Mark Casstevens (October 2006)
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
Mark Casstevens' quote, which
he submitted to this site on Thursday 19 October 2006.
I (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'.
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 & 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, 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,
Charlie Pride,
Marty Raybon,
Eddie Rabbitt (RIP),
Colin Raye,
Jerry Reed,
Jeannie C. Riley,
Johnny Rodriquez,
Kenny Rogers,
Roy Rogers,
Linda Ronstadt,
Billy Joe Royal,
Randy Scruggs,
Dan Seals,
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 ('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') of the ten
tracks contained on Gene Watson's 'At Last' album, which
was released on Warner Bros. Records in
1991.
Visit Mark Casstevens'
Official Website
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