Gene Watson's Peers: Johnny Duncan
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 2006 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
Johnny Duncan, which he submitted to this site on Tuesday 1 August 2006.
Sean Brady would like to take this opportunity to say 'thank you' to
Johnny Duncan who has made a special contribution to a unique part of this online
'celebration of a Lone Star Hero'.
Johnny Duncan
This quote was submitted on Tuesday 1 August 2006
'Yes, I am happy to supply you with a quote.
Gene Watson's a pure country singer with a distinctive sound.
One of our best!'
Thank you, Johnny Duncan, for
your support of Gene Watson.
About Johnny Duncan...
Johnny Duncan, who was born
in Dublin, Texas on 5 October 1938, persuaded his mother, who was a music
teacher, to teach him to play the guitar when he turned twelve.
Johnny's early life was steeped in West Texas music. He picked this up
naturally as a boy listening to his mother play rhythm guitar in his uncle's
country band and later, he began sharpening his vocal skills, influenced by
his early idols Eddy Arnold, Perry Como, Jim Reeves & Frank Sinatra.
Johnny Duncan was born into a musical family & was very proud of his
talented & famous cousins, including Eddie Seals, Jimmy Seals of Seals &
Croft & country music artist Dan Seals.
A B+ high school student, Johnny majored in English & speech at Texas
Christian University, but he dropped out after a couple of years.
In 1959, he moved to Clovis, New Mexico where he worked with Norman Petty,
who had produced Buddy Holly (RIP). He recorded in London & New York, but a
pop approach to his music did not work. By the mid-1960s, Johnny Duncan was
performing live on WSM Radio in Nashville. It was then that he received a
call from Don Law who gave him the opportunity to record for Columbia
Records. Johnny enjoyed his first minor hit in 1967 with the song 'Hard luck
Joe'.
In 1970, Johnny joined the Charley
Pride road-show. Charleysaw the potential of Johnny as a vocalist
& let him use his band, the Pridesmen, while on tour. Charley also
recognised Johnny's talents as a song-writer & recorded a number of his
compositions, including 'I'd rather love you' (No.1 for 3 weeks in March
1971), 'She's too good to be true' (No.1 for 3 weeks in November/December
1971) & 'I ain't all bad' (No.6 in late 1975).
In 1975, Johnny left Charley Pride & was teamed with
Larry Gatlin as producer & Janie
Fricke as a background vocalist, their first collaboration being 'Jo & the
cowboy', which reached No.26 in 1975.
A string of hit songs then followed; 'Stranger' reached No.4 in 1976,
'Thinking of a rendezvous' stayed at No.1 for 2 weeks in December 1976,
while Ray Griff's 'It couldn't have been any
better' stayed at No.1 for 1 week in April 1977.
Further hits for Johnny Duncan included 'A song in the night' (a Top 5 hit
in August 1977), 'Come a little bit closer' with Janie Fricke (a Top 5 hit
in late 1977) & 'She can put her shoes under my bed anytime' (No.1 for 1
week in May 1978).
Johnny Duncan's last Top 10 appearances came in 1979 with 'Slow dancing' &
'The lady in the blue Mercedes', after which his commercial momentum
abruptly halted. He also enjoyed another Top 20 country music hit with
Fricke in 1980 with 'She's out of my life'.
Although his star power had faded in the early 1980s as a result of changing
musical tastes, Johnny Duncan's biggest songs were popular country radio
re-currents through the late 1980s & early 1990s. Johnny Duncan &
Columbia Records parted company in 1982; he subsequently remarried, returned
to Texas & raised his family.
Johnny Duncan returned to the recording studio in 1986 & saw the release of
a fine album titled 'Faraway Hideaway' (Pharaoh Records, 1986).
The album, which was also made available in the UK through an arrangement
with Demon Records, included re-recordings of two of his major hits,
'Stranger' (the original version of which reached No.4 in 1976) & 'She can
put her shoes under my bed anytime' (the original version of which reached
No.1 for 1 week in May 1978).
Johnny Duncan's final album, 'The Thing to Do', was released on the
Stephenville, Texas-based JRD Records in 2004.
On Monday 14 August 2006, some thirteen days after the
acquisition of this quote, Johnny Duncan passed away - he was 67.
Johnny Duncan's memorial service took place at 3.00pm on Thursday 17 August
2006 at the First Baptist Church of Stephenville, 334 W. Green,
Stephenville, Texas 76401.
Johnny Duncan
5 October 1938 - 14 August 2006
Rest in Peace
Visit Johnny Duncan's Official
Site