Bill Stewart, Sr.

Bill Stewart Sr., shown here in 1980, was a member of Sammy Stewart’s Orchestra, beginning in 1922. He appeared with the band in Chicago at the Entertainer’s Cafe and the Sunset Cafe.

When the orchestra wanted to return to Columbus to open the Ogden/Lincoln Theater in 1928, half of the group stayed in Chicago, but Bill Stewart returned. He went with the band to New York in 1930 and returned to Columbus when the band dissolved in 1933.

Bill Stewart continued playing with Percy Lowery’s Orchestra and ran the Downbeat Club, a Local 589 establishment. His son, Bill Stewart, Jr. became a noted saxophone soloist. Stewart, Sr. passed away in 1984.