Michael Gassen "Mike" Stewart (April 19, 1945 – November 13, 2002) was the co-founder and guitarist for

We Five We Five was a 1960s folk rock musical group based in San Francisco, California. Their best-known hit was their 1965 remake of Ian & Sylvia's " You Were on My Mind", which reached No. 1 on the Cashbox chart, #3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and ...

and a Grammy nominee. As a music producer he produced

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

's breakthrough ''

Piano Man Piano Man refers to a male pianist. Piano Man may also refer to: Music * ''Piano Man'' (Billy Joel album), a 1973 rock album by Billy Joel ** "Piano Man" (song), a 1973 song from the album * ''Piano Man'' (Hilton Ruiz album), 1975 * ''Piano Man'' ...

'' album, as well as artists such as Tom Jones and

Kenny Rankin Kenneth Joseph Rankin (February 10, 1940 – June 7, 2009) was an American singer and songwriter in the folk rock and singer-songwriter genres; he was influenced by jazz. Rankin would often sing notes in a high range to express emotion. Biogr ...

, among others. We Five, known for their relatively complex harmonies, released " You Were on My Mind", which reached No. 1 in ''Cashbox'' and No. 2 on ''Billboards hits list (song remains a favorite on oldies radio playlists), and We Five received a best new group Grammy nomination. The next year, they had a Top 40 hit with "Let's Get Together".

Life and career

Stewart was the brother of

John Stewart John Stewart may refer to: Business * John Aikman Stewart (1822–1926), American banker * John Killough Stewart (1867–1938), businessman and philanthropist in Queensland, Australia * John K. Stewart (1870–1916), American entrepreneur and inve ...

(1939–2008), a one-time member of

The Kingston Trio The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and ...

and later a successful singer-songwriter, and the father of Jamie Stewart, frontman of the

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

group

Xiu Xiu Xiu Xiu ( ) is an American experimental band, formed in 2002 by singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart in San Jose, California. Currently, the line-up consists of Stewart (the only constant member since formation) and Angela Seo. The band's name co ...

. He left the music industry in the early 1990s and became a computer programmer. He designed systems for Digidesigns and for Adobe for use by musicians and arrangers. His technological creations include the Session8 Digital Audio Workstation for PC, the Impulse Drum Trigger, the Feel Factory, co-designed with George Daly, and the Human Clock, which instructs computerized musical devices to follow a human tempo. He later played bass in his son's band The Indestructible Beat of Palo Alto (

IBOPA James Cyrus Stewart (born March 2, 1978) is an American musician and writer best known for his role in experimental rock band Xiu Xiu. He has appeared in other bands, including XXL, Former Ghosts, and Sal Mineo. Early life and career Stew ...

). Stewart died on November 13, 2002, reportedly a result of "a long illness." However, Jamie Stewart has acknowledged that his father's death was a suicide. The track "Mike" from Xiu Xiu's album ''

Fabulous Muscles ''Fabulous Muscles'' is the third album by American experimental band Xiu Xiu, released on February 17, 2004 on 5 Rue Christine. The album marked a change in the band's sound, described as a depressive mix between experimental rock and synth-pop. ...

'' concerns Jamie's reaction to his father's death. ''Wounds to Bind: A Memoir of the Folk-Rock Revolution'', a reminiscence by We Five co-founder Jerry Burgan incorporating Burgan's childhood friendship with Stewart, pondered Stewart's life, death and creative drive.

References

1945 births 2002 deaths Record producers from California Suicides in the United States 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from California {{US-record-producer-stub