Obituary of Randy Lee Stewart

Randy Lee Stewart, 54 of Talladega passed away Sunday January 10, 2016 in Birmingham. Funeral Services will be held 2:00 pm Wednesday at Usrey Funeral Home Chapel with burial in Midway Memorial Gardens with a visitation from 1:00pm until 2:00pm at Usrey Funeral home. The Rev. Wes Johnson will officiate service. Randy was a consummate musician who spent his life making (primarily country and bluegrass) music. A fiddle (not violin) virtuoso, he was accomplished on the banjo, guitar, mandolin and virtually any and all stringed instruments. For some reason, he despised the harmonica. He played with numerous well-known acts over the years and was a member of too many bands to mention. Just a few of the artists with whom he worked were Kenny Chesney, Steve Wariner, Chubby Checker, Joe Stampley, Johnny Paycheck, The Nashville Cats, Georgette Jones, The Wayne Hann Band, David Davis and the Warrior River Boys, and Kevin Moon and Outlaw Justice. He was regular sideman on The Country Boy Eddie Show for a number of years. Randy was just as comfortable playing with music royalty as with a musical beginner or just friends gathered around at a "picking" session. He never met a stranger. He is survived by his “adopted son” David “DJ” Barfield Jr. and other relatives in Randolph County and in the State of Georgia and a multitude of friends. He is preceded in death by His parents, Oscar and Sarah Stewart and only sibling, Geraldine Fulton. Active pallbearers Lynwood French, Johnny Hardegree, Lin Smith, Jimmy Upchurch, Jinky Roberts and Kenny Love; Honorary pallbearers are The Thursday Night Picking Bunch, his host of friends and anyone who ever heard him play. His life could be summed up in a phrase he often used “That dog'll hunt”