Gene Watson's Peers: Mark Casstevens
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
Mark Casstevens, which he
submitted to this site on Thursday 19 October 2006.
Sean Brady would like to take this opportunity to say 'thank you' to
Mark Casstevens who has made a
special contribution to a unique part of this online 'celebration of a Lone
Star Hero'.
Mark Casstevens
This quote was submitted on Thursday 19 October 2006
'I've had the privilege to play acoustic guitar behind
Gene on a couple of recording projects & both were a treat.
It remains a career highlight to have worked with him on the arrangement
when we recorded 'At Last' - what a vocal! Gene's
work belongs in a time capsule...the hardest thing would be to pick which
performances'.
Thank you, Mark Casstevens, for
your support of Gene Watson.
About Mark Casstevens...
Mark Casstevens is a Texan who
moved to Nashville, Tennessee when he was twenty-two years old. Among the
career highlights of a guitar player in the Nashville studios was getting to
meet musical heroes.
Mark soon rubbed shoulders with the elite of Nashville musicians including
guitar/banjo player Bobby Thompson, Chet Atkins RIP, Jerry Reed RIP &
drummer Larrie Londin RIP.
As a multi-instrumentalist specialising in acoustic guitar, Mark Casstevens
has accompanied over 250 recording artists in Nashville studio sessions. He
has played on ninety-eight No.1 singles on the Billboard charts & has added
his talents to well over four hundred albums & the cumulative sales from
those sessions is in the region of two hundred million units. The songs and
albums have been awarded over twenty Grammy Awards.
Music Row magazine named Mark winner in the Guitar category of their annual
Studio Poll in 1993. In 2003, Mark was voted Specialty Instrumentalist of
the Year by the Academy of Country Music for his multi-instrumental
contributions to hit records.
The array of artists whose recordings Mark Casstevens has contributed to is
an extraordinary list & includes the following:
Trace Adkins, Alabama, John Anderson, Jessica Andrews, Susan Ashton, Chet
Atkins RIP, Baillie & the Boys, David Ball, Moe Bandy, Bobby Bare, John
Berry, Clint Black, Ronnie Bowman, Lisa Brokop, Brooks & Dunn, Garth Brooks,
Sawyer Brown, T. Graham Brown, Sam Bush, Tracy Byrd, Glen Campbell, Johnny
Cash RIP, Beth Neilsen Chapman, Kenny Chesney,
Mark Chesnutt, Roy Clark, Terri Clark, Mark Collie, John Conlee, Earl
Thomas Conley, The Cox Family, Floyd Cramer RIP, Clay Davidson,
Linda
Davis, Mac Davis, Neil Diamond, Joe Diffie,
Dixie Chicks, John Denver RIP, Jerry Douglas, Dr. Hook,
Holly Dunn, Don
Edwards, Ty England, Sara Evans, Freddy Fender RIP, Bela Fleck, Rosie
Flores, Janie Fricke, Crystal Gayle, Mickey Gilley,
Vern Gosdin RIP,
Nanci Griffith, Freddie Hart,
Emmylou Harris, Wade Hayes, Highway 101, Faith Hill, Tish Hinojosa,
Rebecca
Lynn Howard, Con Hunley, Sonny James, Alan Jackson, Buddy Jewell,
George Jones, The Judds, Toby Keith,
Sammy
Kershaw, Hal Ketchum, Alison Krauss, Kris Kristofferson, Jim Lauderdale,
Tracy Lawrence, Johnny Lee, Chris Ledoux RIP, Lonestar, Loretta Lynn, The
Lynns, Shelby Lynne, Raul Malo, Barbara Mandrell, Mila Mason,
Kathy Mattea, Mavericks, Delbert McClinton,
Charlie McCoy, Ronnie McDowell, Don McLean,
Neal McCoy, Tim McGraw, Reba McEntire, Edgar Meyer, Ronnie Milsap, John
Michael Montgomery, Lorrie Morgan, Michael Martin Murphey, Anne Murray,
Olivia Newton-John, Maura O’Connell, Mark
O'Connor, Oak Ridge Boys, KT Oslin, Buck Owens RIP, Dolly Parton,
Johnny Paycheck RIP, Webb Pierce RIP, Ray Price, Charley Pride, Marty Raybon, Eddie Rabbitt RIP,
Collin Raye, Jerry Reed RIP, Jeannie C. Riley,
Johnny Rodriquez, Kenny Rogers, Roy Rogers, Linda Ronstadt, Billy Joe Royal,
Randy Scruggs, Dan Seals RIP, Kevin Sharp, Shenandoah, Ricky Van Shelton, Shel
Silverstein (RIP), Ricky Skaggs, Connie Smith,
Statler Brothers, Ray Stevens, Larry
Stewart, Doug Stone, Marty Stuart,
Mel Tillis, Pam Tillis,
Randy Travis, Travis Tritt, Tanya Tucker, Shania Twain, Conway Twitty RIP, Ian Tyson,
Rhonda
Vincent, Clay Walker, Steve Wariner, Dottie West RIP, Cheryl Wheeler,
Keith Whitley RIP, Hank Williams Junior, Mac Wiseman,
Lee Ann Womack,
Michelle Wright, Tammy Wynette RIP & Trisha Yearwood.
Mark Casstevens played acoustic guitar on seven of the ten tracks ('At last', 'A gifted hand',
'You can't get arrested in Nashville', 'She's leavin'
looking good', 'I catch myself', 'Only yesterday' & 'This country's bigger
than Texas') included on Gene Watson's 'At Last'
(Warner Bros. Records, 1991).
Visit Mark Casstevens' Official Site