Chad Stuart

{{Infobox person

| name = Chad Stuart

| image = Chad Stuart 1959.png

| caption = Chad Stuart in 1959, while attending the Durham Cathedral Chorister School.

| birth_name = David Stuart Chadwick

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1941|12|10}}

| birth_place = Windermere, Westmorland, England

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2020|12|20|1941|12|10}}

| death_place = Hailey, Idaho, U.S.

| occupation = Musician, producer

| years_active = 1960–2018

| spouse = Jill Gibson (m. 1964; divorced)
Valerie Romero (divorced)
{{marriage|Judy Shelly|2010}}

| children = James Patrick Stuart

}}

David Stuart Chadwick (10 December 1941 – 20 December 2020), better known by his stage name Chad Stuart, was an English musician. He was one half of the duo Chad & Jeremy.

Stuart has writing credits on four of the 11 Chad & Jeremy songs which entered the U.S. Hot 100. Stuart has sole credit for the duo's first hit, "Yesterday's Gone" (their only hit in the UK), and credits on "You Are She" (Stuart/Clyde), and "A Summer Song" (Stuart/Metcalfe/Noble), and "What Do You Want With Me" (Stuart/Clyde).{{Cite magazine|title=Chad & Jeremy Chart History|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/chad-jeremy/chart-history|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407182041/https://www.billboard.com/music/chad-jeremy/chart-history|archive-date=7 April 2019|access-date=1 November 2021|magazine=Billboard}}{{Cite web|title=Chad Stuart & Jeremy Clyde Lyric Index|url=http://www.chadandjeremy.net/cj/lyricindex.htm|url-status=live|access-date=1 November 2021|website=www.chadandjeremy.net|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030129045547/http://www.chadandjeremy.net:80/cj/lyricindex.htm |archive-date=29 January 2003 }}

Early life

Stuart was born on 10 December 1941 in Windermere, Westmorland, a town in the North West of England.{{Cite web|last=Rhoden|first=Frank Jason|date=2006|title=Timeline... part one (before 1964)|url=http://www.chadandjeremy.net/cj/hist1.htm|url-status=live|access-date=1 April 2021|publisher=Electric Paintbox|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020903183114/http://www.chadandjeremy.net:80/cj/hist1.htm |archive-date=3 September 2002 }} His father, Frank Chadwick, was a foreman in the lumber industry and his mother, Frieda Chadwick (née Bedford), was a nurse.{{Cite news|last=Traub|first=Alex|date=22 December 2020|title=Chad Stuart, of the Hit British Duo Chad & Jeremy, Dies at 79|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/22/arts/music/chad-stuart-dead.html|access-date=1 April 2021|issn=0362-4331}} At five, Stuart's family moved to Hartlepool in the North East of England when his father's job was transferred.{{Cite web|last=Thompson|first=David|date=2000|title=The Chad and Jeremy Story|url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/the-chad-and-jeremy-story|url-status=live|access-date=1 April 2021|website=Rock's Backpages|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130319191305/http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/the-chad-and-jeremy-story |archive-date=19 March 2013 }}

At 10, Stuart was recognized for his musical talent and earned a scholarship to attend the Durham Cathedral Chorister School. After graduation, Stuart briefly attended an art school for a year before switching to drama. Stuart won a scholarship to the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. There, Stuart met fellow student Jeremy Clyde.

Career

Stuart began working with Clyde as the British music duo Chad & Jeremy in 1962 and they had their first hit song in the UK with "Yesterday's Gone" (1963). That song became a hit in the United States in the following year as part of the British Invasion. The duo had a string of hits in the United States, including "Willow Weep for Me", "Before and After", and their biggest hit, "A Summer Song". Stuart also voiced one of the vultures in the 1967 movie The Jungle Book. After some commercial failures and divergent personal ambitions, Chad & Jeremy disbanded in 1968. In the early 1980s, the duo reunited to record a new album and perform concerts, including a multi-band British Invasion nostalgia tour.

Following the breakup of Chad & Jeremy, Stuart worked as a staff producer at A&M Records and musical director for the Smothers Brothers. Over the years, Stuart and Clyde reunited to record and tour. In 2003, the duo were officially reunited again and had a semi-regular touring schedule until Stuart's retirement in 2016.{{Cite web|last=Rhoden|first=Frank Jason|date=2010|title=Timeline...part seven (reunited again: 2002 to today)|url=http://www.chadandjeremy.net/cj/hist7.htm|url-status=live|access-date=1 April 2021|publisher=Electric Paintbox|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110911014216/http://www.chadandjeremy.net/cj/hist7.htm |archive-date=11 September 2011 }}

On 20 December 2020, Stuart died of pneumonia following a fall.{{Cite web|date=20 December 2020|title=Chad Stuart, of Britain's Chad & Jeremy Duo, Dead at 79|url=https://bestclassicbands.com/chad-stuart-obituary-12-20-20/|url-status=live|access-date=1 April 2021|website=Best Classic Bands|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201220210205/https://bestclassicbands.com/chad-stuart-obituary-12-20-20/ |archive-date=20 December 2020 }}

Personal life

Stuart was called Chad as a teenager and in 1964 legally changed his name. In 1964, Stuart married his first wife, English model Jill Gibson, whom he met while attending the Central School of Speech and Drama.{{Cite web|last=Boron|first=Allison Johnelle|title=Chad & Jeremy's Double Life|url=http://www.rebeatmag.com/raver-chad-jeremy-double-life/|url-status=live|access-date=1 April 2021|website=Rebeat|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141202130335/http://www.rebeatmag.com:80/raver-chad-jeremy-double-life/ |archive-date=2 December 2014 }}

Stuart has several children and step-children.{{Cite web|date=23 December 2020|title=David Stuart Chadwick|url=https://www.mtexpress.com/obituaries/david-stuart-chadwick/article_02221420-449e-11eb-b41c-bfbd4f227ce4.html|url-status=live|access-date=12 April 2021|website=Idaho Mountain Express|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201228172411/https://www.mtexpress.com/obituaries/david-stuart-chadwick/article_02221420-449e-11eb-b41c-bfbd4f227ce4.html |archive-date=28 December 2020 }} One of Stuart's sons, from his first marriage, is American television, film, and voice actor James Patrick Stuart.

Stuart later settled in the state of Idaho in the northwestern U.S.A.{{Cite web|last=Rhoden|first=Frank Jason|date=2009|title=Timeline...part six (in the wilderness: 1987 to 2002)|url=http://www.chadandjeremy.net/cj/hist6.htm|url-status=live|access-date=1 April 2021|publisher=Electric Paintbox|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020907153405/http://www.chadandjeremy.net:80/cj/hist6.htm |archive-date=7 September 2002 }}

Stuart supported and donated to Habitat for Humanity, the Humane Society, Horse Rescue, and other benefits. All profits from CD sales of his 2013 album Chad Stuart & the KGB went to stopping the slaughter of wild horses.{{Cite web|last=Rhoden|first=Frank Jason|date=2013|title=Chad Stuart & the KGB|url=http://www.chadandjeremy.net/cj/lp22.htm|url-status=live|access-date=12 April 2021|website=Chad Stuart & Jeremy Clyde|publisher=Electric Paintbox|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802015254/http://www.chadandjeremy.net:80/cj/lp22.htm |archive-date=2 August 2018 }}