Beautiful River: Unreleased Tracks by Honky-Tonk Legend Gary Stewart Feature on New Album ‘One Track Mind’
Fans of country legend Gary Stewart, known as “The King of the Honky-Tonks,” are in for a real treat in the form of 20 unheard recordings from his vault, on a new album releasing this summer.
One Track Mind, available July 17 from Delmore Recording Society, assembles a cache of restored home recordings, publishing demos and more, telling the story of Stewart’s early years as a songwriter, recently relocated from Fort Pierce, Florida to Nashville. A handful of these songs were cut by signed acts – most notably, one recorded by Johnny Paycheck shortly before signing to Epic – and Stewart even cut two himself: “The Snuff Queen” on a 1970 single for Kapp, and “Williamson County” for his breakthrough album Out of Hand (1975). But nearly none of these recordings have been released before – a real treasure trove for fans of the impossible-to-pin-down musician. (The sole exception are two publishing demos that have to be heard to be believed: covers of the Four Tops’ “Baby I Need Your Loving” and Stevie Wonder’s “Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday,” recorded at the behest of Motown’s publishing arm Jobete to attract potential country crossovers into their catalogue and pressed on a Record Store Day-exclusive single in 2018. Stewart was paid $30 to cut these two alongside a take on the Tops’ “I Can’t Help Myself,” heard on CD and digital copies of One Track Mind for the first time.)
Beyond the delightful novelty of hearing some of the greatest R&B/pop songs in a wildly different genre, Stewart’s Jobete demos serve as an important chapter in his story. Producer Roy Dea was taken by them and eventually helped the singer/songwriter secure a contract with RCA; they produced several albums together including 1975’s Out of Hand, a Top 10 Billboard country album that spun off a trio of Top 10s on the magazine’s country singles chart: “Drinkin’ Thing,” the title track and the chart-topping tear-in-your-beer anthem “She’s Actin’ Single (I’m Drinkin’ Doubles).” More hits followed through the decade, and Stewart maintained a vociferous cult following among fans like Bob Dylan, who extolled the virtues of his songwriting on multiple occasions. (“You get hooked on Stewart; he’s like a damn drug,” Dea once said of his music and personality – perhaps influenced by his hellraising offstage life.)
Though Stewart’s own life ended in tragedy in 2003, when he took his own life just weeks after his wife died of pneumonia, One Track Mind offers a crucial look at the earliest chapter of his musical career – one that would be well-served by a deeper look at his RCA catalogue. (In April, biographer Jimmy McDonough published Gary Stewart: I Am from the Honky-Tonks, a comprehensive tome devoted to his life and career.) One Track Mind will be available on CD and digitally as well as a 140-gram “Okeechobee purple” vinyl pressing, which does not include the Motown tracks nor the tune “Morbid the Great.” Amazon links are still populating, but digital and Bandcamp links are available here.
One Track Mind (Delmore Recording Society, 2026)
* CD/digital bonus track
- One Track Mind
- Kings and Queens
- Woman Will Tear the Heart Right Out of a Man
- Big Bad Train
- Living the Life of a Dog
- Don’t Put a Poor Hand on Me
- Her Apple Pie
- My Mind is on You
- Iron Bar Motel
- The Bottom of the Pile
- There’s a Whole Lot About a Woman (A Man Don’t Know)
- If You Come Back Darling
- You Can’t Housebreak a Tomcat
- The Snuff Queen (Acetate)
- Beautiful River (Trailer Demo)
- Williamson County
- Morbid the Great *
- Baby I Need Your Loving *
- Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday *
- I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) *
All recordings previously unreleased except Tracks 18-19, released on Mowtown – Delmore Recording Society single DE028, 2018
Track 5 recorded by Johnny Paycheck on Again – Certron CS-7002, 1970
Track 8 recorded by Leroy Van Dyke on Decca single 32933, 1972
Track 11 recorded by Jack Greene on Decca single 32823, 1971
Track 13 recorded by Cal Smith on Kapp single K-2037, 1969
Track 14 re-recorded by Stewart on Kapp single K-2089, 1970
Track 16 re-recorded by Stewart on Out of Hand – RCA Victor APL1-0900, 1975
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So happy to see this release coming out. I have originals of his 1970’s albums, but they are long overdue to get a reissue.