- [Narrator] Major funding for this program is provided by Humanities DC.

Discover the tapestry of our nation's Capital.

(Billy vocalizing) (Billy's lips trilling) (rhythmic music) - Before I leave this Earth, I'm gonna make sure everybody know who Billy Stewart is.

And it's happening now.

It's happening.

(rhythmic music) I like Billy Stewart.

I like his vocal style because it was unique.

It was different.

And the little moves he use to make, nobody's made 'em like Billy Stewart.

♪ And your mama's good looking, yeah ♪ - And people loved his singing 'cause the boy could sing.

You know, he didn't get around.

He could sing.

And he had those little riffs in his song, like.

(woman vocalizing) All that kinds of stuff.

Nobody else was doing that, you know.

She he stood alone and we liked that, fresh, you know.

- Billy Stewart!

There's no short way to explain it.

You'd have to live through the music and his catalog.

It's all very consistent.

It's very inspired and very authentic in his own interpretation of music.

To me, he'll always be king.

♪ Baby ♪ Here I am ♪ Baby ♪ Here I am ♪ They say Fat Boy and that's me ♪ ♪ I made it back in town ♪ Sitting in the park ♪ Waiting for you - [Narrator] If life is measured in seasons, then Billy Stewart lived an eternal summer.

Anyone who's heard, hummed or danced to "Sitting in the Park", "I Do Love You", "Reap What You Sow" or "Summertime", knows the heart of Billy Stewart.

Through his music, fans have been shown his genius, his hopes, his fears and his pain.

And perhaps more than that, they've also been given the gift and delight of some of the best R&B tunes ever written, produced and recorded.

♪ Like the good book said ♪ You have to reap just ♪ What you sow ♪ I know, I know, I know, I know ♪ ("Reap What You Sow" by Billy Stewart) In just 32 years, Billy rose from obscurity to fame, from gospel to R&B, from mere musician to musical magician, from man to legend.

Billy was a journeymen with gifts and talent that made him stand out.

He wasn't an overnight sensation.

No, Billy earned his reputation on solid credentials and singular gifts that paved his way into the pantheon of R&B back in the 1950s and 60s.

♪ Cross my heart that I love her ♪ ♪ Place no one up above her - What distinguished Billy Stewart from other Chess artists?

Well, one is his distinctive style.

He sounded like nobody else at Chess Records.

A lot of Chess recording artists would sound like, you know, the top voice female singers would all sound like the same top voice female singers, you know?

And the soft high soprano girl singers would all sound the same.

And then, they had other male artists, but none of them sounded like Billy Stewart.

He was a quality unlike any other artist they had in terms of vocal style, I would say.

- That voice was just like vanilla flavor.

I mean, you know, just just vanilla pudding or whatever you want to call it.

It was just tasty.

(rhythmic music) - [Narrator] William Larry Stewart was born in Northwest Washington, DC on March 24th, 1937 in Garfield Hospital.

He grew up in a large extended musical family with siblings, cousins, and a mom who could sing and play instruments.

But Billy was exceptional.

He was a musical prodigy who began playing piano when he was eight years old.

By the time he was 12, he was front and center at his church, lifting up the congregation, leading them in song at Sunday services.

It wasn't long before his mother who was his first piano teacher organized her sons, Billy, Johnny and James, into a gospel quartet, the Stewart Brothers.

Billy's cousin, Norman, also sang with the group.

- The Stewart Brothers and those who sang which was Billy, his brother Johnny, me and his other brother, James.

And when James couldn't sing, my brother came in and sang.

His name was Garnell Hampton.

We sang spirituals for the church.

And we were on the radio every Sunday morning.

But Emma had a set up.

We sang in just about every church in DC, especially in Northwest.

- [Narrator] As their fame grew, so did their fortunes.

And for five years, the boys had a weekly gospel show on WUST Radio, one of DC stations for black audiences.

Billy Stewart was a real DC boy.

Growing up in a segregated DC, he went to Armstrong High School, an all black high school in the Northwest part of the city where his musical talent and easy personality earned him a lot of friends.

Like Billy, Curtis Prince, played piano.

And also like Billy, Curtis enjoyed swimming.

- I met Billy Stewart at the Banneker swimming pool.

He was a great swimmer.

A lot of people don't know, but Billy Stewart was a great swimmer and he enjoyed going up on the platform and belly flopping in the water.

So that's one of the things that he enjoyed doing.

And when he did flop, the water splashed everywhere.

(laughing) So water went everywhere.

So, we would leave the pools and then we would meet later on in the evenings and we would engage in playing piano with one another down at the various clubs.

- [Narrator] Billy's talent was undeniable and so was this ambition.

While still in his teens, he entered and won a local talent contest, singing "Summertime".

George Gershwin wrote the haunting melody in 1934 as the centerpiece of his all-black opera, "Porgy and Bess".

- One talent show was, I know it was at the Carver Theatre which was just on Martin Luther King Avenue, which was called Nichols Avenue at the time.

But we would always, try to out do each other.

Try to win that first prize money, which was about $25.

I remember, I won once and I thought I was the richest man in the world, with $25, but you know.

They use to have 'em all over the city and since we all wanted to sing, we'd sing.

- [Narrator] In years to come, Billy would record "Summertime" in his own inimitable way, making it a huge crossover hit.

In the fifties and sixties, DC had a burgeoning music scene with lots of homegrown talent, young talent, who knew they could sing and who chased their dreams until they came through.

Talent like Marvin Gaye, the Four Jewels, Curtis Prince and of course Billy Stewart.

- Well Billy had a house on Road Island Avenue in Washington, DC and in his basement, he had a studio.

So after school, we all would go over to Bo Diddley's house and they would teach us how to sing and we would get voice lessons.

And sometimes we even recorded in his basement and we met a lot of artists from Washington, DC that used to go there, also.

Marvin Gaye, the VELONS.

I think even Billy came through there a couple of times.

You know, everybody that was the singer in Washington, DC always attended Bo Diddley's house.

It was a lot of fun.

- Yes, we called the Thomas Sisters.

And we started out like when I was, I think I was 16 and one sister was 14, another sister was 13.

And we started out just singing around in just little small clubs.

- [Narrator] Billy was making a name for himself in secular music around the same time.

He and Marvin Gaye sometimes sang with The Rainbows, a DC group that included singer, songwriter, Don Covey.

People often say Billy was a member of The Rainbows, filling in when the actual members couldn't make a gig, but that story is set straight.

- Billy Stewart, did, in fact, we get a show at the Royal Theater in Baltimore.

And at that particular time I was working at the International Monetary Fund and I couldn't make the gig at night.

So Billy actually took my place on a show, that I could not make.

So that's how that came about.

- [Narrator] Billy would perform whenever and wherever he could, at clubs, parties, or military bases, even on the street.

Billy's uncle, Houn' Dog Ruffin, was also a musician and he had an orchestra.

Some weekends, Billy would join his uncle on stage, doing what he loved and was loved for.

He would sing.

- Everybody knew my father.

He made an impact on everybody that became a recording artist like The Jewels, Billy Stewart, Johnny Stewart.

(Billy vocalizing) - [Narrator] Even then he was beginning to display the signature sound that when coupled with his sweet baritone guaranteed his success.

(Billy vocalizing) (audience clapping) - [Dick] Who taught you to sing that way?

Anybody?

- Well no, it's a style of my own.

I created this style.

Singing back in 1955.

- Billy Stewart was the quintessential artist of the Chicago 60s sounds.

He was like no other, you know.

He developed a sound in R&B which was word doubling and his love of Calypso music.

He added to that, you know, new genre that was coming in, named soul.

And he just, he ran away with it.

It's just, you felt whatever was saying.

Word doubling.

Nobody's ever done that in the R&B field, you know, like him.

There was nobody like it him.

You know, he was just unique.

He was talented.

He was just...

He had an ambiance about him, that was unbelievable.

And you hear it through his records.

You hear, you feel whatever he's projecting.

You just feel every word.

When he words doubles, you feel that.

- [Narrator] Washington DC, with its large African American population was a regular stop on the Chittlin Circuit, clubs that offered black entertainment to mostly black audiences.

Rock and roll guitar legend, Bo Diddley.

frequently played DC and met Billy in 1955.

He offered Billy a place in his band and took him to the city where he had grown up and made a name for himself, Chicago.

Billy played in Bo's band for seven years and it was there in the Windy City that he would fully evolve and create his own sound.

- It has to do with musician's network.

They're in a network of people know other people.

Bo Diddley.

Bo Diddley, for many years, became a Washington DC resident.

And he had connections there.

And in '56, I believe, Billy Stewart was in his band.

And this was all DC connections Bo Diddley had cultivated for years.

And this went on way up until the late sixties where Bo Diddley had all these DC connections.

And Billy Stewart came with him.

- [Narrator] In the 1950s, Chi-town was at the vanguard of a black musical explosion.

R&B and the blues appealed to black and white teens, alike.

And they couldn't get enough.

Two local labels, Vee-Jay and Chess Records were filling the demand and turning up the hits.

This is where Billy would make his mark.

(rhythmic music) Billy's first record on the Chess label, "Billy's Blues", came out in 1956.

"Billy's Blues", part one, was the A side and "Billy's Blues", part two, was the B side.

(rhythmic music) (Billy vocalizing) Part one was a catchy dance instrumental and part two featured Billy's doubling Calypso-flavored stuttering.

It was a preview of that unique sound that would set him apart.

But the song didn't chart and it didn't create any buzz.

So Billy left Chess Records and headed back East.

In 1957, he signed with Okeh Records, in New York.

Like Chess, Okeh recorded R&B music.

Billy knew some of the artists, people like Marvin Gaye and The Marquees, his friends from DC.

Billy recorded two songs for Okeh, "Billy's Heartache" and "Baby, You're My Only Love".

The Marquees sang background on these two, but the songs failed to attract a following.

Billy wouldn't record again for five years.

♪ You know I love you ♪ Can't you see Billy was dedicated to his craft and the work that it took to keep money rolling in.

He'd often said, he'd rather be on stage than in a studio.

So that's what he did.

- He enjoyed entertaining.

He reminded me of Solomon Burke when he was out there because he would bounce around the stadium and then he could sit down and play the piano, as well.

But he enjoyed entertaining, going up and standing up and doing his own vocals.

And that's where he created that sound.

(lips trilling) - Billy was the type of person, he was a very nice person, very friendly.

But he didn't know what time to leave for a gig.

You know, he was always running late and I couldn't deal with that.

And he always drove so fast.

You know, and I didn't like that.

So I started taking the Greyhound or the Trailways bus and I'd meet them there.

- [Narrator] In 1962, he returned to Chess Records owned by brothers, Leonard and Phil Chess.

Music was on the verge of changing, a new sound for a new time.

And Billy was ready.

This time around Billy collaborated with another Billy, Billy Davis.

Davis was an A&R man, songwriter producer, who catapulted Chess and its subsidiary labels to the forefront of R&B music.

- Being a recording artist, I didn't think that I would be placed on a Chess label because Chess, Checker and Argo were three labels all combined together.

And when you're on Chess, you're on the top.

And that surprised me, but I think that was because of Billy Davis, who was an A&R man there and I helped Billy Davis a lot with some of the other instrumentals, instrumental players and the vocals.

- I'm thankful for the experience that I had, especially the experience with Billy Davis, whom I loved dearly.

And he was good at what he did though.

But it's something about this blackness that when the black folk get together, it brings out a whole difference tune.

And Billy was gifted that way and got the best out of all of us.

- [Narrator] The pairing of the two Billy's would be just the boost Billy needed.

Stewart's first single under Davis' direction, was also the beginning of his string of hits.

"Reap What You Sow", came out in May, 1962.

A young girl group from Washington, DC, The Four Jewels, sang background.

His cousin, Grace Ruffin, was a member of the group.

The girls had a recording contract with Chess arranged by Bo Diddley.

♪ They say Fat Boy and that's me ♪ ♪ I made it back in town "Reap What You Sow", hit number 18 on Billboards R&B chart that year.

The record's B side, "Fat Boy", an overweight man's plea to be loved, seemed to mark the beginning of a trend for Billy.

"Fat Boy" and many of the songs that would follow appeared to be a reflection of Billy's insecurities about his weight.

At times, he weighed up to 300 pounds and his weight struggles affected his self-esteem and influenced his art.

- Billy was committed, even though he struggled with his weight and his diabetes, he was very committed.

The side I saw of Billy, I saw two sides of Billy.

We all have different personalities.

I saw the bad side of Billy.

And I saw the good side of Billy.

And I think his bad side was because people ridiculed him about his weight.

And he struggled with that for years.

Dick Clark did the interview with Billy Stewart.

He was telling him Billy how he lost weight.

Billy, said he lost about 70 pounds, 'cause Billy was real big, you know what I'm saying.

He always been big all his life.

But he had lost a lot of weight.

Up until his death, he lost a lot of weight.

- You lost a lot of weight!

- Yeah, I lost about 70 pounds.

- Last time I saw you, you were a little bit larger.

Not that you're a tiny individual now by any means.

(Billy laughing) - [Narrator] Billy was producing at least one hit every year and Chess Records assembled a team of gifted writers, producers, and studio musicians to keep that process going.

People like Maurice White of Earth, Wind and Fire, Raynard Miner and Willie Henderson.

Miner co-wrote several of Billy's hits.

- Billy Stewart, "Can You Keep Loving?"

"Look Back and Smile".

"Why?

", "Because I Love You" "It's You Baby".

It was about five or seven tunes that I recorded with him.

Some I had the privileges of playing the piano on and some, I didn't, 'cause Billy Stewart was a character within himself.

He was really cool though.

When Billy was talking about the food, you never had to worry about eating 'cause when he came in the studio, he had everybody, that whole band was eating.

And they just got relaxed and play with soul and feeling.

Billy Stewart was as a very talented dude, man.

- I did "Summertime", with Billy Stewart.

He didn't have horns on all of the songs.

I don't think he had it on, "I Do Love You".

But I remember seeing him in the studio back here.

We were in the main room, but the studio, the recording booths was a little further.

And he was doing, "I Do Love You".

You know, he was doing that thing.

And he was so you unique.

(rhythmic music) - [Narrator] Chess R&B legend, Sugar Pie DeSanto, co-wrote with Shena DeMell, the Billy Stewart hit tune, "Love Me".

- I wrote that just off the cuff.

When the record producer asked me, would I put in one for Billy, you know, a tune for him.

And I said, yeah, okay.

You know, after I really listened at his music and all that, you know, which I was listening anyway.

You know, he was hot back in them days, you know?

So pretty hot.

- [Narrator] Chess released, "I Do Love You" and "Sitting in the Park", from Billy Stewart's 1965 album, "I Do Love You".

His brother, Johnny, along with other DC talent, sang background on both hits.

"I Do Love You" came in at number six, and "Sitting in the Park" at number four on the Billboard R&B charts.

Both made Billy Stewart a national star.

These songs struck a chord then, and to this day.

- We are talking about Billy Stewart, right?

How much time you got?

(laughing) Billy Stewart.

There's no short way to explain it.

You'd have to live through the music and his catalog.

It's all very consistent, very inspired and very authentic in his own interpretation of music.

To me, he'll always be king.

Of course, there's a Marvin Gaye, but a Billy Stewart proceeded Mr. Gaye.

And I'm sure he must've been inspired, as well.

You know, when you think about his music, there's so many facets to it.

You know, and you're gonna have to make a list, a bullet list, if anything, you know, to describe all the different aspects of his talent, because no one else is like that.

And I'm just so inspired.

Even today, I can't wait to sing that, I'm not saying I'm not going to sing it now.

I'm just saying!

I'm just saying.

♪ I do love ♪ Whoa, I love you so right now ♪ ♪ Oh my my my baby ♪ Yeah yeah yeah ♪ Oh little darling, I say, ♪ I love you so right now ♪ Never, never (lips trilling) (rhythmic music) - [Narrator] Billy was becoming a hot commodity.

He performed in venues around the country and on the Chitlin Circuit in places like the Howard Theater in DC, the Apollo in New York, the Royal in Baltimore and the Regal in Chicago.

In 1965, Billy performed on the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars Tour with R&B and pop stars that included Brenda Holloway, Bobby Vee, the Ikettes and Little Anthony and the Imperials.

- [Anthony] You know, Billy was a tough guy.

He had to be, you know, from what I remember him saying.

So he was very well protected.

He protected himself, you know.

And so, he was very, he could be gaurded.

But when I was talking to him and everything, he was pretty cool.

So I always sat across the deck and Billy was behind me.

Now that I think about it, we used to do a lot of singing on the bus and he would sing all the time, he loved that.

He loved to sing.

Billy could sing.

There wasn't no kidding around, you know, he knew how to sing.

If he wanted to sing it straight, he would.

But he had sort of a unique type of sound.

It was not what we heard before, okay.

It wasn't really what we were accustomed to hearing.

His sound was different.

It was slicker.

A better word to say, he was slick.

- [Narrator] Here's an audio clip of Billy Stewart performing in Philadelphia in 1967.

- [Billy] I want everybody to join in with us now and sing this song, come on y'all.

♪ I do love you (Billy vocalizing) ♪ Yes I do, girl ♪ I do love you (Billy vocalizing) ♪ Yes I do, girl (Billy vocalizing) ♪ I do love you ♪ Oh, love you so, my love ♪ My my my my ba baby, yeah yeah yeah ♪ ♪ Little darling I said ah ♪ I love you so right now ♪ I never, I never ♪ Gonna let, gonna let, gonna let you go ♪ ♪ No no no ♪ Pretty little baby ♪ I said, I won't you to try to understand ♪ - [Narrator] Billy was a fan of the American Songbook.

And in 1966, Chess and Billy Davis gave him the green light to record and release the album, "Unbelievable", and "Billy Stewart teaches old standards new tricks".

The first release from the album, "Unbelievable", was the same George Gershwin tune from Porgy and Bess that he performed as a teen in a talent contest back in DC.

And it was full of his captivating doubling and Calypso energy.

It was the song he performed for the nation on Dick Clark's, "Where The Action Is".

♪ Summertime ♪ And the living is easy ♪ Fish are jumping ♪ Don't ya know my darlin' ♪ I said, a right now and the cotton is high ♪ ♪ Laka-laka-Laka ♪ Yo old daddy is rich ♪ Little rich girl ♪ And your mama is good looking, yeah ♪ ♪ So, a hush pretty little, baby ♪ ♪ No, don't you cry "Summertime" was a huge crossover hit in Billy's career.

And he had been in the business long enough to know his royalties should be mounting up.

- Crossing over to R&B to R&B pop, especially when he did, no one thought he could do "Summertime".

And I'll never forget the joke about that.

Who wrote "Summertime", do you remember?

- No.

- Gershwin or one of 'em.

Bu he got mad.

(laughing) He got mad because he thought he was supposed to get the writing royalties for the song of "Summertime" and Secret Love" and all of that.

And he took (laughing), He said they took a gun and started shooting down the stairs in the back 'cause Leonard and them wouldn't give him his royalty checks for writing the song.

- That's another story.

- Yeah.

(laughing) - He wanted to do "Summertime", so he did it, became a crossover hit.

What happened was, he added his version, his words, ad-libs, everything to it.

And the next thing you know, he felt as though, well, listen, it was a big top 10 hit, it crossed over.

Sold close to a million records.

I deserve a writer's credit.

So, he went to Leonard Chess, owner of Chess Records.

And he said, Leonard, I want a piece of the writer's credit.

Leonard looked at him like he was out of his mind.

So he said, you know, he kept hounding Leonard.

I want a piece of the writer's credit.

So Leonard said, okay, you know what?

I'll tell you what.

I'm going to give you the address to the composer.

You go talk to him and you straighten it out with him.

And maybe he'll give you a piece.

So the location was in New York, Queens, New York.

So Billy flies there.

And all of a sudden he hails the cab, a taxi, you know.

And the taxi takes him out there to Queens.

He's like, okay, the thing is, the cab is circling around and around.

He can't find the place.

So he finally found it.

The cab said, look, this is the address you gave me.

This is where we at.

He gets out of the cab.

And he says, wait a minute, this can't be it.

Are you kidding me?

Are you sure this is the right address?

It happens to be the grave site of a composer of George Gershwin.

He was absolutely furious that this man went all the way across another city to talk to a dead composer, you know?

So yeah, that's the story.

(soulful music) (group vocalizing) (Billy vocalizing) - [Narrator] The latter part of the 1960s presented Billy with challenges.

He was a father of four, two daughters, Antoinette and Darlene, and two sons, Billy II and Jose.

Billy married Sarah Benjamin in 1968.

He finally found his love and bore his second son, Jose.

Billy and Sarah would remain together as a family until his death.

- Well, Sarah was, she was born in Dutch, Holland.

The relationship was great.

I mean, it was great enough for him to marry her.

And she was a beautiful person, very smart, very intelligent, sweet, very loving, and caring and whatnot.

And she was good to Billy's son.

Very good to his son.

Little strict, we all get strict.

You know, but she was good to his son.

And I think that's what attracted Billy.

- [Narrator] He had health issues.

His obesity was complicated by diabetes and he was often sick.

Like many artists, Billy was complicated.

He was described as exacting, demanding perfection from everyone who worked with him.

- I like to share the fact that he didn't think I could play the piano until I played on his session.

(laughing) And he was really praising my talent and everything like that.

I worked with Billy Stewart, with Maurice White, and Louis Satterfield and Pete Cozi and Leonard Castin and all of them.

And Billy Stewart was a pleasure because you could feel his music.

You could feel this soul.

"Keep Loving".

"Look Back and Smile".

"Why", "Because I Love You."

"It's You Baby".

There was about five or seven tunes that I recorded with him.

Some I had the privilege of playing the piano on and some, I didn't 'cause Billy Stewart was a character within himself.

He was really cool.

- [Narrator] Perhaps Billy needed the thrill of a fast moving vehicle or the weight of a gun to help him manage difficult times.

- Oh, I was having a conversation with Johnny Taylor one time.

And we were talking about entertainers in the good days back in the sixties.

And he said they were on a bus tour, traveling through the South.

And he says in between towns, they would gamble on the bus, shoot dice, whatever to make an extra dollar.

And Billy Stewart and Wilson Pickett were gambling.

And they had a dispute about the money.

And this dispute went on for about a hundred miles or so.

At the next bus stop, they got off.

They were still arguing.

And Pickett said, I'll tell you what, We're going to settle this right now.

He pulled out a pistol.

Billy pulled out a pistol and they got on each end of the bus, and they started shooting at each other.

And they shot till they ran out of bullets.

Nothing got hit but the bus.

They shot the complete bus up.

And Johnny Taylor was the one who said, okay, fellows, it's gone far enough.

We don't need to kill each other.

And they said, now you gotta pay for the bus.

So they got back on the bus and they figured out how much they had to come out of their pocket to put the bus back together.

And they were friends from then on.

- [Narrator] He didn't seem to have much luck with cars either.

In 1968, several of his musicians burn to death, when their car overturned.

The very next year, Billy was riding a motorcycle and was injured in an accident.

Billy had his 1970 Thunderbird for just one week and no one could have known that Thunderbird, a car so sweet, a car so new, a car that Billy loved so much would become his tomb.

Billy died the morning of January 17th, 1970, along with three members of his band, Norman Rich, William Cathey and Ricco Hightower.

They were riding in his Thunderbird on Interstate 95 in North Carolina, the remaining two band members were following in the Billy Stewart Show van.

They were on their way to Columbia, South Carolina, to play a show that, sadly, never happened.

According to the reports, Billy may have lost control of the Thunderbird as he approached Smithfield, North Carolina.

The car hit an embankment and plunged into the Neuse River.

Billy Stewart and his three band members were trapped in the vehicle where they all died.

(somber music) - Before his death, the Ruffin family had a big organizational.

We sang at a place over there and Billy came, but he came late and he came in with his new car and he drove and the brakes didn't work and up on the sidewalk, he came in almost into the building and all of us was back there, screaming and carrying on.

So I went out there and talked to him.

I said, Billy, I know you like this car, but please get this car fixed.

Take it back, take your truck when you go down to North Carolina.

He said, okay, okay.

So after that, we sang and everything.

And then Billy left.

And I assumed, because that weekend he was going down to North Carolina to sing, him and his group.

And he did not take the truck.

He took the car and that's when I found out.

I was laying home in Oxen Hill, sleeping in the bed.

And I found out that he and that car had another accident and right off the bridge, down in the water.

So him and the other three guys in the car sat in the car and died just like that.

It was winter time.

It was cold.

It was wet.

It was just rough.

So I just was upset because he wouldn't listen to me.

- That was a devastating loss, knowing that Billy could swim and couldn't get out of the car.

I heard that he was unable to get out of the car and him being a great swimmer, it's just an unfortunate loss.

A heavy loss today.

Billy was a great guy.

- [Narrator] Billy Stewart was a celebrity in life and in death.

- What I'm hearing from the local community, from people who were there at the time is that they just gathered at the scene because it was an accident.

And it was unusual for a car to run off 95 and plunge into the Neuse River.

So there was just curiosity.

They did not know that it was Billy Stewart and his band who were in the river.

That was, you know, fact was found out somewhat later when people got to the scene.

But according to the news account, there were hundreds of people gathered there by the time they removed the car and the bodies from the river.

- During that accident as the word began to spread throughout the community, that there was a lot of curiosity, I don't know about the assembly at the accident itself, but in terms of just people just trying to figure out if they could come to see him, there were, my father said that, calls were constantly coming in about Billy Stewart and everybody was excited, even though this was not a time to be excited per se.

But I think they were very interested because Smithfield being a kind of a small community, we don't get a chance to have too much celebrity action.

And so everybody was curious.

(somber music) - [Narrator] Some in Smithfield still have questions regarding the accident, some 50 years later.

- Once the accident took place and I'm assuming the rescue squad was there and whatever had to be done was done in a manner that was appropriate.

- I'm sure people probably thought if a car ran off the road that the driver may have been drinking, but that was not the case.

According to the coroner's report that we have here, as part of our collections at the heritage center, they were sober, all four of them.

There was no alcohol involved in this accident.

It was just an unfortunate accident where maybe he was distracted and ran off the road.

There were questions about what happened, why they ran off the road.

What stands out to me is the fact, and this is brought out in the newspaper article on January the 20th, 1970 in the local paper, Smithfield Herald, on the front page, it says that over two hours passed before the car and the bodies were removed from the Neuse River.

And the Neuse is not a very deep river.

And I just don't understand why efforts were not made to save these four young musicians.

♪ I do love you ♪ But it's all right - [Narrator] Billy Stuart's death touched everyone who loved his music.

His funeral service took place at the church in Washington, DC, where the Stewart family gospel singers began.

Family and friends attended the service.

His songs were played, including, "I Do Love You".

♪ I do love you (men vocalizing) ♪ Yes I do, girl ♪ I do love you (men vocalizing) ♪ Yes, I do girl ♪ I do love you ♪ Oh, I love you so my girl ♪ My my my ba baby, yeah yeah yeah ♪ (rhythmic music) He created music that moved and thrilled.

He wrote songs for lovers and for those in need of love.

♪ Do you love me He was a visionary and an innovator.

He was creative, a musical genius and a unique talent.

Billy Stewart is a legend.

Billy Stewart lives through his music.

His version of "Summertime" has been sampled by musicians and rappers more than 50 times.

The song is featured in several movies, most recently, the 2019 Oscar winning film, "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood".

Billy Stewart died 50 years ago, but he left behind an enduring legacy and discography of music, created in the heart and soul of a gifted Fat Boy.

♪ Here I am ♪ Baby ♪ Here I am ♪ You see Fat Boy, that's me ♪ Sitting in the park ♪ Waiting for you ♪ Sitting ♪ In the park ♪ Waiting for you ♪ Yes, I'm sitting right here ♪ Waiting for you, my dear ♪ Wondering if you ever ♪ Gonna show ♪ I don't know you're gonna show ♪ ♪ But darlin' I got to go ♪ Never-the-less, I say again ♪ You got me waiting ♪ Sitting in the park ♪ Waiting for you (rhythmic Go-go music) (man vocalizing) ♪ I do love you (men vocalizing) ♪ I do love you (men vocalizing) ♪ I do love you ♪ I love you so right now ♪ My my my baby, hey yeah ♪ Little darling, I said ♪ I love you so right now ♪ Never, never, gonna let, gonna let, ♪ ♪ Gonna let you go, no, no, no - We are talking about Billy Stewart, right?

How much time you got?

(laughing) - [Narrator] Songwriter, producer and balladeer, Billy Stewart created some of the most memorable songs of the 1960s.

He sang of love and devotion, good times and bad.

He sang standards and classics and he sang them all, like no one else.

♪ Summertime ♪ And the living is easy ♪ Fish are jumping ♪ Don't you know my darlin' ♪ I said a right now and the cotton is high ♪ ♪ Laka-laka-Laka ♪ Yo old daddy is rich ♪ Little rich girl ♪ And your mama is good looking, yeah ♪ It's been nearly 50 years since Billy Stewart began to make the music, that would be the foundation of soul and R&B, with songs such as, "Sitting in the Park", "I Do Love You", "Fat Boy", "Cross my Heart", "Billy's Blues, "Love Me, "Summertime" and so many others.

Billy Stewart songs live on the radio, in movies and in pop culture.

Even though Billy perished in a tragic accident in 1970, when his car plunged into the Neuse River in Smithfield, North Carolina.

He was 32 years old.

Billy Stewart wrote and performed the classics that made him a star.

These hit tunes, thrill today's fans and influenced contemporary musicians, whether in R&B, hip-hop or Go-go music from the nation's capital.

Dane Riley is Billy's cousin.

And like much of Billy's family, he's a musician.

Dane was just five years old at the time of Billy's death, but he remembers Billy on the piano, playing at family functions and working on the songs that would make him a star.

- Billy Stewart is my second cousin.

I have really fond memories of being five or six years old, along with my cousin TK, we use to sit on the floor while he was performing those songs, raw on the piano, just with him and piano.

And I remember him having a little speaker, a little amplifier and a little mic at the time.

And he used to use to kill that mic and that amplifier and that piano that was in my grandmother's house.

And those songs who have stuck with me to this day, as I got older and became an adult, I realized more of the magnitude of what's, you know, he meant to our family and what our musical, you know, musical tradition in our family meant to me.

So I always wanted to include, you know, a few of his songs in my performances.

All right, so I think it's very important for the younger generation to know who Billy is.

Billy had a big influence on music in the sixties before he passed.

I think all artists should do history and have history lessons of past artists, old school artists, who have paved the way for the artists of today.

♪ Sitting in the park ♪ Waiting for you ♪ Sitting in the park ♪ Waiting for you - [Narrator] Paul Benevidez sings with the group, Malo, a California-based band with a largely Latino following.

A Billy Stewart medley is always included in his show as he's been a fan of Billy's music since he was in his teens.

- When I first got familiarized with Billy Stuart, I was listening to a Spyder Turner album called "Stand By Me", okay.

And what Spyder Turner was doing is he was taking these songs and emulating different artists.

Like he'd do Eddie Kendricks.

♪ I'm to leave you baby And then, so I was familiar with the Temptations, but I was maybe like about 17 years old when I first heard this, then he says, and Billy Stewart might say, he goes.

♪ A baby, a baby, a baby ♪ Ah want you to come up, come up, come up ♪ And I'm like, wow, what a different, different cadences that is.

So I started thinking, I wonder who Billy Stewart is.

♪ Baby ♪ Little darlin', I say ♪ I love you so right now ♪ Never, never ♪ Gonna let, gonna let, gonna let you go ♪ ♪ No no no ♪ Pretty little baby ♪ I want you to try to understand ♪ ♪ That I want you (Paul vocalizing) Some things I like about Billy Stewart, you know, now that I started getting into it, I'm getting older, I'm getting wiser.

I'm getting grayer.

I'm getting bigger, okay.

And some of his songs that I've listened to, you know, just being a musician, there's a lot of passion involved and I can relate to him now being a big man, okay.

And some of the things that he's singing now, you know, fat boys cry too, and I was like, wow, you know.

We share some of that, you know.

We both thick in the waist but pretty in the face, you know?

So I really, I really dug some of that stuff.

And just the way he, as a vocalist, the way he phrases, his phrasing is different.

Nobody did that, you know.

It's almost like, I told you, it's like a hummingbird, just playing with the melody, playing with the music, just hopping around.

He doesn't think about his music.

He just does it.

And lets himself take over it.

And I really dig that out.

And I've learned that from him.

♪ You've got me waiting ♪ Sitting in the park ♪ Waiting for you (Paul vocalizing) (lips trilling) - [Narrator] Washington, DC native, Jas Funk, is immersed in music.

Between the co-hosting the weekly radio show, Oldies House Party, and his legacy as a vocalist with Rare Essence, DC's premier Go-go band for more than four decades.

Jas Funk's knowledge of music spans 60 years and covers Go-go, jazz, gospel, and classic R&B.

In his performances with the Go-go band, Proper Utensils, featuring Jas Funk, he infuses the doubling and rolling tongue technique, which Billy Stewart made famous.

(Go-go music) - As a kid, I used to go see Billy at the Howard Theatre.

And it an was inspiration.

And then as I got older, you know, becoming into the DJ world, finding out he's a native Washingtonian, that was a big inspiration.

Being at the Howard Theatre, when he did his little scats and did that tongue thing, the ladies would go crazy.

I mean, I'm a little kid, but all the screaming and all of that.

So that was a turn on.

So, you know, I pick up things from different entertainers.

You know what I'm saying?

I'm hoping I'm paying him a compliment, you know, and picking up something that he used to do.

Because there are times, you know, I do get a little attention with it, if the right audience is in there, 'cause they know where it comes from.

- [Narrator] Alex Stasi is of Greek heritage and grew up in East London, listening to Motown records and American soul music.

Alex favors the music of Billy Stewart and currently performs for his audience, Billy's 1965 hit "Sitting in the Park".

♪ Sitting in the park ♪ Waiting for you (Alex vocalizing) ♪ Yes, I'm sitting right here ♪ Waiting for you my dear ♪ Wondering if you're ever ♪ Gonna show up - I got introduced to Billy Stewart about 14 years ago.

I've tried singing "Summertime".

I did it once at karaoke and everyone thought I was on drugs when I was doing it 'cause I was so high at top and I'm trying to do the literals.

I'm trying to do that, you know, the (lips trilling).

And even at the end, when he goes.

♪ Whoa And I was like, and that, by the end of the song, I thought I can't do this song again.

This is his.

There's no point in me even attempting it.

I've also tried, "I Do Love You" because for me again, it's the same sort of whole progression as "Sitting in the Park".

But I just feel with that song, it's like, he went into the studio and he just improvised.

That's how I feel when I listen to it, apart from the bridge and obviously the choruses.

When I hear the verses, I think, he's just singing.

And I'm thinking if he ever recorded that song again, would it be the same?

And I thought, there's no way.

I believe 100%, that the younger generation should know who Billy Stewart is because a lot of nineties R&B and hip-hop music have sampled his tracks.

And I remember when I heard Warren G and Nate Dog's, "Relax Your Mind", it's actually, "I Do Love You".

And instead of, I do love you, it's, relax your mind, your mind, your mind.

(Alex vocalizing) And I was like, obviously when I first heard, "I Do Love You", I knew straight away, I thought, Warren G and Nate Dog.

So anyone that's into R&B and hip-hop should be seeking out Billy Stewart's catalog.

♪ I do love you - [Narrator] Also from California, Latina music star, Trish Toledo, prefers performing old-school R&B.

Her idols include Aretha Franklin, Etta James and Barbara Mason.

She recently recorded covers of some of the most popular R&B songs of the 1960s on her CDs, "Dedicated to the Ones I Love", volumes one, two and three.

Trish included Billy Stewart's popular hit, "I Do Love You".

♪ I do love you ♪ Oh my love ♪ I pray for you love ♪ Would come to me ♪ Someday, because I love you so right now ♪ ♪ It's about to drive me mad boy, I say ♪ ♪ I do love you - I got into this and to the R&B soul music at a very young age, thanks to my father and my older siblings.

Also, I used to always attend the San Pedro fish market and we had a DJ and all the audience there.

They would always bump the oldies and classic R&B and stuff.

So I became a fan of it.

I became familiar with Billy Stewart a few years back, thanks to his popular hits, like, "Sitting in the Park", "Cross My Heart" and "I Do Love You".

When I did the cover of, "I Do Love You", it was very tricky for me because, yes, his style is very unique.

There's a lot of character in it.

And I, at first, I just, I was terrified of it 'cause I'm like, how am I going to pull this off?

But you know, just listening to him over and over and catching his little, you know, his little signature hooks and stuff, I did my best on his rendition of, "I Do Love You".

(Billy's lips trilling) - [Narrator] Whether you've been a fan since the 1950s or have recently been introduced to the masterful sounds or Billy Stewart, one thing is for sure, his legacy will continue to live on through his music.

♪ Summertime ♪ And the living is easy ♪ Fish are jumping ♪ Don't you know my darlin' ♪ I said a right now and the cotton is high ♪ ♪ Laka-laka-Laka ♪ Yo old daddy is rich ♪ Little rich girl ♪ And your mama is good looking, yeah ♪ ♪ So, a hush pretty little, baby ♪ ♪ No, don't you cry ♪ One-a-these, a one-a-these ♪ One-a-These mornings, girl ♪ You're gonna rise, you're gonna rise up singin' ♪ ♪ Then you spread your little wings, your little wings ♪ For more information on Billy Stewart visit www.kendallproductionsllc.com Major funding for this program is provided by Humanities, DC.

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