Gene Watson's Peers: Mark O'Connor
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 O'Connor, which he submitted to
this site on Sunday 5 March 2006.
Sean Brady would like to take this opportunity to say 'thank you'
to
Mark O'Connor who has made a special
contribution to a unique part of this online 'celebration of a Lone Star
Hero'.
Mark O'Connor
This quote was submitted on Sunday 5 March 2006
'I enjoyed adding my fiddle to Gene’s records.
His was such a classic voice, I felt I could really move my playing into a
deeper place with his song interpretations.
It was a stand out for me, playing on his songs in Nashville'.
Thank you, Mark O'Connor, for your
support of Gene Watson.
About Mark O'Connor...
Mark O'Connor is a native of
Seattle, Washington where he was born on 5 August 1961, & is a virtuoso on
guitar & mandolin. At the age of six, he began guitar lessons.
When he was ten years old,
he won his first contest and, by the time he was eleven, he could play mandolin,
banjo, steel-string guitar & dobro. While still attending high school, mark
was signed to Rounder Records, where he saw the release of six albums.
As a teenager, Mark won national championships on the guitar & the mandolin
as well as the fiddle. Mark's mentors were Texas fiddler Benny
Thomasson & Jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli.
It was in 1983 that Mark O'Connor made a move to Nashville, where he soon became a
popular (& much in-demand) session player. He devoted himself to session
work & appeared on nearly five hundred recordings in just over six years.
Mark recorded solo albums for Rounder Records, Warner Bros. Records, Sony &
his own OMAC Records label. He has won two Grammy awards, one for his
'New Nashville Cats' album (Warner Bros. Records, 1991) & another for his
'Appalachian Journey' album he did with Yo-Yo Ma & Edgar Meyer. Mark
O'Connor was named 'Musician of the Year' by the Country Music Association
for six years in a row (from 1991 to 1996).
Mark O'Connor has crossed musical genres, composing, arranging & recording
folk, classical & jazz music. His Fiddle Concerto has received over
two hundred performances making it one of the most performed concertos
written in the last fifty years. Mark has composed six violin
concertos, string quartets, string trios, choral works, solo unaccompanied
works & a new Symphony.
Mark O'Connor has worked & recorded with a wide variety of artists,
including Chet Atkins, James Taylor, Michelle Shocked, Alison Krauss, Bela
Fleck, Renée Fleming, Stéphane Grappelli, Patty Loveless & the Dixie Dregs.
By 1990, when he released 'The New Nashville Cats' album (a Grammy
Award-winning album), Mark was following a more independent career and was
writing much of his own material.
Mark O'Connor played fiddle (on all tracks) on Gene Watson's 'Honky
Tonk Crazy' (Epic Records, 1987) & 'Back in the
Fire' (Warner Bros. Records, 1988).
Mark O'Connor also contributed to Gene Watson's 'At
Last' (Warner Bros. Records, 1991); he played fiddle on the tracks 'At
last', 'This could go on forever', 'Only yesterday' & 'This country's bigger
than Texas'.
Speaking of Gene Watson's 'At
Last' (Warner Bros. Records, 1991),
Mark O'Connor also contributed fiddle & viola to 'I catch myself' and fiddle
& mandolin to 'The workin' end of a Hoe'.
Visit Mark O'Connor's Official Site