Gene Watson's Peers: Vern Gosdin
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
Vern Gosdin, which he
submitted to this site on Thursday 12 October 2006.
Sean Brady would like to take this opportunity to say 'thank you' to
Vern Gosdin who has made
a special contribution to a unique part of this online 'celebration of a
Lone Star Hero'.
Vern Gosdin
This quote was submitted on Thursday 12 October 2006
'Gene Watson is truly one of the great voices in
country music.
His unique style sets him apart from all others & defines the true meaning
of country music & what it stands for in our hearts & lives'.
Thank you, Vern Gosdin,
for your support of Gene Watson.
About Vern Gosdin...
Vern Gosdin was born in
Woodland, Alabama & is known as 'The Voice'. Vern idolised the Louvin
Brothers & the Blue Sky Boys as a young man & sang in a gospel quartet
called the Gosdin Brothers.
When Vern was in his late teens, his family moved to Birmingham & began
hosting the Gosdin Family Gospel Show on a local radio station WVOK. Vern &
his brother Rex moved to Long Beach, California in 1961 & began performing
bluegrass music, joining a group called The Golden State Boys that evolved
into The Hillmen, featuring future Byrds' member
Chris Hillman.
Vern & Rex teamed up to sing country music as The Gosdin Brothers, enjoyed a
Top 40 country hit in 1967 with 'Hangin' on' & opened for The Byrds on
occasion.
Vern moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 1972, raised a family & ran a retail shop.
However, he never gave up on music completely, performing at local clubs &
eventually gravitated toward Nashville. In 1976, Vern & Emmylou Harris cut a
demo single consisting of 'Hangin' on' backed with a newly written song
called 'Yesterday's gone'.
As a consequence, Vern Gosdin was signed to the Elektra
Records label & both songs cracked the Billboard country music Top 20
chart. In the late 1970s, he
notched up several major hits, including 'Till the end' (with
Janie Fricke),
'Mother country music' & a remake of The Association's 'Never my love'.
In 1980, following the demise of Elektra's country division, Vern Gosdin quickly
moved through several contracts & landed with the independent Nashville
label Compleat. He made the Top Ten consistently in the early 1980s & hit
his stride when he teamed up with Max D Barnes as a song-writing
collaborator.
In 1983, Vern enjoyed two Top Five hits, 'If you're gonna do me wrong (do it
right)' & 'Way down deep'. In 1984, he achieved his first No.1 single
on the Billboard country music singles chart with
'I can tell by the way you dance (you're gonna love me tonight'), which was
No.1 for one week in late June/early July of that year.
Vern Gosdin also achieved
two Top Ten hits ('What would your memories do' & 'Slow burning memories'),
both of which peaked at No.10.
The Compleat Records label folded in 1986 & Vern found himself without a
record label. In 1987, he was approached by
Merle Haggard, but Merle's
friend & sometimes co-writer Hank Cochran steeped in & brought Vern to the
attention of producer Bob Montgomery at Columbia Records.
Vern Gosdin recorded 'Set 'em
up Joe' (written by
Hank Cochran,
Vern Gosdin, Dean Dillon & Buddy Cannon) &
included the track on 'Chiseled in
Stone' (Columbia Records, 1988); the
track was No.1 for 1 week in July 1988
Columbia Records advanced some money to cut some tracks with Vern, the result of
which was 'Do you believe me now', which reached No.8 on the
Billboard country music singles chart in early 1988.
Vern Gosdin's
first album for Columbia Records, 'Chiseled in Stone', was released shortly
afterwards & Vern achieved a No.1 hit with 'Set 'em up, Joe' (No.1 for one
week in July 1988).
Keith Whitley recorded Vern Gosdin's 'Would these
arms be in your way' (co-written with Hank
Cochran & Red Lane) & included the track on 'Don't Close Your Eyes' (RCA
Records, 1988)
George Strait recorded Vern Gosdin's 'Is it that
time again' (co-written with Dean Dillon & Buddy
Cannon) & included the track on 'If You Ain't Lovin', You Ain't Livin'
(MCA Records, 1988)
Keith Whitley recorded Vern Gosdin's 'Tennessee courage' (co-written
with Rex Gosdin & James Brown) & included the track on 'I Wonder Do You
Think of Me' (RCA Records, 1988)
The title track of the 'Chiseled in Stone' album, which was co-written with
Max D. Barnes, reached No.6 on the Billboard country music singles chart in November 1988 & was cited as the 'Song
of the Year' by the Country Music Association (CMA) on Monday 9 October 1989.
It was in 1989 that Vern Gosdin's second Columbia Records album was released.
'Alone' was a concept album in a traditional country music style which
chronicled the dissolution of Vern's marriage. The first track released as a
single from the album, 'I'm still crazy', spent one week at No.1 in
September 1989.
Between 1989 & 1991, Vern Gosdin released a number of songs & three more
made the Billboard Top 10: 'Right in the wrong direction', 'That just about
does it' & 'Is it raining at your house'.
Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson recorded Vern Gosdin's 'Two old sidewinders'
(co-written with Max D. Barnes & Hank Cochran)
& included the track on 'Clean Shirt' (Epic Records, 1991)
Tracy Byrd recorded Vern Gosdin's 'Back in the swing of things' (co-written with
Buddy Cannon & Dean
Dillon) & included the track
on 'Tracy Byrd' (MCA Records, 1993)
George Strait recorded Vern Gosdin's 'Today my
world slipped away' (co-written with Mark Wright) & included the track on
'Carrying Your Love with Me' (MCA Records, 1997)
Brad Paisley recorded Vern Gosdin's 'Is it raining at
your house' (co-written with Hank Cochran
& Dean Dillon) & included the track on 'Mud on the Tires' (Arista
Nashville, 2003)
Vern Gosdin had originally recorded 'Is it raining at your house' & included
it on 'Chiseled in Stone' (Columbia Records, 1988)
In 2008, Vern Gosdin saw the release of '40 Years of the Voice', a four-CD career
retrospective. The box set, released on VGM Records, featured
one-hundred-and-one songs, including fourteen previously unreleased tracks
recorded thirty-five years previously; the collection also offered eleven
newly recorded songs.
Daryle Singletary recorded Vern Gosdin's 'How
can I believe in you (when you'll be leaving me)'
(co-written with Buddy Cannon)
& included the track on
'Rockin' in the Country' (E1 Music Records, 2009)
Jamey Johnson recorded Vern Gosdin's 'Set 'em
up Joe' (co-written with
Hank Cochran,
Buddy Cannon
& Dean
Dillon) & included the track on
'The Guitar Song' (Mercury Records, 2010)
Gene Watson & Rhonda Vincent recorded Cathy Gosdin's 'Till
the end'
& included the track on 'Your Money & My
Good Looks' (Upper Management Music, 2011)
Vern Gosdin Singles Discography
'Today my world slipped away' (No.10,
1981)
'If you're gonna do me wrong (do it
right)' (No,5, 1983)
'Way down deep' (No.5, 1983)
'I wonder where we'd be tonight' (No.10, 1983)
'I can tell by the way you dance (you're gonna love me tonight')
(No.1 for one week in late June/early July, 1984)
'What would your memories do' (No.10, 1984)
'Slow burning memory' (No.10, 1984)
'Dim lights, thick smoke (and loud, loud music)' (No.20, 1985)
'I know the way to you by heart' (No.35, 1985)
'Time stood still' (No.51, 1986)
'Do you believe me now' (No.4, 1987)
'Set 'em
up Joe' (No.1 for 1 week in July 1988)
'Chiselled in stone' (No.6, 1988)
'Who you gonna blame it on this time' (No.2, 1989)
'I'm still crazy' (No.1 for one week in September 1989)
'That just about does it' (No.4, 1989)
'Right in the wrong direction' (No.10, 1990)
Sadly, Vern Gosdin, who was known affectionately as 'The Voice', passed away
on Tuesday 28 April 2009 following a stroke he suffered earlier in the
month.
Vern Gosdin (Sunday 5 August 1934 - Tuesday 28 April 2009)
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