On Wednesday 24 June 2026, Gene Watson congratulated legendary friend, Bill Anderson.
‘Congratulations to our legendary friend, Bill Anderson – he’ll be awarded the Academy of Country Music (ACM) ‘Icon Award’!
Bill has not only had many hits of his own, but he’s written some of the biggest hits for others, including the following:
- ‘City Lights’, which was recorded by Ray Price (Tuesday 12 January 1926 – Monday 16 December 2013) (No.1 on the Billboard country music singles chart for 13 weeks between October 1958 and January 1959)
- ‘Once A Day’, which was recorded by Connie Smith (No.1 on the Billboard country music singles chart for 8 weeks between November 1964 and January 1965)
- ‘Saginaw, Michigan’, which was recorded by Lefty Frizzell (Saturday 31 March 1928 – Saturday 19 July 1975) (No.1 on the Billboard country music singles chart for 3 weeks in March 1964),
- ‘Give It Away’, which was recorded by George Strait (No.1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart for 1 week in September/October 2006), and so many more.
Of course, he’s a proud member of the Grand Ole Opry and, at 88, I believe he’s the oldest member’
Source
Gene Watson on Facebook
