Gene Watson Peer's Quote from Charlie Sizemore: February 2011
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 Watson's Peers who were contacted during 2011 were most gracious with their time and words. It is here, within this special part of the Gene Watson Fan Site, that you have an opportunity to read a quote from Charlie Sizemore, which he submitted to this site on Wednesday 2 February 2011.
Sean Brady would like to take this opportunity to say 'thank you' to Charlie Sizemore who made a special contribution to this unique part of this online 'celebration of a Lone Star Hero'.
Charlie Sizemore
This quote was submitted on Wednesday 2 February 2011.
'If I could sing one song, one time, exactly like Gene Watson, I would then declare my music career an unqualified success and retire gratefully'.
Thank you, Charlie Sizemore, for your support of Gene Watson.
About Charlie Sizemore...
Charlie Sizemore is a bluegrass singer, songwriter and guitarist who was raised in the Magoffin County region of eastern Kentucky, where he was born in 1960, in a family environment where both his father and grandfather were banjo players.
Charlie Sizemore understandably grew up fascinated by mountain music and bluegrass music. Charlie's first instrument was the fiddle, which he began playing at the age of six. By his teens, he was good enough on guitar to play with local favourite Lum Patton and to tour with The Goins Brothers Band.
In 1977, at only seventeen years old, the Kentuckian's first big challenge was filling the shoes of Keith Whitley (Thursday 1 July 1954 - Tuesday 9 May 1989) as guitarist and lead singer with Ralph Stanley's Clinch Mountain Boys.
During his nine years with Ralph Stanley, between 1977 and 1986, Charlie Sizemore established a strong and credible reputation as one of the band's top lead singers and appeared on over a dozen of Ralph Stanley's albums.
In 1986, Charlie formed his own group, The Charlie Sizemore Band, and returned to college at the University of Kentucky where he subsequently graduated with a degree in political science.
The Charlie Sizemore Band recorded a number of highly acclaimed albums for Rebel Records, including 'Back Home' (Rebel Records, 1994) and 'In My View' (Rebel Records, 1996); Charlie Sizemore also toured regularly for a number of years.
Charlie Sizemore's 'In My View' (Rebel Records, 1996) included a wonderful rendition of Tom T. Hall's 'That's How I Got To Memphis', along with Keith Whitley (Thursday 1 July 1954 - Tuesday 9 May 1989) and Fred Koller's 'I Want My Rib Back'.
Relocating to Nashville, Charlie Sizemore worked as a songwriter for Paul Craft Music; Ralph Stanley, Jimmy Martin, Doyle Lawson, Dry Branch Fire Squad and Del Reeves (Thursday 14 July 1932 - Monday 1 January 2007) are among the artists who have recorded Charlie Sizemore songs over the years, and interned at a Nashville law firm while attending law school.
In 2002, Charlie Sizemore saw the release of 'The Story Is...The Songs Of Tom T. Hall' (Rebel Records, 2002), a fourteen-track album extolling the virtues of Tom T. Hall, a man revered within country music circles and widely regarded as 'The Storyteller'.
Charlie Sizemore's 'The Story Is...The Songs Of Tom T. Hall' (Rebel Records, 2002) includes fourteen of Tom T. Hall's finest songs, including 'Mama's Got The Catfish Blues', 'I'll Never Do Better Than You', 'I Washed My Face In The Morning Dew', 'Pamela Brown', 'I Flew Over Our House Last Night', 'Waiting On The Other Shoe To Fall', 'Kentucky In The Morning', 'Old Dogs, Children And Watermelon Wine', 'Ballad Of Forty Dollars', 'Margie's At The Lincoln Park Inn', 'Turn It On, Turn It On, Turn It On', 'Another Town', 'The Year That Clayton Delaney Died' and 'Me And Jesus'.
After graduating, Charlie Sizemore went into private practice as an attorney, but he continued to work, record and tour with The Charlie Sizemore Band (Matt DeSpain on dobro, Danny Barnes on mandolin, Wayne Fields on banjo and John Pennell on bass); Wayne Fields has since passed away.
In 2007, Charlie Sizemore made his debut on the prestigious Rounder Records label with the release of 'Good News' (Rounder Records, 2007); the album, which Charlie co-produced with Buddy Cannon, caused Charlie Sizemore's fan base to rejoice and cheer his re-emergence on record after a five year hiatus.
Charlie Sizemore's 'Good News' (Rounder Records, 2007) was a stellar collection of all that's good about bluegrass and country music; the album included exquisite versions of Hugh Prestwood's 'Hard Rock Bottom Of Your Heart' and Tom T. Hall and Dixie Hall's (co-written with Charlie Sizemore) 'The Silver Bugle'.
On Tuesday 15 February 2011, Charlie Sizemore saw the release of a bluegrass and country music project; 'Heartache Looking For A Home' (Rounder Records, 2011) included a cover of Tom T. Hall's 'Pay No Attention To Alice'.