Gene Watson Peer's Quote from Ken Mellons: May 2005
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 2005 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 Ken Mellons, which he submitted to this site on Tuesday 10 May 2005.
Sean Brady would like to take this opportunity to say 'thank you' to Ken Mellons who has made a special contribution to a unique part of this online 'celebration of a Lone Star Hero'.
Ken Mellons
This quote was submitted on Tuesday 10 May 2005.
'Gene Watson, in my opinion, is just one of the many great country singers of our time that is so under rated.
Gene’s voice and songs have been a big influence on me and I’m proud to call him my friend'.
Thank you, Ken Mellons, for your support of Gene Watson.
About Ken Mellons...
Ken Mellons was born Kenneth Edward Mellons in Kingsport, Tennessee on Saturday 10 July 1965. Ken's parents, Rita and Charles, unknowingly groomed their son to have an appreciation for soulful harmonies and raw acoustic sounds.
From the age of three, Ken Mellons was raised in the country music heartland of Nashville, where he grew up on the standard honky-tonk heroes of Merle Haggard, George Jones and Lefty Frizzell (Saturday 31 March 1928 - Saturday 19 July 1975).
Ken Mellons played guitar and sang at school talent shows and moved on to the clubs after high school graduation. Impressed by one of his performances, the general manager of the Grand Ole Opry invited Ken to make a guest appearance. He was invited back several times; in fact, Ken's Opry residence lasted from 1989 until 1992.
While most kids his age were studying in college, Ken Mellons was honing his craft alongside future country stars such as Chely Wright and Lonestar's Dean Sams.
As a result of his appearances on the hallowed stage of the Grand Ole Opry, Ken Mellons secured a recording contract with Sony/Epic Records in 1993.
Producer Jerry Cupit produced Ken's Mellons' self-titled debut album 'Ken Mellons' (Epic Records, 1994). The single 'Jukebox Junkie' was a hit, reaching No.8 on the Billboard country music singles chart in 1994 and continued to receive airplay for the rest of the decade; the song also received ASCAP and BMI Awards for surpassing one million plays on country music radio in the United States.
Subsequent Billboard country music hit singles from 'Ken Mellons' (Epic Records, 1994) included 'I Can Bring Her Back' (written by Ken Mellons, Dale Dodson and Gene Simmons) (No.42, 1994) and 'Workin' For The Weekend' (No.40, 1994).
In November 1995, Ken Mellons saw the release of his second album.
'Where Forever Begins' (Epic Records, 1995), however, only produced two singles; 'Rub-A-Dubbin' reached No.39 on the Billboard country music singles chart, while 'Stranger In Your Eyes', which was written by Max D. Barnes (Friday 24 July 1936 - Sunday 11 January 2004), Larry Jenkins and Joe Chambers, reached No.55, both in 1996.
'Where Forever Begins' (Epic Records, 1995) also included Keith Whitley's 'I Went Crazy For A While', along with 'He'll Never Be A Lawyer', which featured guest vocals from George Jones and John Anderson.
Following the release of singles from 'Where Forever Begins' (Epic Records, 1995), Ken Mellons parted company with Epic Records.
Shortly after leaving Epic Records, Ken Mellons signed with Curb Records in 1997. Although he spent six years on the label, between 1997 and 2003), Ken Mellons saw the release of only two non-charting singles, 'Mr. DJ' in 1997 and 'Ladies Night' in 1998, and one album 'The Best of Ken Mellons' (Curb Records, 2001).
'The Best of Ken Mellons' (Curb Records, 2001) was released in 2001 and, despite its title, was not a compilation album, but rather a studio album composed of nine new tracks and a dance mix of Ken's 1994 hit 'Jukebox Junkie'.
Ken Mellons later became frustrated with Curb Records and asked that he be released from his record deal with them in 2003.
In late July 2004, Ken Mellons saw the release of 'Sweet' (Home Records, 2004) on Home Records, a small independent record label, with guest contributions from fellow country music artists George Jones, Vince Gill, Rebecca Lynn Howard and Earl Scruggs.
'Sweet' (Home Records, 2004) included the track 'Paint Me A Birmingham', which reached No.7 on the Billboard country music singles chart in 2004; Tracy Lawrence later included the track on 'Strong' (DreamWorks Records, 2004).
Ken Mellons' song-writing credits include cuts by George Strait, Hank Williams Junior, Dierks Bentley and Mark Chesnutt.
George Strait recorded Ken Mellons' 'Honk If You Honky Tonk' (co-written with Dean Dillon and John Northrup) and included the track on 'Honkytonkville' (MCA Records, 2003).
Dierks Bentley recorded Ken Mellons' 'I Bought The Shoes That Just Walked Out On Me' (co-written with Jimmy Melton and Dale Dodson) and included the track on 'Dierks Bentley' (Capitol Nashville Records, 2003).
Mark Chesnutt recorded Ken Mellons' 'Since You Ain't Home' (co-written with Shawn Camp and Dale Dodson) and included the track on 'Savin' The Honky Tonks' (Vivaton Records, 2004).
In late 2006, Ken Mellons began recording his bluegrass album 'Rural Route', featuring an amazing bluegrass line-up, which included the talents of, amongst others, Sonya Isaacs, Rhonda Vincent, Larry Cordle, Darrin Vincent and Don Rigsby, to name a few.
'Rural Route' was released in 2010 and included 'Still They Call Me Love', which was written by Harley Allen (Monday 23 January 1956 - Wednesday 30 March 2011) and John Wiggins); this track was recorded by Gene Watson and included on 'A Taste of the Truth' (Shanachie Records, 2009).
Visit Ken Mellons' Official Site
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