B.W. Stevenson

B. W. Stevenson (October 5, 1949 – April 28, 1988), born Louis Charles Stevenson, was an American country pop artist, working in a genre now called progressive country. "B.W." stood for "Buckwheat." Stevenson was born in Dallas, Texas, and attended W. H. Adamson High School with such other future noted musicians as Michael Martin Murphey, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and Larry Groce.
Stevenson's biggest hit was "My Maria", co-written with Daniel Moore. "My Maria" reached No. 9 on the Hot 100 for the week ending September 29, 1973, and was covered much later by the country duo Brooks & Dunn, for whom it was a three-week No. 1 country hit in mid-1996. Among Stevenson's other chart singles are "A Little Bit of Understanding", "The River Of Love", "Down To The Station", and the original version of Daniel Moore's "Shambala", which in a cover version by Three Dog Night reached No. 3. Stevenson recorded one Contemporary Christian album, Lifeline, produced by his Beverly Hills, California, next-door neighbor, Chris Christian, that had success on Christian radio with the hit "Heading Home".

Author Jan Reid devotes a chapter to Stevenson in his book The Improbable Rise of Redneck Rock, dubbing him "The Voice".

Stevenson died undergoing heart valve surgery at the age of 38. Since his death, Poor David's Pub in Dallas has held an annual songwriting competition in his memory.

Discography: