'Daydream Believer' Writer Dies At 68

Songwriter John Stewart who penned the Monkees hit ‘Daydream Believer’ has died at the age of 68.

Stewart, who was a member of the folk group The Kingston Trio, suffered either a massive stroke or brain aneurysm according to the band’s website.

He was in his hotel room in San Diego at the time and doctors have said that had he survived any surgery would have left him immobile or unable to speak.

Stewart wrote ‘Daydream Believer’ in 1967 the same year he left The Kingston Trio whom he’d joined in 1961.

After writing the global hit he then produced over 45 solo albums and scored a top five hit in the US with the single ‘Gold’ in 1979.

In recent years he had been told that he was in the early stages of alzheimer’s and had suffered several minor strokes.

In a statement on The Kingston Trio site his friend Tom DeLisle wrote: "John Stewart leaves a compilation of musical excellence unparalleled in his time."

"He leaves behind a wide-ranging group of fans who have felt a passion for him and his music that bordered on fanaticism."