Chad Stuart, of British ’60s duo Chad & Jeremy, dies at 79

Chad Stuart, one half of the British pop/folk duo Chad & Jeremy, has died. He was 79.

According to a statement on the Chad & Jeremy official Facebook page, Mr. Stuart passed away Dec. 20 at his Idaho home after developing pneumonia (non-Covid related) following an accidental fall.

The statement read, in part: “... We ask for love, celebration but also space while the family adjusts to life without this incredible force. The family would like to thank his fans from around the world for the outpouring of birthday wishes and gifts he received every year. Chad took the time to read each and every card. The world has lost a legend today, but his voice will continue to touch our lives through his music.”

Mr. Stuart and Jeremy Clyde made their mark in America amid the 1960s British Invasion with 11 Top 40 hits between 1964 and 1966, including “A Summer Song,” “Yesterday’s Gone,” “Willow Weep for Me” and “Distant Shores.” Their songs were instantly recognizable for the duo’s whispery-soft harmonies and gentle acoustic guitar strains.

They were also familiar faces on hit television series of the day, which provided a national stage for their music and a link to their diehard fans, mostly teenage girls whose adoring screams no doubt peppered living rooms across America. Fans of the “Batman” TV series will remember the duo for their 1966 appearance in a two-part story arc featuring Catwoman (Julie Newmar) and her plan to “steal the voices” of the stately Wayne Manor guests. Other TV guest appearances included “Laredo,” “The Patty Duke Show” and “The Dick Van Dyke Show” (where they starred as a British rock duo known as the Redcoats). On the big screen, Mr. Stuart voiced the character of a vulture in the Disney animated feature “The Jungle Book” in 1967.

Mr. Stuart, born David Stuart Chadwick on Dec. 10, 1941, in Windermere, Cumbria, met Jeremy Clyde at London’s Central School For Speech and Drama, and they began performing music together in the early 1960s, bbc.com reported. His father was in the lumber business, his mother was a nurse.

Stuart and Clyde would go their separate ways by 1968, but regrouped in the early 1980s to record and tour again, releasing new music in 1983, the report stated.

Beginning in the early 2000s, the band was featured in ’60s British invasion-themed reunion concerts for more than a decade until Mr. Stuart officially retired to his Hailey, Idaho, home. He is survived by his wife Judy Shelly, children, grandchildren and a sister.