Shout! Factory's beloved friend and business associate Gary Stewart passed away yesterday. We want you to know what he meant to us.
Gary was the finest human being that we’ve ever had the gift of knowing. Collectively, we worked closely with him for almost 100 years. He was instrumental to Rhino’s success, both artistically and spiritually, overseeing virtually every reissue we ever released. Beyond his passion and encyclopedic knowledge of music was his commitment to social responsibility and justice. He created Rhino’s social mission which we continued at Shout! Factory. We will miss Gary beyond what words can express but his relentless crusade to “do well by doing good” will live with us forever and be our guiding light.
Gary did some work for us in the early days of Shout! putting together a fantastic CD set on the music of New Orleans, and producing a CD release of highlights from This American Life. As Richard said, Rhino would not have been anywhere near the Company that it was without Gary. And given that, who knows if Shout! would have existed if it wasn’t for Gary.
Our hearts are broken over this…..a reminder to appreciate life, family and friends.
Bob, Richard and Garson
Additional reading:
Variety article
Los Angeles Times article
Mayor Eric Garcetti's Twitter