
DATE: Thursday, May 22, 1997                TAG: 9705220052

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY REBECCA MYERS CUTCHINS, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   99 lines

VETERAN MUSICIANS FIND APPRECIATIVE AUDIENCES

WHEN IT COMES to talking, Albert Stewart is a man of economy.

What kind of music do you play?

``A variety.''

What's the name of your band.

``It varies.''

How often does your brother play with you?

``Right much.''

Give Stewart a tune, though, and the words in this 80-year-old songster's mind spill out.

He has caught most of them in a weathered book that holds a growing collection of the songs he has written over four decades.

``He's got a whole garage full,'' says Ray Darden, 69, who has played music with Stewart for almost 50 years.

Country songs. Gospel songs. Christmas songs. Songs about current events as they occur.

During Operation Desert Storm, Stewart and a friend wrote a song about the war and received a thank-you note from Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf.

Stewart has even written a song about Social Security:

They're going to freeze your Social Security.

They can't afford old folks like you and me.

I never thought the day that I would see,

No one cares for me.

But just don't cut my Social Security.

That's a big hit with Stewart's audiences these days.

In earlier years, Stewart and his friends played at road houses, barn dances and military clubs. Today, their band - the Red Caps - plays to a more laid-back crowd, making the circuit of nursing homes and senior centers from Franklin to Newport News.

On a recent monthly gig at Autumn Care of Portsmouth, the trio had residents tapping their feet and clapping as they pumped out ``Sweet Georgia Brown,'' ``Mexicali Blues'' and ``The Tennessee Waltz.'' Some kept the beat by twisting and shaking in their wheelchairs.

``I think they're wonderful,'' said resident Sadie Johnson, 89.

``I get a big kick out of playing for nursing homes,'' says Stewart, who lives in the Highland Park section of Portsmouth. ``Some people won't play there because it brings them down. But it doesn't bother me.''

Stewart, who retired from Ford Motor Co. 22 years ago, and Darden, a retiree of the Naval Air Depot, are the lead guitar players.

John Baldwin, a former shipyard worker who has been with the band for about seven years, plays bass and harmonica.

On occasion, Stewart's 84-year-old brother, Harry, who lives in Chesapeake, joins the trio with his fiddle.

Baldwin, 77, started playing the guitar in 1932.

``My dad bought me one when I was 12 years old,'' he said. ``I got with another fella that played, and I just picked up from him and took it from there.''

For about 30 years, Baldwin played in clubs throughout Virginia and North Carolina but had to give it up when his wife became ill.

``I gave up music for 25 years,'' Baldwin said. ``My wife was right bad off for a while.''

When Baldwin joined the band, his wife, who died in 1993, had both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

``I'd go over and tell her that I was playing a song for her,'' Baldwin said, ``and she'd kind of look at me like, `Is that right?' ''

Though his wife may not have recognized him, she always seemed to enjoy the music, said Baldwin, a Churchland resident.

That's the main reason he continues to make the weekly rounds to nursing homes with Stewart and Darden.

Stewart and Darden first hooked up in 1949.

``I was trying to get a band together,'' said Darden of Virginia Beach. ``Somebody gave me Albert's name, and I called him up. He was looking for a guitar player and singer, so I got to playing with a band he had in Great Bridge, and we've been friends ever since.''

In 1961, Darden went to Nashville to record two songs that Stewart had written. ``I'll Never Sleep Again'' rose to No. 11 on the WCMS hit parade.

``They had it playing in 20 states and got a lot of good reception from it, but when you don't have a whole lot of money behind you . . . you don't really get much done,'' Darden said.

Another of Stewart's songs, ``Grandpa Rock,'' became a hit in Germany in the late 1950s.

``At that time in Germany, all these American rock 'n' roll songs were real popular,'' Darden said. ``We got a little money out of it. Not a whole lot.''

But it never was about money.

Today, the band makes just enough to buy gasoline and new guitar strings.

``We used to do it for free, but it got quite expensive, because we'd go so many places,'' Stewart said.

Wherever they go, the Red Caps don't have a whole lot to say.

Especially between songs.

The music is so familiar there's no need for introductions.

``One song just leads to another,'' Stewart said simply. ILLUSTRATION: Photos

IAN MARTIN/The Virginian-Pilot

From left, Al Stewart, Harry Stewart, John Baldwin (at microphone)

and Ray Darden entertain at Autumn Care in Portsmouth. Their band,

the Red Caps, plays frequently at nursing homes and senior centers.

While other residents cheer her on, Amelia Bias dances to the music