Gene Watson's Peers: Rhonda Vincent
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 2007 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
Rhonda Vincent, which she
submitted to this site on Tuesday 20 February 2007.
Sean Brady would like to take this opportunity to say 'thank you' to
Rhonda Vincent who has made a
special contribution to a unique part of this online 'celebration of a Lone
Star Hero'.
Rhonda Vincent
This quote was submitted on Tuesday 20 February 2007
'Gene Watson is one of my favourite country music
singers. I love the uniqueness of his voice & the way he delivers a song.
When you hear Gene Watson, you hear country music at its best!'
Thank you, Rhonda Vincent, for
your support of Gene Watson.
About Rhonda Vincent...
Rhonda Vincent was born on Friday
13 July 1962 in Kirksville, Missouri & found herself fortunate enough to be
born into a musical family. Rhonda's grandpa Bill & her parents, John
and Carolyn, along with an aunt & uncle and some cousins, were performing as
the Sally Mountain Show. Rhonda joined the group, in 1965, when she
was three years old.
In 1967, Rhonda Vincent made her recording debut; the song 'How far is
heaven' was included on the 'Boyd Halford & the Sally Mountain Singers'
album, of which only a hundred copies were pressed.
In 1971, Rhonda Vincent recorded her first single, 'Muleskinner blues',
which was coupled with 'Satisfied mind'; the recording made such an impact
that it was awarded the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music
Award for 'Single of the Year' in 1974.
Between 1974 & 1985, Rhonda Vincent recorded eight albums with The Sally
Mountain Show on their own Stardust label.
It was around 1980 when Rhonda met Herb Sandker, a singer with a dance band,
who persuaded her to join the outfit, playing fiddle. Herb & Rhonda
were married on (Christmas Eve) Saturday 24 December 1983.
Following an appearance on the TNN series 'You Can be a Star' in 1985, which
was hosted by Jim Ed Brown, Rhonda Vincent was hired to play in Jim Ed's
touring band, with whom she remained a member between April & October 1985.
Rhonda then decided to leave Nashville & returned to Missouri, where she
re-joined The Sally Mountain Show; she signed a recording contract with
Rebel Records in 1986 & saw the release of her debut album, 'New Dreams &
Sunshine' (Rebel Records, 1989).
In the late 1980s & early 1990s, Rhonda Vincent saw the release of a
further three highly acclaimed albums on Rebel Records namely 'A Dream Come True' (Rebel Records, 1990), 'Bound for
Glory Land' (Rebel Records, 1990) & 'Timeless & True Love' (Rebel Records,
1991).
In the mid-1990s, Rhonda Vincent signed to Giant Records in Nashville, where
she hoped to achieve crossover success in the country music market. She saw
the release of two critically acclaimed albums, 'Written in the Stars'
(Giant Records, 1993) & 'Trouble Free' (Giant Records, 1996). Both
albums were critical successes, but failed commercially.
'Written in the Stars' (Giant Records, 1993) is a particularly fine release
& includes 'I'm not over you', which was co-written by Melba Montgomery &
Carl Jackson.
'Trouble Free' (Giant Records, 1996) is also a particularly fine release &
includes 'An old memory (found its way back home)', which was written by
Jerry Salley & Melba Montgomery, along with
Larry Cordle's 'It ain't nothin' new', the
latter a duet with Randy Travis.
Rhonda Vincent then chose Rounder Records as her new recording home and,
between 2001 & 2006, saw the release of a series of critically acclaimed
traditional bluegrass albums; 'Back Home Again' (Rounder Records, 2000),
'The Storm Still Rages' (Rounder Records, 2001), 'One Step Ahead' (Rounder
Records, 2003), 'Ragin' Live' (Rounder Records, 2005), 'Beautiful Star'
(Rounder Records, 2006) & 'All American Bluegrass Girl' (Rounder Records,
2006).
The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) awarded Rhonda Vincent
with its Female Vocalist Award in 2000, 2001, 2002 & 2003. Rhonda also
captured the IBMA's Entertainer of the Year Award in 2001.
Rhonda Vincent provided harmony vocals on Dolly
Parton's 'Hungry Again' (Blue Eye Records, 1998)
Rhonda Vincent provided a rousing rendition of Dwight Yoakam's 'I sang
Dixie'; the track was included on 'Songs of Dwight Yoakam: Will Sing For
Food' (Mercury/Little Dog Records, 1998)
Rhonda Vincent provided harmony vocals on Dolly
Parton's 'The Grass is Blue' (Sugar Hill Records, 1999)
Rhonda Vincent recorded Dolly
Parton's 'Jolene' & included the track on 'Back Home Again' (Rounder Records,
2000)
Rhonda Vincent provided harmony vocals on Dolly
Parton's 'Little Sparrow' (Sugar Hill Records, 2001)
Rhonda Vincent performed a duet ('We're gonna hold on') on Daryle
Singletary's 'Straight From The Heart' (Shanachie Records, 2006)
Rhonda Vincent was a duet partner on the Buck Owens'
classic 'Together again',
which was included on Gene Watson's 'In
a Perfect World' (Shanachie
Records, 2007), an album officially
released on Tuesday 25 September 2007
Rhonda Vincent recorded a duet ('Don't let your wounded heart come between
us') on Randy Kohrs' 'Old Photographs' (Rural Rhythm Records, 2007)
Rhonda Vincent was also Gene Watson's duet partner on 'Staying
together', which was included on Gene
Watson's 'A Taste of the Truth'
(Shanachie Records,
2009), an album officially released on Wednesday 26 August 2009
Gene Watson &
Rhonda Vincent
pictured backstage at the Grand Ole Opry in
Nashville on Friday 12 September 2008
On Monday 28 February 2011,
Upper Management
Music label president, Herb Sandker welcomed Gene Watson
to the roster, in a
signing ceremony, which took place during the first recording session (for
Gene Watson & Rhonda Vincent's duets album) at
Ronnie's Place on Music Row in Nashville.
'Your Money & My Good Looks' (Upper Management Music,
2011) will be officially released on Tuesday 7 June 2011.
For further information, visit the
Official Rhonda Vincent Site; you can
Pre-Order your
copy today!
Visit Rhonda Vincent's Official Site
