Gene Watson: Biography - 1970s
It is difficult to imagine the world of country music without the vast
contribution that Gene Watson has made to it. Between his major label debut
on Capitol Records in 1975 and the present day, Gene Watson has excelled
with his traditional slant within country music.
Biography: 1970s
Russ Reeder was happy to assume full management control of Gene. His belief
in Gene remained so strong that Russ formed Resco Records specifically for
him. While being interviewed some years later (in
1978), Gene spoke highly of Russ, stating that
Russ had devoted a great deal of faith in Gene, so much so that Gene felt
that he (Russ) was very much the guiding light in the early days of his
career.
Gene Watson's debut single for Resco Records was
'Bad water', a song previously recorded by The Raeletts
(Ethel - Darlene - McCrea, Margie Hendricks, Patricia Lyles & Gwendoly
Berry), who were the late Ray Charles' backing singers.
The Raeletts had recorded the song four years
previously in 1971. The song, which Gene loved, was his first charted single
in the USA. The single made its debut on the Billboard country music singles
chart on Saturday 25 January 1975, but it only reached a lowly position of No.87 on
the charts.
'Bad water' may have achieved a low chart position for Gene Watson, but more
importantly it came to the attention of Ed Keeley, the then promotional
executive at Capitol Records. Ed was impressed with the fact that an
independent single had managed to make its way into the national country
music charts. Ed liked the song & was so impressed with Gene's performance
of it that he flew to Houston and immediately negotiated a recording
contract with Russ Reeder.
The outcome for Gene Watson was that he had procured a five-year recording
contract with Capitol Records (a major league record company) & the outcome
for the country music industry was that it now had a new country music star.
Gene had already recorded 'Love in the hot afternoon' for Resco Records & it
was already in circulation, when he signed his recording contract with
Capitol Records. The song, previously recorded by several others, including
Jim Ed Brown, became a regional hit. The other artists who had previously
recorded the song had all changed the lyrics around, because it was felt
that the song was too risqué (for 1974) to gain vital radio airplay.
However, following discussions with Russ, Gene decided to record the song
exactly the way that it had been written. 'Love in the hot afternoon' would
turn out to be one of Gene Watson’s best loved tunes.
'Love in the hot afternoon' was also recorded by Waylon Jennings
RIP;
Waylon's
version was never released as a single,
but his version of the song can be found on the 6-CD box set 'Journey:
Six Strings' (Bear Family
Records, 1999); this box set also includes Waylon's version of 'Farewell party', but his version of the
song was never released as a single.
Gene Watson later record Waylon's little known
composition 'John's back in town'. This
latter track was co-written by Waylon along with legendary songwriter &
country music disc jockey Bill Mack. Waylon's
version of 'John's back in town' can be found on the 6-CD box set 'Journey: Destiny's Child' (Bear Family Records,
1999); this box set features Waylon Jennings recordings made between 1958 &
1968.
Sadly,
Waylon Jennings passed away on
Wednesday 13 February 2002, at the age of 64.
The Resco Records-issued single of 'Love in the hot afternoon'
from Gene Watson became extremely popular throughout a wide area of Texas, Louisiana
& Oklahoma, but by the time Capitol Records re-issued it on their own label,
the song had already become a major hit in those market areas and was
beginning to descend the charts.
Ultimately, this fact thwarted the song from going to the top of the charts,
but 'Love in the hot afternoon' did reach No.3 on the national country music
charts in the United States of America and was also pronounced the No.4 song
in America for the entire year of 1975. All of a sudden Gene Watson had a
glorified country music career!
Gene Watson is held in such high esteem that 'Love in the hot afternoon' was
recorded by a fellow Texan country music artist some twenty-five years
later. Mark Chesnutt recorded the song for his 'Lost in the feeling' album,
which was released on MCA Records in 2000.
On a sad note, Vince Matthews, one of the co-writers of 'Love in the hot
afternoon', passed away on Saturday 22 November 2003, at the age of 63.
'Love in the Hot Afternoon' was also the title of Gene's debut album for
Capitol Records. The album was later re-released, along with 'Paper Rosie'
from 1977, as a special 2-for-1 CD set, by
Hux Records
of London, England.
Gene Watson would be the first to admit that he felt scared to death at this time.
He wasn't so concerned about the success of 'Love in the hot afternoon' - he
loved the success naturally - but he was equally concerned about what song
he was going to come up with as his next release. Gene has always been a
stickler for material and has always had the freedom to pick and choose his
own songs.
Russ Reeder was his producer, but he never told Gene what to record or what
not to record. Russ might suggest something or bring Gene a particular song,
but he never once told Gene that he was going to record a certain song and
that he (Gene) didn't have a choice in the matter. Russ worked inside the
control room and Gene worked inside the studio with the musicians.
As far as the arrangements on songs were concerned, 99% of that was Gene's
doing. He would work up the arrangements with the musicians who, at this
time, would have included such Nashville session greats as fiddle players
Lisa Silver & Buddy Spicher,
Lloyd Green & Sonny Garrish on steel guitar,
Junior Husky on bass, Tommy Alsup on guitar, along with DJ Fontana, Buddy
Harmon & Kenny Malone on drums. In those early days of recording, Gene would
reschedule his sessions if Hargus 'Pig' Robbins (his favourite piano player)
was not available.
After his explosive introduction to radio, life changed quite dramatically
for Gene Watson, a man who had never considered music a viable way to earn a
living. Gene still didn't take things for granted, though. He realised that
he now had a major recording contract with a big record label, but he was
also aware of the fact that he could be dropped from Capitol Records as
quickly as they had signed him.
So, instead of selling his auto tools, he rolled them up & put them away
safely in his garage. Gene felt that, if things didn't work out for him in
the world of country music, then he could always return home to Texas and
continue with the auto body repair work instead. Luckily, for Gene Watson &
for the rest of us who enjoy heartfelt, traditional country music the way it
should be performed & recorded, he has never had to.
Things, however, were not easy for Gene Watson in those early days. For a
time, he didn’t even have a regular tour bus like most of his contemporaries
& had to rely on his four-wheeler. Gene did, however, have the respect of
established country music stars that were more than willing to assist &
encourage this new artist from the Lone Star State.
In these early days, Gene toured regularly with legends Loretta Lynn & the
late Conway Twitty. He rode on their respective touring buses & was also
backed on stage by their backing bands. Gene also toured extensively with
the Wilburn Brothers in these early years of his country music career & also
performed with them on the hallowed stage of the Ryman Auditorium in
Nashville during the 1960s.
Gene followed the phenomenal success of the sultry 'Love in the hot
afternoon' with a song that was as equally erotic as its predecessor. The
song 'Where love begins' was written by Canadian
Ray Griff & became Gene’s
second Top 5 hit in America in 1975.
After a recording session one night,
Ray took Watson to his office to play him some demo tapes. 'Where love
begins' was one of those songs on the demo tapes. Ray Griff came to be a
major contributor of first-rate material to Gene Watson’s music career in
the years that followed.
With the release of 'You could know as much about a stranger' in the early
part of 1976, a song that also reached the Top 10, Gene consolidated his
position in the country music charts & put his auto body repair work on the
'back boiler'. He concentrated his efforts on his now burgeoning country
music career and, luckily for him, he had the support & encouragement of his
wife Mattie & his two children.
Gene Watson’s success on the country music charts continued with the song
'Because you believed in me', which reached the Top 20. The song was also
the title cut of Gene's
second album for Capitol Records. The title of the
album says it all, Gene expressing a heartfelt 'thank you' to all those
people who purchased his first album & showed great belief in him as a
person and as a country music performer.
'Because You Believed in Me' was re-released, along with
'Beautiful Country'
(Capitol Records, 1977) as a special 2-on-1 CD set, by
Hux Records of
London, England in October/November 2005.
Although 'Her body couldn't (keep you off my mind)', Gene’s last vinyl
single of 1976, was not as big a success as previous releases, he came back
strongly in 1977 with the Top 3 hit 'Paper Rosie', the story of a beggar
woman & the title track of
Gene's third album for Capitol Records.
It would be this song that would help endear Gene Watson to a whole new
country music audience in Europe, particularly in the United Kingdom & in
Ireland. The album also gained a release in the United Kingdom & Ireland and
helped to garner Gene rave reviews and a whole new audience of listeners.
It’s ironic that, when he first heard 'Paper Rosie', Gene felt that the song
didn’t suit him. He recorded it, however, but he still felt that it wasn’t
really a song for him. Everyone who listened to the track felt that it would
be a hit song, but Gene, for whatever reason, didn’t feel the same way.
Frank Jones, an executive working at Capitol Records, had heard the song in
Canada, where it had been a big hit for its writer, Dallas Harms.
While Gene was on tour in Chicago, he received a call from Frank, advising
him to re-evaluate the song upon his return. Gene returned to Nashville &
re-recorded the song, this time adding a flute part. On this second occasion
in the recording studio, 'Paper Rosie' came together & the outcome was
another Top 5 hit for Gene Watson.
The song 'Paper Rosie' was featured in the 1990 movie 'Another 48 Hours',
starring Eddie Murphy & Nick Nolte.
In 1977, the album 'Beautiful Country' was released and it lived up to its
title! It included the hit singles 'The old man & his horn' & ' I don't need
a thing at all' (both 1977), and 'Cowboys don't get lucky all the time',
which was a hit in 1978.
This latter song also appeared on the soundtrack of the Sam Peckinpah movie
'Convoy', a movie in which Kris Kristofferson had a leading role. It was due
to the encouragement of Kris Kristofferson that the song was included on the
soundtrack album in the first place.
The 'Beautiful Country' album was re-released, along with 'Because You
Believed in Me' (Capitol Records, 1976) as a special 2-on-1 CD set, by
Hux Records of
London, England in October/November 2005.
Like 'Paper Rosie' before them, both 'The old man & his horn' & 'Cowboys
don't get luck all the time' were written by Dallas Harms, further
strengthening his stature as a writer of some lyrical substance.
Despite the
fact that 'Paper Rosie' (the album) had sold reasonably well in the United
Kingdom & Ireland, the 'Beautiful Country' album did not gain a similar
release, nor did a subsequent 'Best of Gene Watson' collection, which gained
only a United States release.
The release of the 'Reflections' album in 1978 also yielded a number of hit
singles, including 'One sided conversation', which reached the Top 10.
'Reflections' also gained a release in the UK & Ireland in June 1979 to
coincide with Gene Watson’s first tour there in June-July of that year.
Gene Watson undertook an 18-date tour of the UK & visited Belfast, Merseyside, Maidstone, Derbyshire, Middlesbrough, Harrow, Whitby, Carlisle, Hull,
Bristol, Kenton, Hampshire, The Shetland Islands, Aberdeen, Prescott, Kendal
& Colchester. The tour, organised by Mike & Margaret Storey Entertainments
of Huddersfield in Yorkshire, was a resounding success.
Gene Watson enjoyed a stellar year in 1979, scoring three hits. The year
began on a high with the release of 'Farewell party', a highly emotional
suicide saga of unrequited love written by Lawton Williams, which became a
Top 5 hit. 'Farewell party' would later become Gene’s signature tune & the
name of his touring band.
'Farewell party' has a long recording history.
Lawton
Williams
(composer of the track) recorded the
song himself in 1960 for the Houston, Texas-based All Star Records label
(catalogue number 7212).
'Farewell party' was also recorded by Little Jimmy Dickens as
the B-side to his ‘Talking to the wall’ vinyl single (catalogue number:
4-42013) in May 1961, with Walter Haynes playing the steel part.
'Farewell party' was also recorded by fellow Texan
Johnny Bush (with Jimmy
Day on steel guitar) for his 'Sound of a Heartache' album on Stop Records in
1963.
Gene Watson's version of the song (thought by many to be the definitive one)
features Lloyd Green playing the legendary steel part. 'Farewell party' was
actually the last song Lloyd recorded with Gene, having played on most of
the recordings Gene did for Capitol Records. The song should have been the
foundation on which the recording session was based, but the track was
apparently a last minute addition to the recording session. 'Farewell party'
was also recorded in one take!
Fellow country stars Alan Jackson &
Joe Nichols (both admirers of Gene
Watson) honoured Gene with their tasteful renditions of 'Farewell
party'; Alan Jackson recorded the song (with Paul Franklin on steel)
& included the track on his
tribute album 'Under the Influence' (Arista
Records, 1999), while
Joe Nichols included the
track on his ‘Revelation’ album (Universal South Records, 2004).
Gene followed 'Farewell party' with 'Pick the wildwood flower', which
reached the Top 5 & 'Should I come home (or should I go crazy)', which
reached the Top 3, the latter song the title track of another album for
Capitol Records.
Speaking of the song 'Pick the wildwood flower', although written by
songwriter Joe Allen, the song appears to be slightly autobiographical in
nature as it is the only song in Gene’s country music repertoire that
actually mentions his first name, which is Gary.
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