Gene Watson's Peers: Sonny Curtis
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 2008 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
Sonny Curtis, which he submitted to
this site on Wednesday 9 January 2008.
Sean Brady would like to take this opportunity to say 'thank you' to
Sonny Curtis who has made a special
contribution to a unique part of this online 'celebration of a Lone Star
Hero'.
Sonny Curtis
This quote was submitted on Wednesday 9 January 2008
'Gene Watson is in the same league as those other good
old Texas boys Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson & Buddy Holly.
He is blessed with enormous soul, 'feel' & class. I turn a lot of guys off
these days, but Gene, I always turn up.
I'm happy to provide this quote because Gene is a terrific artist that I've
always enjoyed listening to'.
Thank you, Sonny Curtis, for your
support of Gene Watson.
About Sonny Curtis...
Sonny Curtis, from his West Texas
beginnings as the lead guitarist in Buddy Holly's pre-Crickets band to a
prolific song-writing career, is a rare talent who successfully transcended
musical genres long before the term 'crossover' was coined.
Sonny Curtis has
written over 500 songs which have been recorded by legendary artists
including Buddy Holly, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Hank Williams Junior,
Nanci Griffith, Everly Brothers & Roy Orbison.
Sonny Curtis was born on 9 May 1937 in Meadow, a small town outside of
Lubbock, Texas & was the second youngest of six children born to struggling
cotton farmers during the devastating Dust Bowl era.
In the Curtis family, music was a way of life. When he was a boy, Sonny &
his family would gather with neighbours at 'musical Saturday nights' where
they picked & sang old Revolutionary War tunes.
Sonny Curtis' first love was bluegrass music, inspired in part by his uncles, the
Mayfield Brothers, who were professional musicians. One of the brothers, Ed
Mayfield, played guitar in the 1950s for Sonny's lifelong hero & the father
of bluegrass music Bill Monroe.
Sonny learned to play the fiddle & guitar at a very early age and, by the
time he was 10 years old, he had joined brothers Pete & Dean to form the
group The Curtis Brothers & together they performed on local radio stations
& in jamborees.
Sonny received help from his friends & fellow musicians Buddy Holly, Waylon
Jennings, & future Crickets J.I. Allison, Joe B. Mauldin & Glen D. Hardin.
While he was still in high school, word of Sonny's talent reached a local
promoter in Lubbock, Texas who frequently added him to a bill that included
a young Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash & other contemporary stars
of the day.
In 1956, Sonny accompanied Buddy Holly & bassist Don Guess to Nashville,
where he played lead guitar on several songs they recorded for Decca
Records. Soon afterwards, Sonny started to play guitar for country music
legend Slim Whitman.
Up until this point, Sonny Curtis' song-writing efforts had been limited to
making up tunes to fill the time. That all changed in 1956 when he wrote
'Someday' which was a country hit for Webb Pierce (No.12 in 1961).
On a hot Texas afternoon in the summer of 1958, Sonny wrote his most
recognised & recorded tune; 'I fought the law', which was originally
included on the 'In Style with The Crickets' album in 1959, made stars out
of The Bobby Fuller Four when they re-recorded the song in 1965.
When he was twenty-one years old, Sonny rejoined The Crickets just prior to
Buddy Holly's death in a plane crash. Sonny then took a job playing lead
guitar for the Everly Brothers (Don & Phil). He then received his draft notice from the
army & was stationed in France for eighteen months. It was while he was in
France that he wrote 'Walk right back' which was a hit for the Everly
Brothers in the US & the UK.
After his discharge from the army, Sonny moved to Los Angeles where, in
1965, he devoted his time to song-writing & to developing his own career as
an artist.
Throughout the 1970s, Sonny applied his song-writing skills to television &
radio commercials, and also wrote & sang 'Love is all around', the theme
song for The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Sonny moved to Nashville in 1976, where he toured steadily with Waylon
Jennings' road show as a member of The Crickets for five years. As a
recording artist for Elektra Records in the early 1980s, he scored numerous
songs in the Top 100 country charts, including 'Good ole girls'.
With co-writer Ron Hellard, Sonny Curtis achieved one of his biggest country
music successes with 'I'm no stranger to the rain', a No.1 record for Keith
Whitley (the song spent two weeks at No.1 on the Billboard country music
singles chart in April 1989); the Country Music Association voted the song
'Single of the Year' in 1989.
Sonny Curtis is a member of BMI's 'Million Airs Club' in recognition of 'I
fought the law', 'More than I can say' (co-written with J.I. Allison), 'Walk
right back', 'The straight life' & 'I'm no stranger to the rain', each of
which have logged over a million airplays in over 500,000 radio hours
apiece.
Sonny Curtis' wide-ranging contributions to song-writing earned him a
place in the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) Hall of
Fame in 1991.
Wilburn Brothers recorded Sonny Curtis' 'A fool
never learns' & included the track on 'Never Alone' (Decca Records, 1964)
Jimmy Dean recorded Sonny Curtis' 'My way of life' & included the track on
'Jimmy Dean Is Here' (RCA Records, 1967)
Dave Dudley recorded Sonny Curtis' 'My way of life' & included the track on
'My Kind of Love' (Mercury Records, 1967)
Waylon Jennings recorded Sonny Curtis' 'Destiny's child' &
included the track on 'Love of the Common People' (RCA Records, 1967)
Glen Campbell recorded Sonny Curtis' 'Straight life' & included the track on
'Wichita Lineman' (Capitol Records, 1968)
Eddy Arnold recorded Sonny Curtis' 'My way of life'
& included the track on 'Standing Alone' (RCA Records, 1970)
Jerry Reed recorded Sonny Curtis' 'You made my life a song' & included the
track on 'Jerry Reed' (RCA Records, 1972)
Hank Williams Junior recorded Sonny Curtis' 'I fought the law' & included
the track on 'Family Tradition' (Elektra/Curb Records, 1979)
Rosanne Cash recorded Sonny Curtis' 'Where will the words come from?'
(co-written with Glen D. Hardin) & included the track on 'Seven Year Ache'
(Columbia Records, 1981)
Keith Whitley recorded Sonny Curtis' 'I'm no stranger to the rain'
(co-written with Ron Hellard) & included the track on 'Don't Close Your
Eyes' (RCA Records, 1988)
The track was No.1 for two weeks on the Billboard country music
singles chart in April 1989 & the Country Music Association voted the song
'Single of the Year' in 1989
Visit Sonny Curtis' Official Site
