Dave Stewart

Best known as one-half of the groundbreaking synth pop duo [wimpLink artistId="1947"]Eurythmics[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="14661"]Dave Stewart[/wimpLink] was also a highly successful producer and, on occasion, a solo artist. [wimpLink artistId="14661"]David A. Stewart[/wimpLink] (as he also sometimes was credited on record) was born September 9, 1952 in Sunderland, England; the product of an upper-middle class family, he enjoyed his first taste of musical success during the early '70s while fronting the band Longdancer. The group seemed poised for big things after signing to [wimpLink artistId="6890"]Elton John[/wimpLink]'s Rocket Records, but they quickly fizzled out; [wimpLink artistId="14661"]Stewart[/wimpLink] soon resurfaced in a variety of short-lived groups, and eventually began writing songs with friend Peet Coombes. In the late '70s he was also introduced to an aspiring singer named [wimpLink artistId="982"]Annie Lennox[/wimpLink]; the two became lovers, and with Coombes they formed a group dubbed [wimpLink artistId="5074319"]the Tourists[/wimpLink], issuing a trio of new wave-influenced LPs between 1979 and 1980.
When [wimpLink artistId="5074319"]the Tourists[/wimpLink] came to a halt in late 1980, [wimpLink artistId="14661"]Stewart[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="982"]Lennox[/wimpLink]'s romance ended as well; they agreed to continue their musical partnership, however, rechristening themselves [wimpLink artistId="1947"]Eurythmics[/wimpLink]. Their soulful synth pop sound was created solely via [wimpLink artistId="14661"]Stewart[/wimpLink]'s technological mastery, capped off by [wimpLink artistId="982"]Lennox[/wimpLink]'s powerful vocals; after the title track of 1983's Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) became an international smash, the [wimpLink artistId="1947"]Eurythmics[/wimpLink] rose to become one of the '80s most successful and innovative artists, scoring such major hits as 1984's "Here Comes the Rain Again," 1985's "Would I Lie to You?," and 1986's "Missionary Man." In 1985, [wimpLink artistId="14661"]Stewart[/wimpLink] also scored his first outside success as a producer, working on [wimpLink artistId="152"]Aretha Franklin[/wimpLink]'s comeback album Who's Zoomin' Who; that same year, he also helmed [wimpLink artistId="21078858"]Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers[/wimpLink]' hit [wimpLink albumId="77616929"]Southern Accents[/wimpLink]. In the years to follow, he went on to produce music for [wimpLink artistId="36207"]Mick Jagger[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="80"]Bob Dylan[/wimpLink], and [wimpLink artistId="1232"]the Neville Brothers[/wimpLink].
By the end of the '80s, [wimpLink artistId="1947"]Eurythmics[/wimpLink]' popularity was on the decline, and after 1989's [wimpLink albumId="97832990"]We Too Are One[/wimpLink] failed to recapture the magic of their earlier work, they essentially disbanded, with only a hits compilation and a live LP to follow. [wimpLink artistId="14661"]Stewart[/wimpLink], who in 1987 had married [wimpLink artistId="17810"]Bananarama[/wimpLink]/[wimpLink artistId="11952"]Shakespear's Sister[/wimpLink] vocalist [wimpLink artistId="4201130"]Siobhan Fahey[/wimpLink], initially turned to soundtrack work, scoring the Dutch film Lily Was Here in 1989; a year later, he put together a new band, [wimpLink artistId="14661"]the Spiritual Cowboys[/wimpLink], with ex-[wimpLink artistId="580"]Pretenders[/wimpLink] drummer [wimpLink artistId="13472519"]Martin Chambers[/wimpLink]. Sporting a more atmospheric, guitar-driven sound than his previous work, [wimpLink artistId="14661"]the Spiritual Cowboys[/wimpLink] issued two albums, a 1990 self-titled effort and 1991's Honest, neither of which caught on with audiences. [wimpLink artistId="14661"]Stewart[/wimpLink] then spent the next several years in relative silence, accepting a few production jobs but otherwise staying out of the limelight. In 1995, he finally issued his proper solo debut, [wimpLink albumId="4071353"]Greetings from the Gutter[/wimpLink].
In 1997, [wimpLink artistId="14661"]Stewart[/wimpLink] co-produced the album Destination Anywhere for [wimpLink artistId="3844"]Jon Bon Jovi[/wimpLink]. He emerged as an artist again in 1999; this time as a film composer scoring director [wimpLink artistId="8665155"]Robert Altman[/wimpLink]'s film Cookie's Fortune in 1999. In November 2002, he worked with former South African president [wimpLink artistId="4101118"]Nelson Mandela[/wimpLink]. [wimpLink artistId="14661"]Stewart[/wimpLink] came up with the idea of turning [wimpLink artistId="4101118"]Mandela[/wimpLink]'s prison number into a telephone number. He wrote and recorded songs with [wimpLink artistId="8849"]Paul McCartney[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="30343"]Bono[/wimpLink], and [wimpLink artistId="3629640"]the Edge[/wimpLink] (among others) that could only be heard if you dialed this number; the cost of the call was in fact a donation in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the newly independent but beleaguered nation. Along with an ad agency, [wimpLink artistId="14661"]Stewart[/wimpLink] organized the entire campaign. In 2004, he collaborated with [wimpLink artistId="36207"]Jagger[/wimpLink] on the score for a remake of the film Alfie, and in 2007 scored Ted Demme's film The Ref. In March 2007, [wimpLink artistId="14661"]Stewart[/wimpLink] unveiled an initiative called "Greenpeace Works," which he labeled a "think tank" to dream up ways celebrities and Greenpeace could work together on green issues. For the project, he issued The Dave Stewart Songbook, a large coffee table-size book full of stories and photographs. It was accompanied by a newly recorded CD of 21 songs that been co-written or co-produced by him. Also included was the song "American Prayer," written with [wimpLink artistId="30343"]Bono[/wimpLink]. In 2008, [wimpLink artistId="14661"]Stewart[/wimpLink] shot a video for the tune as support for [wimpLink artistId="3969810"]Barack Obama[/wimpLink]'s presidential bid.
In 2011, he completed work on his musical, Ghost, which opened in England in March; he also finished work on [wimpLink artistId="14069"]Stevie Nicks[/wimpLink]' [wimpLink albumId="6442543"]In Your Dreams[/wimpLink] album, which was co-produced by [wimpLink artistId="6484527"]Glen Ballard[/wimpLink] and released in May. Simultaneously, he also completed his first album of new material in 13 years in Nashville, with help from [wimpLink artistId="4162"]Martina McBride[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="8884"]Joss Stone[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="36750"]Colbie Caillat[/wimpLink], and [wimpLink artistId="3791503"]the Secret Sisters[/wimpLink]. Entitled [wimpLink albumId="201686705"]The Blackbird Diaries[/wimpLink], the set was recorded at [wimpLink artistId="4162"]McBride[/wimpLink]'s husband [wimpLink artistId="12913306"]John[/wimpLink]'s Blackbird Studios and issued in late May. [wimpLink artistId="14661"]Stewart[/wimpLink] also helmed the sessions and co-wrote the songs for [wimpLink artistId="8884"]Stone[/wimpLink]'s [wimpLink albumId="201687315"]LP1[/wimpLink], which was released in the summer of 2011. That same year, both [wimpLink artistId="14661"]Stewart[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="8884"]Stone[/wimpLink] joined [wimpLink artistId="4028157"]SuperHeavy[/wimpLink], a supergroup that also featured [wimpLink artistId="36207"]Mick Jagger[/wimpLink], Damian Marley, and [wimpLink artistId="3608621"]A.R. Rahman[/wimpLink]. A self-titled [wimpLink artistId="4028157"]SuperHeavy[/wimpLink] album arrived in the fall of 2011, and then [wimpLink artistId="14661"]Stewart[/wimpLink] returned to Blackbird Studios, recording and releasing his solo effort [wimpLink albumId="373931902"]The Ringmaster General[/wimpLink] in 2012. A year later, [wimpLink artistId="14661"]Stewart[/wimpLink] released [wimpLink albumId="245649036"]Lucky Numbers[/wimpLink], another solo album laden with guest stars, this time including [wimpLink artistId="4162"]Martina McBride[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="3691995"]Karen Elson[/wimpLink]. [wimpLink artistId="14661"]Stewart[/wimpLink] published his memoir, Sweet Dreams Are Made of This: A Life in Music, in February 2016 and then turned his attention to [wimpLink albumId="77279774"]The Nashville Sessions[/wimpLink]. A series of collaborations with superstars and emerging artists, the first volume of the project -- entitled [wimpLink albumId="77279774"]The Nashville Sessions: The Duets, Vol. 1[/wimpLink] -- arrived in October 2017. ~ Jason Ankeny & Thom Jurek