B. W. Stevenson
B.W. Stevenson (5 October 1949 - 28 April 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 is most famous for his song "My Maria", co-written with Daniel Moore.
He 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.
As recorded by Stevenson, "My Maria" became a hit, reaching #9 on Billboard's Hot 100 for the week ending September 29, 1973. The tune was covered much later by the country duo Brooks & Dunn, for whom it was a three-week #1 country hit in mid 1996. Stevenson had several other successful chart singles, including "A Little Bit of Understanding" and the original version of Daniel Moore's "Shambala", which in a cover version by Three Dog Night reached #3. However, Stevenson never again regained the success he had with the release of "My Maria". Stevenson recorded one Contemporary Christian album "Lifeline" produced by Chris Christian that had success on Christian radio with the hit "Headed Home". During the time he recorded "Lifeline", he lived next door to Chris Christian in Beverly Hills, California.
Author Jan Reid devotes a chapter to Stevenson in his book The Improbable Rise of Redneck Rock, dubbing him "The Voice".
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.[1]
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[edit] Discography
- 1972 B.W. Stevenson (RCA)
- 1972 Lead Free (RCA)
- 1973 My Maria (RCA)
- 1973 Calabasas (RCA)
- 1975 We Be Sailin' (Warner Bros)
- 1977 The Best of B.W. Stevenson (RCA)
- 1977 Lost Feeling (Warner Bros)
- 1980 Lifeline (Home Sweet Home Records)
- 1990 Rainbow Down the Road (Amazing Records)
- 2000 Very Best of B.W. Stevenson (Collectables)
- 2003 Lead Free/B. W. Stevenson (Collectables)
- 2003 My Maria/Calabasas (Collectables)
- 2005 We Be Sailin'/Lost Feeling (Collectables)
[edit] Collaborators
- Larry Carlton: guitar
- Layton DePenning: guitar
- Jim Gordon: drums
- Al DeBoer: drums
- Donny Dolan: drums
- Joe Osborn: bass
- Rod Garrison: bass
- Lorna Willard: backing vocals
- Venata Field: backing vocals
- Chris Christian: guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- CMT profile
- Oldies.com bio
- B.W. Stevenson at Allmusic
- Bio of B.W. Stevenson including cause of death
- B. W. Stevenson at Find A Grave
- [1]
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