![]() We get on the bus or the plane talking about music, and we get off the bus or plane talking about music. “When the Superlatives came together our mission statement was, ‘If we believe in it, we’ll pay to get there, and if we don’t believe in it, then you don’t have enough money to get us.’ And we treat every show - whether it’s an outhouse or the White House - the same. Hailed by many as the best band in America, the group has built a fervent following for its live performances and albums including last year’s “Way Out West,” produced by Mike Campbell of the Heartbreakers. In the early 2000s, Stuart formed a new band called the Fabulous Superlatives, featuring a veritable murder's row of top flight Nashville talent: guitarist Kenny Vaughan, drummer Harry Stinson and bassist Chris Scruggs. “That became a line in the dirt record that changed my entire life - because two things happened: The record was a commercial disaster, and I’ve never looked at a chart again,” Stuart says. The song begat an album, a concept LP called “The Pilgrim,” which was released in 1999 to universal acclaim but poor sales. “I knew then that it was time for another change, and I found myself right back in Memphis, at Sun, looking for a song.” “And after I’d done a decade-plus of work, made records, had hits and misses and become a hillbilly singing sensation. ![]() Stuart soon got a solo deal with Columbia, before moving onto MCA where he enjoyed his greatest chart success in the early '90s. “That was a blasting off moment for me - and it happened in Memphis.” Perkins heard about it, and “at the end of the sessions Carl gave me his guitar as a gesture,” Stuart says. ![]() It was around those sessions, that Stuart decided to leave Johnny Cash’s band and move onto a solo career. The hoopla and star factor was greater than the record, but on any level, it was an awesome thing for me to be a part of.” The city was electrified that week with those guys present. 'Cause I can tell you to see those guys - Roy, Jerry, Carl and John and Sam Phillips - walk into the lobby of the Peabody Hotel, man, it was like the five kings had come back home. “I wish the record had the magic the press conference announcing it had. We did a TV special there in the early '80s and then a few years later came and did the ‘Class of ‘55’ record.” That project - produced by Chips Moman and featuring Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash - was a major media event, though the release itself was somewhat disappointing. “I guess the first time I really understood Memphis was when I was in John’s band. “There’s several things that have never been seen.”įor Stuart - a native of Philadelphia, Mississippi, who got his start on the bluegrass circuit as a teen before joining Johnny Cash’s band - the city of Memphis has played a pivotal role in his musical life. “Before he was The Man in Black, he was The Man in Purple,” Stuart says. Holland that was played on numerous Sun Records hits plus, a purple suit worn by Johnny Cash in the '50s. This includes handwritten lyrics to Bill Monroe’s “Blue Moon of Kentucky” and Carl Perkins' “Blue Suede Shoes” a drum kit belonging to W.S. Many of the pieces in “Hillbilly Rock” are being shown publicly for the first time. But at this point it’s got to be special.” “Just when I think I don’t need anything else the phone rings. “Being a collector, it's a life sentence,” he says. ![]() Stuart, who has been collecting instruments, clothing and various bits of ephemera since he was a teen musical prodigy, says he continues to acquire new items.
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