Robert Joe Vandygriff (August 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
Robert Joe Vandygriff's
quote, which
he submitted to this site on Tuesday 29 August 2006.
I (Sean Brady)
would like to take this opportunity to say 'thank you' to
Robert Joe Vandygriff who has made a special contribution to a unique part
of this online 'celebration of a Lone Star Hero'.
 Robert
Joe Vandygriff
This quote was submitted on Tuesday 29 August 2006
'I was first introduced to Gene back in
1967 by my fiddler at the time, Red
Watson. I've been a Gene Watson
fan ever since. In Lamar County,
Texas we knew someday Nashville would
come calling & the rest of the world
would be introduced to a great vocalist.
Gene has his own style & nobody wraps
their heart around a country song any
better than Gene Watson. A perfect
Texas night is a cold beer, a VFW in
Reno, Texas & Gene Watson on stage
singing his heart out. It doesn't
get any better'.
About Robert Joe Vandygriff...
Robert Joe Vandygriff grew up riding horses
& strumming his guitar in Roxton, Texas.
He competed in saddle-bronc & bareback in
the sport of rodeo as well as working as a
rodeo clown & bullfighter.
As a country music recording artist, his
records of 'Big blue diamond' & 'Say lady'
topped the charts in the early 1970s.
Robert Joe's 'Dedicated' album climbed to
No.3 on the European Country Music Charts &
led to eight successful tours of England &
the European continent.
Robert Joe & his band, 'The Shades of
Country', toured the United States, Canada & Europe, playing to sold-out
audiences. Robert Joe appeared on
stage with artists such as Garth Brooks, The Judds,
George Jones, Alabama & Merle Haggard.
Nashville then came calling & Robert Joe made
the move there in order to pursue a song-writing career.
He then ended up a booking agent & represented acts
such as John Anderson, Lee Greenwood, Hank Snow, The Wilburn Brothers,
Archie Campbell and many more. Nashville
afforded Robert Joe the opportunity to work in
various capacities, from representing to
producing shows with many of the biggest
names in country music, bluegrass and rock
'n'
roll.
Nowadays, Robert Joe feels that Nashville is
a great place, but Texas is home. While working on a ranch
in Grayson County, he received a call from a
casting agent who needed a band for an
episode of a new CBS series, 'Walker,
Texas Ranger' starring Chuck Norris. One
thing lead to another & Robert Joe made several
appearances on the show as the character 'Ranger Mike'.
In 2004, Robert Joe was the recipient of the Will
Rogers Award from the Academy of Western
Artists.
Visit Robert Joe
Vandygriff's Official Website
Gene Watson's Peers...
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