John Stewart, 68, who came to prominence in the 1960s as a member of folk music's Kingston Trio and wrote the Monkees' enduring hit "Daydream Believer," died Jan. 19 at a San Diego hospital. He had a brain aneurysm.
Mr. Stewart left the Kingston Trio shortly before the Monkees released "Daydream Believer" in 1967, then went on to record nearly four dozen solo albums, including the critically acclaimed "California Bloodlines" and "Bombs Away Dream Babies." The latter included the hit single "Gold," in which he dueted with Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks.
Still, as with "Daydream Believer," he was likely best known for writing songs for others, including Joan Baez, Nanci Griffith, Roseanne Cash and Anne Murray.
Mr. Stewart was a husky-voiced singer and accomplished guitarist who delivered his lyrics in a poignant, often longing voice. His music was hard to classify. It included elements of rock, country and folk and eventually came to be called Americana.
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He wrote "Runaway Train," a country hit for Cash, and "Strange Rivers," which Baez included on her 1992 "Play Me Backwards" album. Griffith dueted with him on "Sweet Dreams," and Murray, like the Monkees before her, had a hit with "Daydream Believer."
"There are certain songs that you just go in humming. It was one of those," Micky Dolenz said of "Daydream Believer," which also was Mr. Stewart's best-known recording. Although he sang background to Davy Jones's lead on the Monkees' version, Dolenz performs the song himself at his solo shows.
"To this day, it is one of the biggest songs that I do in concert," he said.
Mr. Stewart joined the Kingston Trio in 1961, replacing Dave Guard in the group that had helped usher in an American folk music revival in the late 1950s.
He recorded more than a dozen albums with the trio before going on to a solo career in 1967. A year later, he released "California Bloodlines," which included the minor hit "July You're a Woman." "Bombs Away Dream Babies" came out in 1979.
He recorded more than 40 solo albums. Others included "The Lonesome Picker Rides Again, "Airdream Believer" and "Rough Sketches," the latter a collection of songs about the iconic American highway, Route 66.
Survivors include his wife, Buffy.
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