Induct Gene Watson Into The Country Music Hall Of Fame
- Target:
- Country Music Hall Of Fame
- Region:
- United States of America
Gene Watson was born Gary Gene Watson in Palestine, Texas on Monday 11 October in 1943, he was one of seven children born to Elbert and Thelma Watson
As a child, Gene lived and travelled in a re-modeled school bus with his parents and six brothers and sisters. The family seeked out a living doing farm labour, moving from crop to crop.
Gene Watson’s father also earned a living in various east Texas towns as a sawmill worker. Gene’s family eventually settled in Paris, Texas where most of Gene's mother’s family originally hailed from and where his father switched to selling car parts.
Gene attended school, until he dropped out in the ninth grade in order to earn vital money for his family by working in the auto salvage business. Gene learned how to repair cars and he developed a love for automobiles.
As far back as he can remember talking, Gene Watson can remember singing. Music was a part of everyday life for the Watson family. The family members sang in the local Pentecostal Church and also with each other for their own pure enjoyment of music.
Gene Watson also learned to appreciate blues music because his father played it at home. Gene, however, took his singing, in church and with his six siblings, for granted. He never believed for one moment that, one day, music would be his profession and that it would prove to play a major part in the life of Gene Watson.
Gene's younger brother Jessie played steel guitar and Gene was the singer, and they would entertain at a lot of school functions and local get-togethers - they even appeared on Fort Worth's Cowtown Hoedown. However, music at this time was not one of Gene's goals - all he ever dreamed of was working on cars, a love of which he no doubt attributes to his father who used to deal in selling car parts
Gary Gene Watson never intended becoming a professional singer within the country music genre. Apparently, he didn't go searching for music - music found him. For those of us who love traditional country music, we have a lot to be thankful to Gene Watson for
It is difficult to imagine the world of country music without the vast contribution that Gene Watson has made to it. Between his major label debut on Capitol Records in 1975 and the present day, Gene Watson has excelled with his traditional slant within country music.
Gene Watson is a singer in country music's grand tradition and has the skill to give powerful vocal performances and draw all the emotion from his selected material effortlessly. Gene has remained true to his Texas music roots for the best part of 50 years and is a standard bearer for honest, traditional country music.
Following years of honing his country music craft around Texas, Gene Watson emerged on the American country music scene in July 1975. He immediately earned himself a reputation as one of the best of the new 'real country' singers to emerge on the scene and for adhering to a traditional country sound, characterised by prominent steel guitar and swirling fiddle.
Since 1975, Gene Watson has been an artist who has adhered to, and remained faithful to, a 'hard' traditional country sound. Gene Watson is truly a 'Lone Star Hero', not only within the state boundary of Texas but also around the wider country music world.
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 were 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.
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.
With This Said Please Induct Gene Watson Into The Country Music Hall Of Fame.
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The Induct Gene Watson Into The Country Music Hall Of Fame petition to Country Music Hall Of Fame was written by Induct Gene Watson Into The Country Music Hall Of Fame and is in the category Music at GoPetition.