Michael Gassen Stewart (April 19, 1945 – November 13, 2002) was an American musician, songwriter, and producer.
Originally founding the San Francisco-based folk rock band We Five, he later went on to produce Billy Joel's breakthrough album Piano Man as well as artists such as Tom Jones and Kenny Rankin earning him two Grammy nominations.
His technological creations include the Session8 Digital Audio Workstation for PC, the Impulse Drum Trigger, the Feel Factory, co-designed with George Daly, and the Human Clock, which instructs computerized musical devices to follow a human tempo.
He later played bass in his child's band The Indestructible Beat of Palo Alto (IBOPA).
Wounds to Bind: A Memoir of the Folk-Rock Revolution, a reminiscence by We Five co-founder Jerry Burgan incorporating Burgan's childhood friendship with Stewart, pondered Stewart's life, death and creative drive.