Gene Watson's Peers: Darrell McCall
Gene Watson's peers within the country music industry
believe in the sheer talent of this unassuming man from east Texas, so much
so that Gene is regarded by many of them as 'the singer's singer' - and
rightly so!
All of Gene's Peers who were contacted in 2008 were most gracious with their
time & words. It is here, within this special part of gene-watson.com, that
you have an opportunity to read a quote from
Darrell McCall, which he
submitted to this site on Saturday 4 October 2008.
Sean Brady would like to take this opportunity to say 'thank you' to
Darrell McCall who made a
special contribution to this unique part of this online 'celebration of a
Lone Star Hero'.
Sean Brady would also like to express a heartfelt 'thank you' to Tracy Pitcox at
Heart of Texas Records in Brady, Texas (Tracy is also a disc jockey at
KNEL
Radio in Brady), without whose help, this
Darrell McCall quote about
Gene Watson would not have been possible.
Darrell McCall
This quote was submitted on Saturday 4 October 2008
'Gene Watson has one of country music's greatest
voices.
He can turn any song into his own & I admire his talent & his ability as a
great entertainer.'
Thank you, Darrell McCall,
for your support of Gene Watson.
About Darrell McCall...
Darrell McCall, who is a
native of New Jasper, Ohio began his music career when he landed a slot as a
Saturday morning disc jockey on a local radio station when he was fifteen
years old. It was around this time that Darrell began playing local dances &
events as a musician.
Following his high school graduation, he joined the army & was stationed in
Kentucky. After his tour of duty was completed, Darrell & his childhood
friend Johnny Paycheck moved to Nashville in 1958.
Darrell & Johnny attempted to record as a duo but they were unsuccessful.
Darrell then became a studio harmony vocalist, singing on records by Faron
Young, George Jones & Ray Price.
In a short time, Darrell's studio work led to road work as he played bass &
sang harmony for the touring bands of Faron Young, Ray Price & Hank Williams
Junior.
It was during a recording session in 1959 that Darrell met Buddy Killen, a
renowned Nashville producer & publisher. Buddy was sufficiently impressed
with Darrell's abilities & asked him to join a group he was putting together
called The Little Dippers (a group that included Hurshel Wiginton, Delores
Dinning & Emily Gilmore). The Little Dippers had one major pop hit in 1960,
the Top 10 single 'Forever'.
In 1961, Darrell signed a solo recording contract with Capitol Records & saw
the release of two pop singles, namely 'My kind of loving' & 'Call the zoo'.
Darrell McCall returned to the country music genre in 1962 when he signed a
recording contract with Philips. In January 1963, 'A stranger was here' was
released & peaked at No.17; the track spent eight weeks on the country
charts.
It was also in 1963 that Darrell McCall sang the theme song for the Martin Ritt-directed movie 'Hud' which starred Paul Newman (26 January 1925 - 26
September 2008) in the lead role.
In 1968, Darrell McCall joined the roster of Wayside Records, an independent
label; between 1968 & 1970 he achieved four country hits for the label,
namely 'I'd love to live with you again', 'Wall of pictures', 'Hurry up' &
'The arms of my weakness'.
Gene Watson recorded 'I'd love to live with you again' & included the track
on 'Beautiful Country' (Capitol Records,
1977).
In 1970, Darrell saw the release, on Wayside Records, of the album 'Meet
Darrell McCall' (the album was distributed by Mercury Records). His contract
with Wayside Records expired in 1971 but Darrell did not sign another
contract immediately.
In 1972, Hank Williams Junior recorded 'Eleven roses' (a song co-written by
Darrell McCall & Lamar Morris); the track spent two weeks at No.1 on the
Billboard country music singles chart in 1972 (1 July - 15 July). As a
consequence, Darrell was signed by Tree International as a professional
songwriter.
It was in 1974 that Darrell McCall reactivated his recording career when he
signed with Atlantic Records; his debut single for the label, 'There's still
a lot of love in San Antone', nearly reached the Top 50 country chart.
In 1975, Darrell left Atlantic Records & joined Columbia Records where his
first single was 'Pins & needles (in my heart)'. His second single, 'Lily
Dale', was a duet with Willie Nelson & cracked the country music Top 40 in
1977. As a result, 'Lily Dale' was named 'Best Duet' of 1977 by Cash Box
Magazine.
Gene Watson recorded the Bob Wills' classic 'Lily Dale'; the track was
included on 'Bob Wills: Tribute to Bob's 100th Birthday' (Common Ground Records, 2005).
Further Darrell McCall singles on Columbia Records included 'Dreams of a
dreamer', 'Down the roads of Daddy's dreams' & 'The weeds outlived the
roses'.
Gene Watson recorded 'Dreams of a dreamer' & included the track on 'Back
in the Fire' (Warner Bros. Records, 1988).
In 1980, Darrell McCall signed with Hillside Records where he recorded 'San Antonio
Medley', a duet with Curtis Potter. He later switched labels to RCA Records
where he recorded the single 'Long line of empties' which was produced by
Ronnie Milsap.
In 1986, Darrell McCall recorded two highly acclaimed albums; 'Reunion'
(BGM Records, 1986) was recorded with his old backing group the Tennessee Volunteers,
while 'Hot
Texas Country' (Step One Records, 1986) was a duet album with Johnny
Bush.
In the 1990s, Darrell McCall signed with Artap Records & saw the release of three
successful projects namely 'All She Did Was Fall in Love' (Artap Records,
1994), 'A Way to Survive' (Artap Records, 1995) & 'Pictures Can't Talk Back'
(Artap Records, 1997).
In 1997, Bear Family Records in Germany released
'Darrell McCall - The Real Deal', a comprehensive 5-CD box set of
vintage material.
In 1997, the Terry Awards honoured Darrell McCall with its prestigious
'Living Legend Award' in Fort Worth, Texas. And in 1998, Darrell was
inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in Austin.
In late 2004, Darrell McCall joined the roster of Heart of Texas Records (a label based in Brady,
Texas) & recorded the album 'Old Memories & Wine'; Justin Trevino produced
the set but Darrell (for the first time in his career) was given the
opportunity to select both the material & the musicians.
Further Darrell McCall albums on the Heart of Texas Records label included
'The Essential Darrell McCall' (2006) & 'Lily Dale' (2008).
At the time of the acquisition of this Gene Watson quote (in October 2008),
Darrell McCall & his wife Mona (an accomplished vocalist in her own right)
were living close to Brady in Texas.
Visit Darrell McCall's
Official Site
Visit Darrell McCall's Official MySpace Site
Visit Heart of Texas Records' Official Site