Gene Watson: Making Music In A Perfect World
At 65, this Living Country-Music Legend Sounds Better than Ever
With 42 top-10 country singles to his credit, including nine No. 1 tracks and scores more that reached the Top 40s, Watson—by all credible accounts—is a living legend. And at nearly 65, he continues to perform his timeless hits, including "Memories to Burn" and "Fourteen Carat Mind," as well as tour in support of In A Perfect World, his 34th album and critically acclaimed debut release for Shanachie Records.
From the Church to the Grand Ole Opry
For Palestine, Texas, native Watson, though, making music was never a fame game. Growing up, he sang in holiness churches alongside his blues harp/guitar-playing father, never aspiring to be the music stalwart he’s become.
“I can remember singing before I can remember talking,” he said in a December 2007 interview by phone. “Even when I was a kid, if I heard a song twice, I knew it. But I never planned to be an entertainer. I knew I could sing, but that wasn’t out of the ordinary; my whole family could.
“Doing music professional was never a goal of mine. I always wanted to work on cars,” added the now Houston-based performer, who dropped out of school in 9th grade and initially supported his own family by doing autobody work and car repair.
Watson did sing in Lone Star honky-tonks at night to make an extra buck, however, and it was while doing just that in the ‘70s that his seamless vocal stylings came to the attention of investors who eagerly financed several of his early, small-label singles. From there, Capitol Records caught the buzz on Watson and picked him up for national distribution; thus, launching what has become one of the most hit-making careers in country music.
Singing Through the Highs and Lows
Inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in 2002, Watson knows what it’s like to be on top, just as he knows what it’s like to hit rock bottom, thanks to being diagnosed with cancer, undergoing surgery and surviving chemotherapy—all of which was “extremely devastating” to him personally and financially.
These days, with his health restored, music that never compromises and a touring schedule that would leave an act half his age exhausted, the always-humble Watson is more appreciative than ever of his latest recording, which features him dueting with a handful of contemporary country artists, including Mark Chesnutt, Vince Gill, Lee Ann Womack and Joe Nichols, among others.
Produced by Nashville veteran/guitarist extraordinaire Brent Rowan, In A Perfect World showcases Watson masterfully recording standards such as Merle Haggard’s “Today I Started Loving You Again” and fellow Texan Ray Price’s “Don’t You Ever Get Tired of Hurting Me,” as well as the late Buck Owens’ classic, “Together Again,” and three new tracks all his own. Justifiably, his efforts on the disc were given the nod by Country Music Television staffers, who named In A Perfect World one of the best country records of 2007.
“I do believe this album is a good example of me,” reported Watson, who didn’t shy away from reinventing a few classics. “I gave it 110 percent and I’m very happy with how I sound and how Brent put the whole production together.
"I have always sung live in the studio with the musicians there because it gives me more of an edge. When one of the musicians plays an especially incredible lick, then I try even harder to make my vocals stand up to their amazing performances.”
Overall, though, Watson’s simply grateful for his simple roots and humbled to still be making great music, with no end in sight.
“I was a poor boy,” he said. “ But I wouldn’t take nothing for my raising— as far as my teaching, the way my mother raised me, the way my dad worked and everything. I think it took all that to get all this.”
For more information about Watson, including tour dates or CD orders, please visit www.genewatsonmusic.com.
- Readers who enjoyed this article also may be interested in Q&A with Country's Gene Watson.
Gene Watson, 2007
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Gene Watson, 1988
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Gene Watson, 1988
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