Vernon Stewart

The Vernon Stewart Story

Vernon Howard Stewart was born on March 31, 1927, to John O. and Mabel Stewart. For a while, the family lived in Pottawatomie, Oklahoma, but by the advent of the 1940s, had returned to Yell County, Arkansas. Stewart served his country during World War II in the US Army as a technician. He had married by 1950 and lived with his first wife, his son, and his daughter in adjacent Pope County. He later married Betty Abernathy.

Vernon Stewart, late 1950s

Musically inclined, Stewart started out as a singer and musician around 1949, performing in and around Russellville, Arkansas. He became a DJ on KXRJ in 1956 and by 1958, was associated with the likes of Carl Blankenship and "Little" George Domerese, two popular performers in the areas around Russellville, Clarksville, and Fort Smith. Blankenship had recently started his own label, Razorback Records in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and Stewart got the chance for a release. "I'm Tired of Making Believe" b/w "I'll Still Love You" (Razorback #102), both his own compositions, were two country performances that appeared around May-June 1958.

Like Blankenship and Domerese did, Stewart organized a new country stage show in Dardanelle, Arkansas, which started around March 1959. The same year, he and his band, the Skyliners, started recording for the Illinois based Blue J record label, which resulted in two singles in 1959. Stewart followed up with two more singles for Peach Records from Georgia. His Peach recordings included a remake of "I'm Tired of Making Believe" (1960) and "Mean Mean Baby" (1961); the latter was included on a few rockabilly compilations. 

He transferred from Peach to the Nashville based Chart imprint in 1962 and it was this recording deal that bestowed him with his first and only hit record. "The Way It Feels to Die" reached #17 in Billboard's Hot Country Singles in February 1963 and was picked up by Vee-Jay in March. Another record appeared in September on Vee-Jay, which could not repeat the success of its precursor. 

Stewart kept working for KXJR through 1963 and became a member of the Country Music Association a year later. However, he took a long break from recording and apparently, rather set his mind on producing records. As far as I'm concerned, Stewart got involved in a local record company from his home Yell County in Arkansas, the Tagg label. The company had several releases in 1964 and 1965 but folded afterwards. He had another shot at the record market with a single on Rimrock in 1966.

Stewart cut a single for his own Vernon label in 1974, which seems to be his last record issued. Vernon Stewart died on September 23, 1981, at age 54. He is buried at Rest Haven Memorial Park in Russellville.

Discography

Razorback 45-102: I'm Tired of Making Believe / I'll Still Love You (1958)
Blu-J BJ-303: Stay In My Arms As You Stay In My Heart / Once to Many Times (1959)
Blu-J BJ-304: Christmas Tree in Heaven / Down to the Blues (1959)
Peach 740: I'm Tired of Making Believe / I'll Still Love You (1960)
Peach 751: Mean Mean Baby / Heal This Old Heart (1961)
Chart Y-501: The Way It Feels to Die / You're Not All Here (1962)
Vee Jay VJ 488: The Way It Feels to Die / You're Not All Here (1963)
Vee Jay VJ 559: Tarnished Angel / Up on the Hill (at the Big Mans House) (1963)
Rimrock 214: Wondering If I Should Call You / If Someone (Don't Get in the Way) (1966)
Vernon LH 12741/2: Even Our Little Girl Knows / You Found Someone Else to Love (1974)

Sources

• Find a Grave entry

• 45cat entry

• Rockin' Country Style

• Rocky-52.net page

• Discogs

• Official census records access through Ancestry.com