Source Material: Billy Stewart – “Sitting In The Park”

Billy Stewart was a blues and a soul singer from Washington, D.C.  At twelve years old, he started singing with his brothers Johnny, James, and Frank, and they became the Four Stewart Brothers.  They sang together for five years on a program for WUST-AM (a local Washington, D.C. radio station).  They primarily sang gospel music, but in the early ’50s, Billy Stewart pivoted to secular music.

His secular career started with the Rainbows (a doo-wop group based in D.C.).  The group was led by Don Covay, a soul singer who helped Stewart establish his footing outside of gospel music.  Stewart’s career took another step forward after he met blues and rock and roll musician Bo Diddley.  Diddley saw Stewart play the piano in D.C., and then Diddley hired Stewart as a backing musician.  In the mid-’50s, Diddley was an ascending artist signed to Chess Records.  In 1955, he helped Stewart secure his own recording contract with Chess Records.  Then, Diddley played the guitar on Stewart’s debut single, “Billy’s Blues.” It was a smash hit!

Oddly enough, Stewart left Chess Records briefly in the late-’50s, and he started recording for Okeh Records.  He only released one single, “Billy’s Heartache,” before he ultimately returned to Chess Records in the early ’60s.  During his second stint at Chess, he recorded a slew of hits, like “Fat Boy,” “Reap What You Sow,” and “Strange Feeling.”  However, the biggest hit of them all was “Sitting In The Park.”  Released in 1965, “Sitting In The Park” was featured on his debut album, I Do Love You (1965).  It’s a beautiful love song and a ’60s classic.

Billy Stewart – “Sitting In The Park”