Love's Gonna Happen to Me
7. Something Pretty -1968
8. In Love
9. Let the Whole World Sing With Me -1969
10. World Wide Travelin' Man
11. It's a Beautiful Day -1970
12. After the Storm -1976
13. Sing a Sad Song

*-No. 1 Chart Single

#-Biggest Chart Single

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------It's Such a Pretty World Today: The Wynn Stewart Story

Wynn Stewart was among country music's most magnificent entertainers to come out of the West Coast circuit. He made superb music during his heyday of the 50's and 60's when he recorded for Challenge and Capitol.

Stewart's music influenced both Merle Haggard and Buck Owens, yet his success never paralleled theirs. It was partly his fault. Not a driving personality and never a business person, Stewart was plagued by drinking and motivational problems that directly affected his career.

Stewart signed his first recording contract with Capitol Records at age 20, but turned out only a few minor hits. He left Capitol and joined Jackpot Records. Founded by Gene Autry, Jackpot was a subsidiary of Challenge Records.

There he scored his first top-10 hit Wishful Thinking. Once again, Stewart only generated a few minor hits for several years thereafter. In the early 1960's, both Merle Haggard and Glen Campbell were band members.

Upon his return to Capitol Records (1965), Wynn Stewart soared to the top of the charts with I'ts Such a Pretty World Today (1967), his only No. 1 single. Stewart followed up with three more big hits. After that he dropped out of the top-10 catagory. In the 1970's, he was associated with several other labels, but he generated little top-40 chart activity and then vanished completely from the charts.

In 1985, he was embarking on a comeback tour after years of obscurity, when he suddenly died of a heart attack. For those who fondly remember Wynn Stewart, his unique voice and singing style will not be emulated.

It is difficult to understand why Wynn with such unparalleled talent and the considerable song cache, he amassed, he never achieved the recognition or super-star status like Merle Haggard, George Jones or Buck Owens.

Winford Lindsey Stewart was born in Morrisville, Missouri in 1934 and spent most of his childhood moving around the country with his sharecropping family. As a teenager, Stewart spent a year working on KWTO radio in Springfield, Missouri.

In 1948, he moved to California with his family and while in high school, Stewart formed a band that played area clubs. Later, he met steel guitarist Ralph Mooney, who joined Stewart's band. The group's lineup consisted of guitarist Roy Nichols, who later joined Merle Haggard’s Strangers and bassist Bobby Austin, who cut Apartment No. 9.

In 1952, Stewart formed the West Coast Playboys (WCP) with Sid Barnes (steel guitar, piano), Tony Amico on drums and lead guitarist called Ray. They were another young band, with the exception of Barnes who had been active for some years, having joined The Luke Wills band in 1947.

The West Coast Playboys worked the taverns and clubs and when Stewart accepted a six night a week gig, Barnes quit the band and Shirley Roy 'Pete' Ash took his place. Eventually they lost their lead guitarist and Stewart's friend Ralph Mooney also joined the group on lead guitar and alternating on steel guitar with Pete Ash.

In 1954, Stewart signed a recording contract with a small independent record label called Intro Records. However, the association generated little activity. Skeets McDonald, one of Stewart's idols arranged an audition with Capitol Records for Stewar. In 1956, Stewart signed with Capitol Records and subsequently recorded and released his first single "Waltz of the Angels." The song went to No. 14 on the country charts and gave Stewart his first major hit. However, with little follow-up success, Stewart and Capitol records parted ways.

In summer of 1959, Cecil Bays, Tony Amico and Carl West all left the group. Wynn Stewart had to reorganize his band, with Pete Ash still on piano, Stewart convinced Ralph Mooney to leave the Gene Davis band at the Palomino Club and join the West Coast Playboys.

That year Roy Nichols was still with Stewart and did studio work with him during his Challenge years. Stewart was part owner of a Las Vegas, Nevada, nightclub called Nashville Nevada during the early 1960s. He performed there weekly and also hosted his own television show. An aspiring Merle Haggard sat in with the band while Wynn Stewart was out of town. Stewart was impressed with Haggard's performance, and hired him as his regular bass player. He wrote Merle’s first hit “Sing a Sad Song.”

With the help of Nashville standout songwriter Harlan Howard, Stewart signed with Jackpot Records (Challenge) in 1958. Stewart recorded a string of singles that included "Wishful Thinking" which was released in 1959. The song finally struck gold for Stewart when it reached #5 the following year.

In 1963, Wynn Stewart had a great collection of musicians in the studio and they recorded 4 songs. They included Roy Nichols, Merle Haggard, Glen Campbell, Ralph Mooney, Peaches Price and George French. The songs were: "Slightly Used," "I Walked A Hundred Miles,"  "All At Once" and "I'm Not The Man I used To Be."

Stewart continued to have sizeable hits, like the Jan Howard duet called "Wrong Company," and "Big, Big Love," among others. In the early 1960s, Merle was still working in Stewart's band, and Wynn Stewart helped him along the way with Haggard's first single called "Sing a Sad Song."

In 1965 Stewart re-signed with Capitol Records and his first few singles for the label were fruitless.  His fifth single, however entitled "It's Such a Pretty World Today," was released in 1967, and became the biggest hit of his career. The song went to #1 on the country music charts.

Its follow-up "Cause I Have You," was a Top 10 hit in 1967. Following this spurt of success, Stewart movd to more-softer, pop-friendly sound. This new kind of recording material gave Stewart a string of hits, which ran all the way into the 1970s.

By 1972, his sales began to fall, so Stewart moved over to RCA Records that year with "Paint Me a Rainbow," was his biggest effort for the label. He also had a brief stint with Atlantic Records in 1974. Over the next three years, Stewart released singles but didn't break the Top 40.

In 1975, Stewart signed with Playboy Records and managed a Top 10 hit in 1976 called "After the Storm." Although he stayed with Playboy, he only had one other big hit, which was his version of "Sing a Sad Song," which went to #19 in 1977. Soon, his success began to fall, after dwindling record sales and failing chart success.

Stewart started his own label in 1978 called WIN. His first single for his label called "Eyes As Big As Dallas" broke the Top 40. Although country music was changing in the late 70s, moving from traditional country to the smooth sounds of country pop, he wasn't able to achieve further success. In the early 1980s, Stewart quit performing and dropped out of sight.

In the mid 80s, things changed when Stewart launched a comeback, with an extensive tour and brand new album. During the tour, Stewart suddenly died of a heart attack on July 17, 1985. Following Stewart's death, his song "Wait Till I Get My Hands on You" became a minor hit. 

With his unique, versatile sound and audience appeal, Wynn Stewart never achieved the success that Buck Owens and Merle haggard did. However, his studio recordings were considerable. Stewart recorded more then two hundred songs with the various labels he was associated with.

There could be many reasons for his mediocre chart success and Stewart isn’t the only country music singer who only attained mediocre chart activity; Gene Watson and Mel Street are two others who struggled with sustained success. However there is no question that Wynn Stewart had the talent and appeal necessary to attain super-star status in the country music arena. There is also no doubt that Wynn Stewart has earned a place in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Researched, compiled and written by Richard Bell, Rootsd of Country Music, Aug. 6, 2009.