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A Note From Billy


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Youngest Old-Time Fiddle Player on Grand Ole Opry Remembers Singing Siblings and 'The Tennessee Waltz'   

Bill Stewart doesn’t mind talking about his brother.   Who wouldn’t be proud of having a sibling who co-authored the most famous song in country music history?  But the man once billed as “the youngest old-time fiddle player on the Grand Ole Opry” has lots of stories of his own to share. 

The next-to-the-youngest in a family of seven, the 74-year-old Bullitt County resident was born and reared in Louisville.  “Both my parents are from Ashland City, Tennessee, but daddy came to Louisville looking for work,” he said.

Not only did Samuel Lawrence Stewart find employment in Louisville, he and wife Lucille did a remarkable job of helping all their offspring hone their musical talents.  “Dad was a craftsman at making and repairing musical instruments. He was also an excellent cook, barber, and cobbler,” recalled Bill. 

Every family member played an instrument, with Lucille serving as the head musician. “She taught Dad how to play, and we would play and sing the old standards around the house. 

“When company would come, my brothers would run off to bed, but Dad would say ‘Boys, get the instruments out;’, then, ‘Get out of bed, it’s not bedtime.’” 

The first Stewarts to gain more public notoriety for their talents were Al and his younger brother Eury, also known as Slim. 

They would strum their instruments while selling Courier-Journals on street corners around Louisville. They were featured on WHAS radio after a story in the Courier headlined “Al and Slim, the Courier Journal Singing Newsboys” put them in the spotlight. 

Al would move on to play guitar for “Cliff Gross and the Texas Playboys.” In the 1930s, his daily routine included performances at Rodes Burford Furniture Store in Louisville.   

                                                                              
                                                                              



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