Gene Watson's Peers: Wes Hightower
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
Wes Hightower, which he submitted
to this site on Tuesday 14 November 2006.
Sean Brady would like to take this opportunity to say 'thank you' to
Wes Hightower who has made a
special contribution to a unique part of this online 'celebration of a Lone
Star Hero'.
Wes Hightower
This quote was submitted on Tuesday 14 November 2006
'I have never performed on a Gene Watson record & have never met him
personally, so I don't feel qualified to offer an official quote.
However, I do hold him in high regard for being one of the best natural
singers of his generation. I own the 'Back in the
Fire' album & think it is his best effort - among many great ones'.
Thank you, Wes Hightower, for your
support of Gene Watson.
About Wes Hightower...
Wes Hightower is a native of
Weatherford, Texas where he was born in 1965. He graduated from Weatherford
High in 1983, undertook two years' study at the North Texas State University
& eighteen months at the University of Texas in Arlington.
Wes moved to Nashville in 1990 in order to try to enter the music business.
He tinted I windows for a living until about 1995 & then decided to gather
enough demo work in order to pay the bills. Wes always had a knack for
harmony vocals & fortunately the music business was in need of someone else
to do them in Nashville.
Wes Hightower has sung on about one hundred million country music records
which have been sold world-wide. Music Row Magazine named Wes the Musician
of the Year (for background vocals) for five consecutive years.
Wes' musical heroes include John Wesley Ryles,
Curtis Young, Dennis Wilson &
Don Rich - everything he learned about singing harmonies he learned from
them.
Wes Hightower has provided background vocals/harmony vocals on albums by a
multitude of country music artists including Keith Whitley,
Brooks &
Dunn, Holly Dunn, Pam Tillis, David Kersh,
Chris Ledoux, Aaron Tippin, Anita
Cochran, Keith Harling, Martina McBride, Matt King, Mindy McCready, Tracy
Byrd, Clay Walker, George Strait, Trace Adkins, David Ball, Ricky Van
Shelton, Sara Evans, John Michael Montgomery, Collin Raye, Travis Tritt,
Kenny Chesney, Darryl Worley, Leslie Satcher,
Chris Cagle, Sonny Burgess,
Chely Wright,
Tracy Byrd, Tracy Lawrence, Alan Jackson, Rebecca Lynn Howard,
Andy Griggs, Mark Wills, Tammy Cochran,
Joe Nichols, Mark
Chesnutt, Montgomery Gentry, Randy Travis,
Ty Herndon, Toby Keith, Buddy
Jewell, Dierks Bentley, Blake Shelton, Rodney Atkins &
Julie Roberts.
At the time of the acquisition of this quote (on Tuesday 14 November 2006),
it was true that
Wes Hightower had not provided harmony vocals on a Gene Watson recording.
However, this situation changed in 2007; Wes provided background vocals on nine of the eleven tracks ('Don't you ever get tired of hurting me', 'Let me be the first to go', 'What
was I thinking', 'In a perfect world', 'She's already gone', 'I buried our
love', 'This side of the door', 'A good place to turn around' & 'Like I
wasn't even there') included on 'In a Perfect
World' (Shanachie Records, 2007).
Visit Wes Hightower's Official Site
