How Singer-Songwriter John Stewart Rocked His Way to His Biggest Hit With a Pair of Fleetwood Mac Members at His Side

Give a great songwriter enough time, and they’ll eventually come up with something that catches on with the mainstream. It just might not be with the song that’s most emblematic of their usual approach.

John Stewart built a career as a folky, introspective singer-songwriter. But when he finally hit the pop charts in 1979, he did so with “Gold”, a thumping, slightly acerbic rock song. And he had some superstar friends helping him out in that venture.

From Trio to Solo

John Stewart did some garage rocking in his teenage years in California. But he eventually ventured into the world of folk music, which was at the height of its popularity in 1961. That’s when he joined The Kingston Trio, one of the biggest acts in the folk world.

Throughout the 60s, Stewart and the Trio churned out material, eventually starting to embrace the work of modern songwriters as much as dusty folk songs. When rock took full control of the scene in the mid-60s, it precipitated the breakup of the group. But Stewart was just getting started.

Working as a songwriter for hire for a while, he penned “Daydream Believer”, which The Monkees took to the top of the pop charts in 1967. Stewart used the momentum to launch a solo career as a singer-songwriter in the late 60s, doing the whole sensitive balladeer thing a few years before such acts became pop stars.

Lindsey and Stevie on the Assist

Stewart released a slew of albums in the 70s that earned critical love but little airplay. As a result, he bounced around to several record companies. While working with RSO on the 1979 album Bombs Away Dream Babies, Stewart was joined by Lindsey Buckingham, who played guitar and co-produced the record.

As for “Gold”, it was partly inspired by Stewart’s life. When he was bouncing around different clubs in Southern California, he often drove across Kanan Road, which he name-checks in the lyrics. And, as an artist, he had intimate access to the music scene, one where artists popped up everywhere, pitching their material and trying to make the big time.

That’s actually Stewart playing the song’s guitar solo, even though Buckingham does add his guitar to the track. Meanwhile, Buckingham’s then-Fleetwood Mac bandmate Stevie Nicks pops up to sing harmony vocals. The formula for “Gold” was irresistible, and Stewart landed at No. 5 on the pop charts with the song.

Behind the Lyrics of “Gold”

Stewart paints a vivid picture of his local musical activities in the first verse. “I jump into my car and I throw in my guitar,” he sings. “My heartbeat in time with my breathing.” In the second verse, he does a quick character sketch of a wannabe star who pumps gas to live but dreams big: “Sings rock and roll in the shower.”

In the final verse, he explains how inspiration for material would walk alongside him. “Ah, California girls are the greatest in the world,” he muses. “Each one a song in the making.” The refrain captures the musical pulse by which he and the city live: “Driving over Kanan, singing to my soul/There’s people out there turning music into gold.”

“Gold” was so unlike the music that John Stewart usually put forth that he eventually wearied of playing his most popular song live. Nonetheless, he got the track just right, evoking the way that the West Coast lived and breathed music in the 70s like perhaps no other location.

(Photo by Tom Hill/Getty Images)

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