Stewart began recording at the age of 12, moved on to songwriting, and married his wife Mary Lou when he was 18. He scored a run of three top 40 country songs in 1974 and 1975: Drinkin' Thing, Out of Hand and She's Actin' Single (I'm Drinkin' Doubles) which was his only #1 hit.
The hard-living Stewart described in his songs followed him in his life. in 1980, he was involved in an automobile accident, which began a downward spiral into drugs and alcohol. By 1988, though, Stewart had reconciled with his wife and recorded a new album (titled Brand New), but in that same year, his son, Gary Joseph Stewart, committed suicide.
Despite these hardships, Stewart and his wife continued to tour the honky tonk circuit through the 1990s, playing venues such as Fort Worth's Billy Bob's Texas several times a year.
In 2003, Stewart released a live album, Live at Billy Bob's Texas. But on November 26, the day before Thanksgiving, his wife died of pneumonia. They had been married 43 years.
Stewart, who had been scheduled to play Billy Bob's three days later, cancelled his concert appearances. His friends later told reporters that he was extremely despondent after Mary Lou's death. On December 16, his daughter's boyfriend visited Stewart's Palm Beach, Florida apartment to check on his welfare. Gary Stewart was dead, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the neck.
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