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Stuart Gregory
Stuart Gregory grew up on a dairy farm in central Maine, which laid a foundation of hard work, family, love of nature and life. He loved to sing even as a boy, regularly serenading cow and field, and wrote his first song at sixteen – a broken-heart love song. At eighteen, the U.S. Army was Stuart’s choice for pursuing higher education, becoming a 35H Electronic Specialist, stationed at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. It was during this time with some Army buddies that he first sang in a band called “Haywire.”
After leaving active duty, Stuart joined “The Highway 5 Band” as lead singer, performing at clubs, parties and weddings. Later, while working at the University of Massachusetts Physics department, he undertook his first formal music training, studying music theory, taking voice lessons, and joining both the University Chorale and the Vocal Jazz Ensemble.
He purchased his first guitar at twenty-seven and taught himself to play. Shortly thereafter, he started playing guitar and singing in church, which eventually led to the formation of “Right Turn Only”, a faith-based rock band that played at several Boston-area universities. Stuart became his church’s main worship leader, playing weekly for the congregation, as well as at other local and regional events.
After leaving the Boston area and eventually coming to Washington by way of Mississippi, most of Stuart’s time was now occupied with his growing family and growing business ventures, leaving little time for serious musical pursuits. However, as pivotal changes in home and family took place, he again began playing with some local bands, pursuing an outlet for his artistic and musical expression.
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Then came the most challenging chapter of Stuart’s story – incarceration. The weight of remorse for his actions, along with the loss of and separation from loved ones, created an agonizing, tumultuous spiral in his heart and soul. He soon discovered prison life had similarities to his prior military life, and this, together with being housed in an all-veteran unit, helped return a small measure of order, dignity and purpose to his life. He earned an AAS in Business Management and currently tutors in the GED program. He joined the veteran’s choir, which performs at various military ceremonies with his unit, and he has been instrumental in establishing a veteran’s rock band, “The Soldiers of Miss Fortune.”
Throughout his life, ever since that first song written at age sixteen, Stuart never stopped writing music, finding inspiration in both good times and bad. However, it was the intense inner trauma and turmoil of incarceration which produced a deeper, more focused creative expression, bringing his music and poetry to a whole new level. In 2019, just prior to a Memorial Day event, the song “Some Gave All” was born. “I have never felt a closer bond with my brothers and sisters who serve our country, especially those who have given the ultimate sacrifice. It is an honor to have been able to write this song for them.”
A proud member of the American Legion, Stuart looks forward to making music with his beloved wife, Patti, also an Army veteran, and together building a tiny home in Maine or Oregon. He has nine children and two grandchildren, located throughout the country.