Gene Watson's Peers: Holly Dunn
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 2005 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
Holly Dunn, which she submitted to this site on
Tuesday 30 August 2005.
Sean Brady would like to take this opportunity to say 'thank you' to
Holly Dunn who has
made a special contribution to a unique part of this online 'celebration of
a Lone Star Hero'.
Holly Dunn
This quote was submitted on Tuesday 30 August 2005
'Gene Watson has the quintessential country voice. Most
country singers, including myself, bow to his greatness.
May I wish him (& his fan-based website) all the very best'.
Thank you, Holly Dunn, for your
support of Gene Watson
About Holly Dunn...
Holly Dunn was born in San Antonio,
Texas on 22 August 1957 & was one of the most popular female country singers
of the late 1980s.
Her self-titled debut album, 'Holly Dunn' (MTM Records, 1986) was released by (Mary Tyler
Moore's) MTM Records in 1986 & produced her first Top 10 hit, 'Daddy's
hands'.
New Grass Revival recorded Holly Dunn's 'Love
someone like me' (co-written with Radney Foster)
& included the track on 'New Grass Revival' (Capitol Records, 1986)
The 'Cornerstone' album was released in 1987 (also on MTM Records) & contained three Top
10 singles; 'Love someone
like me' reached No.2, 'Only when I love' reached No.4 &
'Strangers again' reached No.7.
'Cornerstone' (MTM Records, 1987) also included
Verlon Thompson's 'Small
towns (are smaller for girls)', which he co-wrote with Mark D. Sanders &
Alice Randall.
The 'Cornerstone' album also attained the highest Billboard Top Country
Albums rating in Holly's career; it was also in 1987 that Holly Dunn was
awarded the Country Music Association's 'Horizon Award'.
Holly Dunn produced her 1988 follow-up album ('Across the Rio Grande')
herself, resulting in the hits 'That's what your love does to me' which
reached No.5 & '(It's always gonna be) someday' which reached No.11.
When MTM Records subsequently went bankrupt, Holly Dunn signed with Warner Bros.
Records & saw the release of 'Blue Rose of Texas' (Warner Bros.
Records, 1989), which produced her
first-ever No. 1 single - 'Are you ever gonna love me' spent 1 week
at No.1 in 1989, while 'There goes my heart again' (co-written by
Joe Diffie) was a Top Five hit in the same year.
'Blue Rose of Texas' (Warner Bros. Records, 1989), includes Holly
Dunn's powerful rendition of Dolly Parton's 'Most of all
why', with Dolly Parton providing supporting vocals on the track.
Gene Watson recorded 'Most of all why' (written by Stella's older sister
Dolly Parton) & included the
track on 'Paper Rosie' (Capitol Records,
1977).
Dolly Parton originally
recorded 'Most of all why' & included the track on 'The Seeker / We Used to'
(RCA Victor, 1975).
Holly Dunn became a member of The Grand Ole Opry in 1989.
In 1989, Holly Dunn was a guest vocalist on 'Maybe', a track which was
included on Kenny Rogers' 'Something Inside So Strong' album (Reprise Records,
1989).
Holly Dunn also saw the release (on Warner Bros. Records) of the album 'Heart Full of Love' in 1990
which yielded two hit singles; 'You really had me going' reached No.1, while
'Heart full of love' reached No.19.
Subsequent Holly Dunn albums included 'Milestones' in 1991, 'Getting It Dunn'
(Warner Bros. Records, 1992), 'Life & Love & all the
Stages' (River North Records, 1995), 'Leave One Bridge Standing'
(River North Records, 1997) & 'Full Circle' (OMS Records, 2003).
Sadly, in 2003, Holly Dunn announced her retirement from her musical career
in order to devote full time to her other passion, art.
Holly's
paintings, which deal primarily with subjects from the south-western United
States, are available through the Pena
Studio & Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico & online at her official website.
Visit Holly Dunn's Official Site
