B. W. Stevenson

B. W. Stevenson
Birth name Louis Charles Stevenson
Born October 5, 1949
Origin Dallas, Texas, United States
Died April 28, 1988(1988-04-28) (aged 38)
Genres Rock, blues, progressive country
Instruments Guitar
Labels RCA

B. W. Stevenson (October 5, 1949 – April 28, 1988), born Louis Charles Stevenson, was an American country pop artist, working in a genre now called progressive country. "B.W." stood for "Buckwheat." Stevenson was born in Dallas, Texas, and attended W. H. Adamson High School with such other future noted musicians as Michael Martin Murphey, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and Larry Groce.

Stevenson performed and was taped for the intended pilot of Austin City Limits on October 13, 1974. However, the recording quality was deemed too poor to broadcast. Willie Nelson's performance taped the following night ended up being aired as the first episode of the long-running program.[1]

My Maria

Stevenson's biggest hit was "My Maria", co-written with Daniel Moore. "My Maria" reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending September 29, 1973, and was covered much later by the country duo Brooks & Dunn, for whom it was a three-week No. 1 country hit in mid-1996. Among Stevenson's other chart singles are "A Little Bit of Understanding", "The River Of Love", "Down To The Station", and the original version of Daniel Moore's "Shambala", which in a cover version by Three Dog Night reached No. 3.[2]

Stevenson recorded one Contemporary Christian album, Lifeline, produced by his Beverly Hills, California, next-door neighbor, Chris Christian, that had success on Christian radio with the hit "Heading Home". His album, Rainbow Down The Road was completed posthumously and included a duet with Willie Nelson on "Heart of the Country". Author Jan Reid devotes a chapter to Stevenson in his book The Improbable Rise of Redneck Rock, dubbing him "The Voice".[3]

In 2012, musician Shawn Colvin, covered B.W. Stevenson's song, "On My Own".

Death

Stevenson died undergoing heart valve surgery at the age of 38. Since his death, Poor David's Pub in Dallas has held an annual songwriting competition in his memory.[4]

Discography

Collaborators

References

  1. ↑ "History of ACL | Austin City Limits". Acltv.com. 1974-10-14. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
  2. ↑ "B.W. Stevenson Discography". Discogs. Retrieved 2016-08-20.
  3. ↑ Jan Reid. "The Improbable Rise of Redneck Rock: New Edition". Books.google.com. p. 128. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
  4. ↑ "Comp". Poordavidspub.com. 2016-04-15. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
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