Gene Watson's Peers: Jordanaires
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 (Jordanaires)
Gordon Stoker &
Louis Nunley, which they submitted to this site on
Friday 28 October 2005.
Sean Brady would like to take this opportunity to say 'thank you' to (Jordanaires)
Gordon Stoker &
Louis Nunley who have made a special contribution to a
unique part of this online 'celebration of a Lone Star Hero'.
(Jordanaires)
Gordon Stoker &
Louis Nunley
This quote was submitted on Friday 28 October 2005
'Gene Watson was, and still is, one of our favourite
singers.
In the 1970s, we (the Jordanaires) were doing anything from two to four
recording sessions daily. It's impossible to remember all the details about
various recording sessions we've undertaken, but we're sure that we did more
than one session with Gene.
We enjoyed the sessions with Gene & enjoyed hearing him in the studio as
those were live sessions'.
Thank you, (Jordanaires)
Gordon Stoker &
Louis Nunley, for your support of Gene Watson.
About Gordon Stoker & Louis Nunley...
Gordon Stoker &
Louis Nunley are members of the
Jordanaires who were formed in
Springfield, Missouri in the 1940s & were initially a gospel quartet. In
1949, they moved to Nashville to back Grand Ole Opry headliner Red Foley. In
the 1950s, the group was re-organised.
The combination of Gordon Stoker, Neal Matthews, Hoyt Hawkins & Ray Walker
was the one that would anchor the group for more than two decades & would be
the line-up elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001.
The Jordanaires are best known for the wonderful background harmonies that
they provided for Elvis Presley's greatest hits between 1956 & 1969.
As a result of their association with Elvis, the Jordanaires went on to
provide vocal harmonies on tracks by Ricky Nelson,
Ferlin Husky, Jim Reeves,
Patsy Cline, Don Gibson, Johnny Horton, Tammy Wynette, Conway Twitty, Kenny
Rogers & George Jones.
The Jordanaires line-up of Gordon Stoker, Louis Nunley, Hoyt Hawkins & Neal
Matthews provided vocal harmonies on three tracks ('Take off them shoes', 'I
wonder how it is in Colorado' & 'Mama Sold Roses', all of which were
included on 'Reflections' (Capitol Records,
1978).
On a sad note, Hoyt Hawkins died in 1982, while Neal Matthews died in
Brentwood, Tennessee on Friday 21 April
2000.
Additionally, Louis Nunley was one of the background vocalists (along with
Hurshel Wiginton, Wendy Suits & Diane Tidwell) who worked on 'Honky
Tonk Crazy' (Epic Records, 1987).
Visit the Jordanaires' Official Site