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 Watson’s Peers, who were contacted by The Gene Watson Fan Site, during 2017, were most gracious with their time and words.
It is here, within this special part of The Gene Watson Fan Site, that you have an opportunity to read a quote from William ‘Flash’ Gordon, which he submitted to this site on Thursday 17 August 2017.
Sean Brady would like to take this opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to William ‘Flash’ Gordon who has made a special contribution to a unique part of this online ‘celebration of a Lone Star Hero’.
William ‘Flash’ Gordon
This quote was submitted on Thursday 17 August 2017.
‘I was hanging out in Houston with friends in the early 1970s, and someone turned me onto Russ Reeder. He was a manager of Gene at the time, and he controlled the jukeboxes in the area.
I played him a couple of songs and he passed, but he played ‘You Could Know As Much About a Stranger‘. He said Gene was cuttin’ that and I needed something like that.
Anyway, we became friends.
But Jimmy Day (Tuesday 9 January 1934 – Friday 22 January 1999) was playing steel out on the Dallas highway.
I went out to listen to my buddy play and Gene showed up and got up and sang a few. We all went out and sat by the pool.
Gene is a great guy!’
Thank you, William ‘Flash’ Gordon, for your support of Gene Watson.
About William ‘Flash’ Gordon…
William ‘Flash’ Gordon was born in Miami, Florida and was raised in the swamps of South Georgia.
William ‘Flash’ Gordon has lived through Vietnam and the Nashville music scene and now resides just outside Nashville in Coopertown, Tennessee.
Once a member of The David Allan Coe Band, William ‘Flash’ Gordon has written songs which have been recorded by many country music artists, including Mel Tillis (Monday 8 August 1932 – Sunday 19 November 2017), Charlie Rich (Wednesday 14 December 1932 – Tuesday 25 July 1995), David Allan Coe, Sanger D. ‘Whitey’ Shafer (Wednesday 24 October 1934 – Saturday 12 January 2019), Hank Williams Jr., and Alabama.
William ‘Flash’ Gordon has stated: ‘I don’t really care anymore about being a star and maybe I never did. I always did want to play at The Grand Ole Opry, and the one time I had the chance, I didn’t follow through. But that’s another story.
I just have a few things that I want to say and I don’t want anybody at any record label telling me how to say it. I have lived my life the way I wanted and I will continue to do it my way. I don’t use a lot of outside musicians.
I have a studio in my basement now, and when I take a notion, I go down there and record. That’s it. When I have somethin’ to say, I say it. My only hope now is that somebody out there can understand the things I am trying to say’
David Allan Coe recorded William ‘Flash’ Gordon’s ‘As Far As This Feeling Will Take Us’ (co-written with Buzz Rabin) and included the track on ‘Invictus (Means) Unconquered’ (Columbia Records, 1981); this track was a duet with Karen Brooks.
Mel Tillis (Monday 8 August 1932 – Sunday 19 November 2017) recorded William ‘Flash’ Gordon’s ‘My Woman’s Honky Tonkin’ Me To Death’ (co-written with Dori Murphy) and included the track on ‘It’s A Long Way To Daytona’ (Elektra Records, 1982).
Hank Williams Jr. recorded William ‘Flash’ Gordon’s ‘In The Arms of Cocaine’ (co-written with Buzz Rabin and Hank Williams Jr.) and included the track on ‘Strong Stuff’ (Elektra Records, 1983).
Alabama recorded William ‘Flash’ Gordon’s ‘(She Won’t Have A Thing To Do With) Nobody Like Me’ (co-written with Dean Dillon and Buzz Rabin) and included the track on ‘Forty Hour Week’ (RCA Records, 1985).
Sanger D. ‘Whitey’ Shafer (Wednesday 24 October 1934 – Saturday 12 January 2019) recorded William ‘Flash’ Gordon’s ‘Gone To Nashville’ (co-written with Sanger D. ‘Whitey’ Shafer) and included the track on ‘So Good For So Long’ (SanCor Records, 1997).
In 2000, William ‘Flash’ Gordon saw the release of ‘Confessions of A Cowboy Singer’ (Georgia Boy Recording Company, 2000), which included the following tracks:
‘Alabama Sunrise’
‘Interlude: Confessions’
‘Down On The Corner of Love’
‘Hard Life’
‘Long & Hard & Lonely’
‘Georgia On The Fourth of July’
‘Interlude: Confessions’
‘Two Steel Rails’
‘They’re Rockin’ Over There’
‘Unending Love’
‘Interlude: Confessions’
‘Mama’s Gone’
‘What’s Down The Road’
‘Jesus Is My Hero’
‘Cloud Up & Rain’
‘Interlude: Confessions’
‘Music Is My Life’
‘Whiskey Man’
• Visit William ‘Flash’ Gordon’s official site at flashgordonmusic.com