Stoney Edwards, fondly remembered among the first successful black country singer-songwriters and the first to be signed by Capitol Records, is being introduced to a modern-day audience with the streaming debut of all six of his releases for the label.
UMG Nashville/UMe’s digital release of the albums, first issued between 1971 and 1976, comes in the year of the 25th anniversary of his passing. Edwards was widely admired for a catalog of songs that reflected the struggle, tenacity, and heart of his own life. The albums are Down Home In The Country, A Country Singer, Stoney Edwards, She’s My Rock, Mississippi You’re On My Mind, and Blackbird, all of which have been remastered from original analog tapes.
Edwards placed 12 singles on the country chart from his Capitol albums, and three more from subsequent releases on JMI and Music America. He first made that singles chart with “A Two Dollar Toy” in 1971, which featured the typically personal lyric “last night a two dollar toy made a million dollar daddy out of me.” He went on to have two songs that each made No.20, 1972’s “She’s My Rock” and “Mississippi You’re On My Mind” in 1975.
Edwards was described by Nashville Scene as “a wonderful country vocalist and a highly entertaining songwriter who tirelessly beat the bushes on Music Row in the early and mid-70s. His style interspersed bits of Lefty Frizzell, Merle Haggard, and Hank Williams with his deep, coarse, yet ingratiating delivery.” The Guardian said of him: “The former trucker’s recordings were regarded as crying-into-your-beer classics.”
Another admirer was country stalwart Billy Ray Cyrus, who has narrated a new video about Edwards. “I was captivated and mesmerized by this story,” he said. “He opened the door for so many great talents to follow their dreams in country music.”