Gene Watson
| Gene Watson | |
|---|---|
 Watson performing at the Grand Ole Opry in 2007 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Gary Gene Watson |
| Born | October 11, 1943 |
| Origin | Palestine, Texas, United States |
| Genres | Country music |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1970s–present |
| Labels | Resco, Capitol, MCA, Epic, Warner Bros., Broadland, Step One Shanachie Records Fourteen Carat Records |
| Website | www.genewatsonmusic.com |
Gary Gene Watson (born October 11, 1943) is an American country singer. He is most famous for his 1975 hit "Love in the Hot Afternoon," his 1981 #1 hit "Fourteen Carat Mind," and his signature song "Farewell Party." Watson's long career has notched six number ones,[1] 23 top tens and over 75 charted singles.
Biography
Watson was born in Palestine, Texas, in 1943.[2] He began his music career in the 1960s, performing in local clubs at night while working in a Houston auto body shop during the day. He recorded for only a few small, regional record labels having a regional hit "Bad Water", until 1974, when Capitol Records picked up his album Love in the Hot Afternoon and released it nationally. The title track, a mid-tempo ballad in three-quarter time, was released in June 1975, and it quickly reached Number three on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart.
Watson's national success continued throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, as he recorded several Billboard top-40 hits, including "Where Love Begins," "Paper Rosie," "Should I Go Home (or Should I Go Crazy)," "Nothing Sure Looked Good on You," and "Farewell Party," which was released in 1979 and quickly became Watson's signature song and the namesake of his Farewell Party Band.
In February 2012, Watson, celebrated his 50th year in the music business with the release of Best of the Best, 25 Greatest Hits (his very first single on radio "If It Was That Easy" released in 1962). The collection of songs was re-recorded to recreate the originals as closely as possible. The project was produced by Dirk Johnson and released on Watson's own Fourteen Carat Music label. In June 2014, Watson released an eleven track CD "My Heroes Have Always Been Country," all pure, classic country music, covering hits by some of his musical heroes such as Merle Haggard, Ray Price and Lefty Frizzell. On February 26, 2016 Gene Watson released his 33rd studio album titled "Real.Country.Music." This 13-track CD contains traditional country music and the first single release is "Enough For You", a song written by Kris Kristofferson.
Gene Watson was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in 2002 and inducted into the inaugural class of the Houston Music Hall of Fame in August 2013.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [3] |
CAN Country | |||
| 1974 | Gene Watson | — | — | Wide World |
| 1975 | Love in the Hot Afternoon | 5 | — | Capitol |
| 1976 | Because You Believed in Me | 24 | — | |
| 1977 | Paper Rosie | 22 | — | |
| Beautiful Country | 32 | — | ||
| 1978 | The Best | 29 | 12 | |
| Reflections | 23 | 14 | ||
| 1979 | Should I Come Home | 16 | — | |
| 1980 | No One Will Ever Know | 45 | — | |
| 1981 | The Best 2 | — | — | |
| Between This Time and the Next Time | 38 | — | MCA | |
| Old Loves Never Die | 57 | — | ||
| 1982 | This Dream's on Me | 27 | — | |
| 1983 | Sometimes I Get Lucky | 16 | — | |
| Little By Little | 34 | — | ||
| 1984 | Heartaches and Love and Stuff | 21 | — | |
| 1985 | Greatest Hits | — | — | |
| Memories to Burn | 35 | — | Epic | |
| 1986 | Starting New Memories | 49 | — | |
| 1987 | Honky Tonk Crazy | 54 | — | |
| 1989 | Back in the Fire | 42 | — | Warner Bros. |
| 1990 | At Last | 74 | — | |
| 1992 | In Other Words | — | — | Broadland |
| 1993 | Uncharted Mind | — | — | Step One |
| 1996 | The Good Ole Days | — | — | |
| 1997 | Jesus Is All I Need | — | — | |
| A Way to Survive | — | — | ||
| 2001 | From the Heart | — | — | Row Music Group |
| 2003 | Sings | — | — | Compendia |
| 2004 | Gospel Side | — | — | |
| 2005 | Then and Now | — | — | Koch |
| 2007 | In a Perfect World | — | — | Shanachie |
| 2009 | A Taste of the Truth | — | — | |
| 2011 | Your Money and My Good Looks (with Rhonda Vincent) |
56 | — | Upper Management |
| 2012 | Best of the Best: 25 Greatest Hits | 64 | — | Fourteen Carat Music |
| 2014 | My Heroes Have Always Been Country | 48 | — | |
| 2016 | Real Country Music | — | — | |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [3] |
CAN Country | |||
| 1975 | "Bad Water" | 87 | — | Love in the Hot Afternoon |
| "Love in the Hot Afternoon" | 3 | 3 | ||
| "Where Love Begins" | 5 | 4 | ||
| 1976 | "You Could Know as Much About a Stranger" | 10 | 42 | |
| "Because You Believed in Me" | 20 | — | Because You Believed in Me | |
| "Her Body Couldn't Keep You (Off My Mind)" | 52 | — | ||
| 1977 | "Paper Rosie" | 3 | 1 | Paper Rosie |
| "The Old Man and His Horn" | 11 | 9 | Beautiful Country | |
| 1978 | "I Don't Need a Thing at All" | 8 | 4 | |
| "Cowboys Don't Get Lucky All the Time" | 11 | 14 | ||
| "One Sided Conversation" | 8 | 6 | Reflections | |
| 1979 | "Farewell Party" | 5 | 9 | |
| "Pick the Wildwood Flower" | 5 | 2 | ||
| "Should I Come Home (Or Should I Go Crazy)" | 3 | 6 | Should I Come Home | |
| 1980 | "Nothing Sure Looked Good on You" | 4 | 3 | |
| "Bedroom Ballad" | 18 | 43 | ||
| "Raisin' Cane in Texas" | 15 | 53 | No One Will Ever Know | |
| "No One Will Ever Know" | 13 | 22 | ||
| 1981 | "Any Way You Want Me" | 33 | — | Any Which Way You Can (soundtrack) |
| "Between This Time and the Next Time" | 17 | 8 | Between This Time and the Next Time | |
| "Maybe I Should Have Been Listening" | 23 | 12 | ||
| "Fourteen Carat Mind" | 1 | 5 | Old Loves Never Die | |
| 1982 | "Speak Softly (You're Talking to My Heart)" | 9 | 4 | |
| "This Dream's on Me" | 8 | 11 | This Dream's on Me | |
| "What She Don't Know Won't Hurt Her" | 5 | 3 | ||
| 1983 | "You're Out Doing What I'm Here Doing Without" | 2 | 5 | Sometimes I Get Lucky |
| "Sometimes I Get Lucky and Forget" | 9 | 6 | ||
| "Drinkin' My Way Back Home" | 10 | 8 | Little By Little | |
| 1984 | "Forever Again" | 10 | 18 | |
| "Little by Little" | 33 | 21 | ||
| "Got No Reason Now for Goin' Home" | 7 | 15 | Heartaches and Love and Stuff | |
| 1985 | "One Hell of a Heartache" | 43 | 38 | |
| "Cold Summer Day in Georgia" | 24 | 22 | Memories to Burn | |
| "Memories to Burn" | 5 | 2 | ||
| 1986 | "Carmen" | 32 | 27 | |
| "Bottle of Tears" | 50 | 40 | Starting New Memories | |
| "Everything I Used to Do" | 29 | 27 | ||
| 1987 | "Honky Tonk Crazy" | 43 | 30 | Honky Tonk Crazy |
| "Everybody Needs a Hero" | 28 | 46 | ||
| 1988 | "Don't Waste It on the Blues" | 5 | * | Back in the Fire |
| 1989 | "Back in the Fire" | 20 | 24 | |
| "The Jukebox Played Along" | 24 | 40 | ||
| "The Great Divide" | 41 | — | ||
| 1991 | "At Last" | 61 | 59 | At Last |
| "You Can't Take It with You When You Go" | 67 | 56 | ||
| 1993 | "One and One and One" | 66 | 92 | In Other Words |
| 1997 | "Change Her Mind" | 44 | 90 | The Good Ole Days |
| "No Goodbyes" | 73 | — | ||
| 2009 | "We've Got a Pulse" (with Trace Adkins) | — | — | A Taste of the Truth |
| "Staying Together" (with Rhonda Vincent) | — | — | ||
References
- ↑ Cashbox, Radio & Records, Gavin Music Charts
- ↑ "Gene Watson". Music City Roots.
- 1 2 "Gene Watson | Awards". AllMusic.
External links
- Official Gene Watson website
- Gene Watson Fan Site - this site, which was re-launched on Thursday 8 September 2016, is recognised by Gene Watson & his management team at Lytle Management in Nashville