Biography: 1980s

Gene Watson celebrated five years with Capitol Records in 1980.  Many agree that Gene Watson’s tenure with the label between 1975 & 1980 produced some exquisite country music & that these years of Gene’s musical life are considered to be his 'glory days'.

Gene began 1980 with 'Nothing sure looked good on you', which reached the Top 5.  However, his next three releases namely 'Bedroom ballad', 'Raisin’ cane in Texas' & 'No one will ever know' only achieved Top 20 status on the charts.

At the time, Gene felt that these latter recordings for the label could have attained a higher chart position than they did had Capitol Records promoted them adequately.  Gene also felt aggrieved that Capitol Records appeared to be unwilling to properly promote him the way he felt they should have been.

Capitol Records apparently felt that there was no need to invest heavily in promoting Gene as his records were selling consistently & his concert appearances were sell-out events.  Gene was so annoyed at the attitude of Capitol Records that he was simply uninterested as to what the label called his last album.  As it turned out, the album in question was called 'No One Will Ever Know' (Capitol Records ST12102) & it was released in 1980.

Gene Watson felt that he was at a crossroads as far as his career was concerned and so he took some time off to contemplate his options.  A number of record labels, including MCA Records & Curb Records, became interested in adding Gene to their roster.  Gene decided that his next musical home would be MCA Records, so he signed to the label in 1981.

However, before his career got underway at MCA Records, the single 'Any way you want me', from the soundtrack of the Clint Eastwood movie 'Any Which Way You Can' reached the Top 40 of the country charts.  Somewhere along the way, Clint Eastwood had heard the song as a demo recording by its writer L. Ofman, but he insisted that Gene should record the song.

Gene flew to Los Angeles, California to record 'Any way you want me', which was co-produced by Gene, Snuff Garrett & Russ Reeder.  Gene’s first release for MCA Records was 'Between this time & the next time' and it was another exquisite song written by Canadian Ray Griff.  The song reached the Top 20 & was followed by the Top 25 single 'Maybe I should have been listening'.

Gene began 1982 on the ultimate high.  He achieved his first (and only) No. 1 on the Billboard country music charts.  'Fourteen carat mind', co-written by Dallas Frazier & Larry Lee, spent one week at No. 1 in January 1982.

Sadly, Larry Lee, a native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, passed away at his home in Lebanon, Tennessee on 26th May 2001 as the result of a heart attack.

Sheer determination though was responsible for Gene even hearing the demo of 'Fourteen carat mind'.  One night, while his Farewell Party Band members were asleep, Gene was spending his time listening to demo tapes.  In the bottom of a large box of demo tapes, he discovered that someone had sent him a song on a reel-to-reel tape.  He wondered who in the world would have sent him a demo in such an antiquated format.

However, Gene was determined to hear the track, so he dug out an old reel-to-reel machine and managed to thread the tape up.  Upon hearing the opening sixteen bars of 'Fourteen carat mind', Gene knew that he had a hit song on his hands & was determined to record it as soon as he could.  It was also around this time that Gene’s entire appearance changed, from the slicked-back 'Elvis' look, to the longer-haired, facial haired presence of today.

It was such a radical change, that it became the focal point of nearly every interview & article printed about him at the time.  Gene & his Farewell Party Band had been playing in Lake Norman, North Carolina, when the police arrived & impounded his tour bus.  Someone had booked Gene in North Carolina & he had to cancel the gig because he was ill & was on medication.  Someone else informed this guy that Gene was playing somewhere else the same night, so he filed a suit against Gene.  A warrant was issued stating that if Gene came into the state of North Carolina, his bus would be seized & he would be taken to court.

The police officers allowed Gene & the band members to get a few changes of clothes, along with whatever instruments they could carry off the bus.  Gene’s next gig was at the Lone Star Café in New York City, but he & the band had to fly there because the engine of the impounded tour bus froze.

With all the commotion going on, says Watson of the incident which was thrown out of court, but whose impounded bus engine froze, Gene forgot all his shaving gear, so he decided to quit shaving & stopped getting his hair cut.  The next time his fans went to buy his next album release, 'Old loves never die', they didn't even recognise who was on the cover.

Gene Watson’s brand of beautiful country produced three more hits in 1982 with 'Speak softly (you're speaking to my heart)' (Top 10 hit), 'This dream's on me' (Top 10 hit) & 'What she don't know won't hurt her' (Top 5 hit).

Gene’s reign at country music radio continued in 1983 with the hit singles 'You're out doing what I'm here doing without' (Top 3), 'Sometimes I get lucky' (Top 10) & 'Drinkin’ my way back home' (Top 10).  Gene’s hit songs in 1984 included 'Forever again' (Top 10) & 'Little by little'.

The song 'Got no reason now for goin' home', which reached No.7 in the early part of 1985, was written by Johnny Russell, who sadly passed away on 3 July 2001 at the age of 61.

Johnny pitched the song to Gene one night when they were both guests on Ralph Emery's 'Nashville Now' television show the previous year (1984).  Johnny was one of Gene’s best friends in the music business & he said he wanted Gene to take a tape of the song back to Houston, learn it and come back to Nashville and record it.

Gene told Johnny that he would listen to it.  Johnny replied by saying that he could get anyone to listen to it.  He wanted Gene to take the song, learn it and immediately record it. Gene did indeed record the song - it was included on his 'Heartaches, Love & Stuff' album for MCA Records in 1984.

In 1985, Gene moved to Epic Records & returned to the Top 5 with the western swing-influenced 'Memories to Burn', which was also the title of his first album for the label.

The album also included the song 'Cold summer day in Georgia', a track which features Leona Williams (the ex-wife of Merle Haggard) on backing vocals along with the exquisite guitar work of Dave Kirby.

Sadly, Dave Kirby passed away on 17 April 2004 at the age of 63.  Dave, a native of Brady in Texas, where he was born on 10 July 1938, was a masterful songwriter & had the privilege of having 24 of his compositions recorded by Gene Watson.

Speaking of Leona Williams, she recorded the song 'Memories to burn‘ and included the track on her 'Honorary Texan' album, which was released by Heart of Texas Records (catalogue number 104) in 2003.

In 1986, Gene Watson made a number of concert appearances in Europe.  He appeared at Wembley Arena in London, England on Sunday 30 March; in the King's Hall, Belfast on Tuesday 1 April; at the Festhall in Frankfurt, Germany on Saturday 5 April, and at The Hallen Stadium in Zurich, Switzerland on Sunday 6 & Monday 7 April.

Subsequent album releases for the Epic Records label were 'Starting New Memories' in 1986 & 'Honky Tonk Crazy' in 1987. Although Gene maintained a heavy touring schedule with his Farewell Party Band, none of his other record releases got as high as the Top 20.

Epic Records were devoting their energies & resources toward 'younger' artists and, as a result, Gene didn’t seem to quite 'fit' the record label image any longer.  After a three-year absence from the Top 10 of the Billboard country music singles chart, Gene’s disillusionment with his career grew & he seriously considered retirement.

It was during his heavy touring schedule with his Farewell Party Band that he began playing dates with a new, young artist called Randy Travis.  It was Randy Travis' manager, Lib Hatcher, who convinced Gene to stay in the business.

Lib began managing Gene (he signed a personal management/booking contract with her) & secured a recording contract for him with Warner Brothers Records, the same label that had Randy Travis on its roster.

In order to secure the deal for Gene with Warner Brothers Records, he & Lib recorded a four-song demo tape.  Ironically, these recordings have, to date, not seen the light of day.

On Tuesday 23 January 2007, Gene Watson informed me that, in order to secure the deal for him with Warner Bros. Records in 1988, he & Lib Hatcher recorded a four-song demo tape.  He could, however, only remember the titles of three of these tracks; 'Reasons I cheat', 'The strength to lose control' & 'A fallen star'.

The track, 'Reasons I cheat', was written by Randy Travis & was included on his debut album.  'Storms of Life' was released on Warner Bros. Records (9 25435 2) in 1986.  The album went on to spend 12 weeks at No.1 on the Billboard Country Music Album Chart & eventually sold 4 million copies.

Special thanks to Sarah Brosmer (Gene Watson's Day-to-Day Manager at Lytle Management, Nashville) for the acquisition of this information.

Gene’s debut album for Warner Brothers Records was called 'Back in the Fire' & was released in the latter part of 1988.  The album is unique in that it is the only Gene Watson release that features a song that he had a hand in writing.  The track in question is 'Somewhere over you' & it was co-written by Gene along with Jim Rushing & Dave Lindsey.

On Saturday 15 April 2006, I (Sean Brady) received an email from songwriter Dave Lindsey in Nashville & he informed me that 'Somewhere over you' was one of his favourite songs that he had written.

Dave had co-written the song with Jim Rushing.  When he sent it to Gene, he loved the song overall, but he thought that the chorus could be simpler & asked if he could rewrite it.  Dave & Jim agreed that Gene could rewrite it, so that's how Gene earned a song-writing credit on 'Somewhere over you'.

The debut single from the album, 'Don't waste it on the blues', went all the way to No.5 - the Gene Watson name was back in the American country music Top 10 after a three year absence.

Gene’s revived career also introduced him to a new generation of country music fans.  Two further singles off the album charted, namely 'Back in the fire' (Top 20) & 'The jukebox played along' (Top 25), but subsequent releases on Warner Brothers Records failed to break the Top 40.

Gene, however, felt that things were, at long last, going his way.  He had begun work on his second album for Warner Bros. Records, which was called 'At Last', when the relationship between himself & Lib ran into some problems.  In the latter part of 1990, it was reported that Gene & Lib had both issued suits against one another over management fees.

Gene Watson Timeline...

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