B.W. Stevenson

B.W. Stevenson (5 October 1949 - 28 April 1988), born Louis Charles Stevenson, was an American country pop artist, working in a genre now called progressive country. "B.W." stood for "Buckwheat." Stevenson is most famous for his song "My Maria", co-written with Daniel Moore. He was born in Dallas, Texas and attended W.H. Adamson High School with such other future noted musicians as Michael Martin Murphey, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and Larry Groce. As recorded by Stevenson, "My Maria" became a hit, reaching #9 on Billboard's Hot 100 for the week ending September 29, 1973. The tune was covered much later by the country duo Brooks & Dunn, for whom it was a three-week #1 country hit in mid 1996. Stevenson had several other successful chart singles, including "A Little Bit of Understanding" and the original version of Daniel Moore's "Shambala", which in a cover version by Three Dog Night reached #3. However, Stevenson never again regained the success he had with the release of "My Maria". Stevenson recorded one Contemporary Christian album "Lifeline" produced by Chris Christian that had success on Christian radio with the hit "Headed Home". During the time he recorded "Lifeline", he lived next door to Chris Christian in Beverly Hills, California.