Redd Stewart

Redd Stewart born Henry Ellis Stewart (May 27, 1923 – August 2, 2003) was an American country music songwriter and recording artist born in Ashland City, Tennessee. While still a child, his family moved to Louisville, Kentucky. At an early age, he learned to play several musical instruments such as the banjo, piano, fiddle and guitar. He changed his first name to Redd because of his red hair and complexion. His talent was not only as a musician but also as a songwriter beginning by writing a little jingle for a Louisvile car dealer's commercial. In 1937, he joined the Golden West Cowboys band headed by Pee Wee King with lead singer Eddie Arnold. Redd served in the South Pacific in World War II attaining the rank of Sargeant. He wrote "A Soldiers Last Letter" while in still in the South Pacific. It became a hit record in 1944 for Ernest Tubb. After he returned to the States he again hooked up with Pee Wee King's band this time as the lead singer since Eddie Arnold went solo. Redd teamed up with King in writing many Top Ten country hits starting with "The Tennessee Waltz", which was proclaimed by Governor Frank Clement in 1965 as the Tennessee state song. In 1972, he was inducted as a charter member into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

He appeared in several movies with Pee Wee King, including "Gold Mine in the Sky (1938), "Ridin’ the Outlaw Trail" (1951) and "The Rough, Tough West" (1952), the last two starred Charles Starrett as the Durango Kid. In 1961, Redd and Pee Wee appeared in the movie, "Hoedown." On August 2, 2003, he died at 80 from complications of injuries due to a fall in the early 90's, at Baptist Hospital East in Louisville, Kentucky. In 2004, the "Tennessee Waltz" was awarded BMI's 3,000,000 Airplay Award. (equivalent to 17.1 years of continuous playing) an honor shared with Barry Manilow's "I Write The Songs" Frank Sinatra's "My Way", Hank Williams's "Your Cheatin Heart" Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender" and Roger Miller's "King of the Road". In 2004, he was inducted into Country Legends Hall of Fame & the Traditional Country Music Hall of Fame, and in 2005 "Tennessee Waltz Parkway" opened in his birthplace, Ashland City..

References

* Sharon Stewart (2008) (http://www.reddstewart.com/hislife.html) at http://www.reddstewart.com Accessed July 25, 2008

External links

* [http://www.reddstewart.com/ reddstewart.com]
*cite news |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/07/obituaries/07STEW.html?ex=1217563200&en=6820e33f6e6dc332&ei=5070 |title=Henry Redd Stewart, Country Songwriter, Dies at 82 |date=7 August 2003 |work=New York Times|accessdate=2008-07-30