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 2013, 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 Henry Strzelecki, which he submitted to this site on Sunday 30 June 2013.
Sean Brady would like to take this opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to Henry Strzelecki who made a special contribution to this unique part of this online ‘celebration of a Lone Star Hero’.
Sean Brady would also like to say ‘thank you’ to Richard Bell at Roots of Country Music for granting permission to use part of his feature on Henry Strzelecki for inclusion on this dedicated page.
Roots of Country Music was a site dedicated to the preservation and promotion of original country music (mid-1920s through to the late 1980s).
Richard Bell was the founder, CEO, creator, author and chief editor of Roots of Country Music.
Henry Strzelecki
This quote was submitted on Sunday 30 June 2013.
‘Yes, I did work with Gene Watson.
I always thought that Gene was an excellent country singer and I do fondly remember working with him on two of his highly acclaimed album projects, one in the 1970s – ‘Love In The Hot Afternoon‘ (Capitol Records, 1975) – and another in the 1980s – ‘Honky Tonk Crazy‘ (Epic Records, 1987)’
Thank you, Henry Strzelecki, for your support of Gene Watson.
About Henry Strzelecki…
Henry Strzelecki was born Henry Pershing Strzelecki in Birmingham, Alabama on Tuesday 8 August 1939, and worked with Hank Garland (Tuesday 11 November 1930 – Monday 27 December 2004), and graced the recordings of Johnny Cash (Friday 26 February 1932 – Friday 12 September 2003), Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley (Tuesday 8 January 1935 – Tuesday 16 August 1977).
Henry Strzelecki also worked with Chet Atkins (Friday 20 June 1924 – Saturday 30 June 2001) for twenty years.
As a Nashville session musician, Henry Strzelecki used a Fender Jazz bass on countless recordings.
Henry Strzelecki played on hundreds of Billboard Top 10 hit singles, including the following:
‘Oh, Pretty Woman’ (No.1 for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 pop music singles chart) from Roy Orbison (Thursday 23 April 1936 – Tuesday 6 December 1988)
‘He Stopped Loving Her Today’ (No.1 on the Billboard country music singles chart for one week in July 1980) from George Jones (Saturday 12 September 1931 – Friday 26 April 2013)
Henry Strzelecki started out in country music in his teens, recording with songwriter, Thomas Baker Knight Jr. (Tuesday 4 July 1933 – Wednesday 12 October 2005), on the Nashville-based record label, Decca Records, in the mid-1950s.
Henry Strzelecki played with his brother Larry in a group called The Four Flickers, which later became known as The Four Counts; they toured the American southern and border states in the late 1950s.
In December 1960, Henry Strzelecki moved to Nashville. Soon after arriving in ‘Music City’, Henry Strzelecki connected up with Hank Garland (Tuesday 11 November 1930 – Monday 27 December 2004).
After working an informal session with Hank Garland (Tuesday 11 November 1930 – Monday 27 December 2004), Bill Purcell and Buddy Harman (Sunday 23 December 1928 – Thursday 21 August 2008), Hank Garland (Tuesday 11 November 1930 – Monday 27 December 2004) offered Henry Strzelecki a job.
It was at this time that Hank Garland (Tuesday 11 November 1930 – Monday 27 December 2004) had a small band which played at Jimmy Hyde’s Supper Club in Nashville’s Printer’s Alley.
Henry Strzelecki started out on the upright bass, but a couple years later switched to electric bass. It was while working at Printer’s Alley that Henry Strzelecki met Chet Atkins (Friday 20 June 1924 – Saturday 30 June 2001).
‘On Sunday nights, Chet would come in and play. I didn’t have anything else to do, so I hung around to meet him’, Henry recalled. ‘I listened to Chet on the radio when I was a kid down in Birmingham, Alabama. We would string a wire across the back yard so we could pick up WSM better. We’d use the clothesline connected to the radio. It worked great.
So, I knew who Chet was. I just wanted to meet him because I always thought a lot of him. I appreciated and loved great guitar players. I always wanted to be one. I ended up playing bass for everyone else – you know how that goes. There are fewer bass players than guitarists.
Once I met Chet, he invited me to play with him on Sunday nights. He knew I needed a job and he heard me play with Hank. Bill Purcell and I played duets Monday through Thursday night. On Friday and Saturday, Hank Garland (Tuesday 11 November 1930 – Monday 27 December 2004) and Buddy Harman (Sunday 23 December 1928 – Thursday 21 August 2008) joined us to form the band. Chet had some bass player for Sunday night. I cannot remember his name, but he wanted Sunday off to do other things. This is how I got the job with Chet’.
Henry Strzelecki worked with Hank Garland (Tuesday 11 November 1930 – Monday 27 December 2004) as a bass player in the early 1960s and subsequently worked for Chet Atkins (Friday 20 June 1924 – Saturday 30 June 2001) for more than a decade, both in the studio and on tour, which helped move Henry Strzelecki to the front ranks of Nashville’s session players.
The list of recordings on which Henry Strzelecki has worked over the years, usually as bassist, is prodigious and encompasses the work of just about every country music artist to come out of Nashville since the early 1960s.
Henry Strzelecki was quoted in interviews that he had played on 10,000 recording sessions, including 100 No.1 singles.
Henry Strzelecki was also a player in The Nashville A-Team, which was a nickname given to a group of session musicians in Nashville, who earned wide acclaim in the 1950s and 1960s.
The Nashville A-Team backed dozens of popular singers, including Elvis Presley (Tuesday 8 January 1935 – Tuesday 16 August 1977), Eddy Arnold (Wednesday 15 May 1918 – Thursday 8 May 2008), Patsy Cline (Thursday 8 September 1932 – Tuesday 5 March 1963), Jim Reeves (Monday 20 August 1923 – Friday 31 July 1964), Kitty Wells (Saturday 30 August 1919 – Monday 16 July 2012), Ray Price (Tuesday 12 January 1926 – Monday 16 December 2013), amongst many others.
The Nashville A-Team’s members typically had backgrounds in country music, but were highly versatile.
Chet Atkins (Friday 20 June 1924 – Saturday 30 June 2001) recorded Henry Strzelecki’s ‘Levee Walking’, which was co-written with Jerry Reed Hubbard (Saturday 20 March 1937 – Monday 1 September 2008), and included the track on ‘My Favorite Guitars’ (RCA Victor Records, 1964).
Between December 1980 and Spring 1981, Henry Strzelecki briefly toured with Johnny Cash (Friday 26 February 1932 – Friday 12 September 2003).
In late 1980, Joe Allen, who was also a bass player, departed the group and Henry Strzelecki joined the band for a short time.
In 1982, Henry Strzelecki left the band and Marty Stuart took over as bass player.
Henry Strzelecki also founded a publishing company in Nashville, which was very active during the 1970s and 1980s.
In 1987, Henry Strzelecki was nominated as ‘Bass Man of The Year’ at the 23rd Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards.
Some of Henry Strzelecki’s recording session work included the following:
Nashville, Monday 7 January 1963
Marty Robbins Recording Session for ‘Smokin’ Cigarettes & Drinkin’ Coffee Blues’
Producers: Donald Firth ‘Don’ Law (Monday 24 February 1902 – Monday 20 December 1982) and Frank Jones (Sunday 4 March 1928 – Thursday 3 February 2005)
Session Personnel
Marty Robbins (Saturday 26 September 1925 – Wednesday 8 December 1982) (vocal, guitar)
Grady Martin (Thursday 17 January 1929 – Monday 3 December 2001) and Jack Pruett (guitar)
Bill Pursell (piano)
Henry Strzelecki (Tuesday 8 August 1939 – Monday 29 December 2014) (bass guitar)
Louis Dunn (drums)
Nashville, Wednesday 27 February 1963
Marty Robbins Recording Session for ‘Man Walks Among Us’
Producers: Donald Firth ‘Don’ Law (Monday 24 February 1902 – Monday 20 December 1982) and Frank Jones (Sunday 4 March 1928 – Thursday 3 February 2005)
Session Personnel
Marty Robbins (vocal, guitar)
Grady Martin (Thursday 17 January 1929 – Monday 3 December 2001) and Jack Pruett (guitar)
Bill Pursell (piano)
Henry Strzelecki (Tuesday 8 August 1939 – Monday 29 December 2014) (bass guitar)
Louis Dunn (drums)
The Beach Boys recorded Henry Strzelecki’s ‘Tall Tall Texan’ and included the track on ‘Beach Boys Concert’ (Capitol Records, 1964); the album was recorded ‘live’ at Civic Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento, California on Saturday 21 December 1963 and Tuesday 1 August 1964.
Columbia Studios, Nashville, 1974
Charlie Rich (Wednesday 14 December 1932 – Tuesday 25 July 1995)
Recording Session for ‘Every Time You Touch Me, I Get High’ (Epic Records, 1975), which was produced by Billy Sherrill (Thursday 5 November 1936 – Tuesday 4 August 2015)
Personnel involved in the recording of Charlie Rich’s ‘Every Time You Touch Me, I Get High’ (Epic Records, 1975) included the following:
Billy Sanford, Pete Wade, Jimmy Capps (Thursday 25 May 1939 – Monday 1 June 2020), Tommy Allsup (Tuesday 24 November 1931 – Wednesday 11 January 2017), Ray Edenton (Wednesday 3 November 1926 – Wednesday 21 September 2022) and Glenn Keener (guitar)
Pete Drake (Saturday 8 October 1932 – Friday 29 July 1988) (steel guitar)
Bob Moore (Wednesday 30 November 1932 – Wednesday 22 September 2021), Norbert Putman and Henry Strzelecki (Tuesday 8 August 1939 – Monday 29 December 2014) (bass)
Jerry Kirby Carrigan (Monday 13 September 1943 – Saturday 22 June 2019) (drums)
Hargus ‘Pig’ Robbins (Tuesday 18 January 1938 – Sunday 30 January 2022) and Larry Butler (Thursday 26 March 1942 – Friday 20 January 2012) (piano, keyboards)
Charlie McCoy (vibes)
Sheldon ‘Shelly’ Kurland (Saturday 9 June 1928 – Wednesday 6 January 2010) Strings (strings)
The Nashville Edition (vocal accompaniment)
Bill McElhiney and Bergen White (arrangements)
Charlie Rich’s ‘Every Time You Touch Me, I Get High’ (Epic Records, 1975) included the following tracks:
‘Every Time You Touch Me, I Get High’, which was written by Billy Sherrill (Thursday 5 November 1936 – Tuesday 4 August 2015) and Charlie Rich (Wednesday 14 December 1932 – Tuesday 25 July 1995) (No.3, 1975) / the track also reached No.19 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop music singles chart in 1975
‘All Over Me’, which was written by Ben Peters (Tuesday 20 June 1933 – Wednesday 25 May 2005) (No.4, 1975)
‘Little Bit Here (A Little Bit There)’, which was written by Margaret Ann Rich (1934 – Thursday 22 July 2010)
‘Mellow Melody For You’, which was written by Billy Sherrill (Thursday 5 November 1936 – Tuesday 4 August 2015) and Charlie Rich (Wednesday 14 December 1932 – Tuesday 25 July 1995)
‘Since I Fell For You’ (written by Buddy Johnson) (No.10, 1975) / this track also reached No.71 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop music singles chart in 1975
‘Pass On By’, which was written by Margaret Ann Rich (1934 – Thursday 22 July 2010)
‘Rendezvous’, which was written by Billy Sherrill (Thursday 5 November 1936 – Tuesday 4 August 2015) and Norro Wilson (Monday 4 April 1938 – Thursday 8 June 2017)
‘She’ (written by Bill McMath, Ron Nelson and Mark Blumberg)
‘You & I’, which was written by Henry Strzelecki (Tuesday 8 August 1939 – Monday 29 December 2014)
‘Midnight Blues’, which was written by Charlie Rich (Wednesday 14 December 1932 – Tuesday 25 July 1995)
Charlie Rich’s ‘Every Time You Touch Me, I Get High’ (Epic Records, 1975) reached No.1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart in 1975, and No.54 on the Billboard Top 100 pop music albums chart in 1975.
Jack Clement Recording Studio, Nashville, 1975
Gene Watson’s ‘Love In The Hot Afternoon‘ (Capitol Records, 1975)
Producers: Russ Reeder and Bob Webster (1930 – Thursday 22 February 2007)
Recording Engineer: Jim Williamson
Musician Credits
Rhythm Guitar: Tommy Allsup (Tuesday 24 November 1931 – Wednesday 11 January 2017), Leon Rhodes (Thursday 10 March 1932 – Saturday 9 December 2017) and Charlie McCoy
Lead Guitar: Jimmy Colvard (1943 – 1977), Pete Wade and Dale Sellers
Steel Guitar: Lloyd Green
Dobro: Lloyd Green
Harmonica: Charlie McCoy
Marimba: Charlie McCoy and Kenny Malone (Thursday 4 August 1938 – Thursday 26 August 2021)
Piano: Hargus ‘Pig’ Robbins (Tuesday 18 January 1938 – Sunday 30 January 2022)
Fiddle: Buddy Spicher
Bass: Joe Allen, Henry Strzelecki (Tuesday 8 August 1939 – Monday 29 December 2014) and Leon Rhodes (Thursday 10 March 1932 – Saturday 9 December 2017)
Drums: Kenny Malone (Thursday 4 August 1938 – Thursday 26 August 2021), Jimmy Isabel and Buddy Harman (Sunday 23 December 1928 – Thursday 21 August 2008)
Horn: Jerry Tuttle
Voices: The Nashville Edition
In 1976, David Wills recorded ‘Woman’, which was written by B. Webb, who was also known as John Lennon (Wednesday 9 October 1940 – Monday 8 December 1980) and Paul McCartney, as a non-album single, for Epic Records; the track, which reached No.55 on the Billboard country music singles chart in 1976, and No.32 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks Chart in 1976, was produced by Henry Strzelecki.
Nashville, Monday 16 February 1976
Marty Robbins’ Recording Session for ‘El Paso City’
Producer: Billy Sherrill (Thursday 5 November 1936 – Tuesday 4 August 2015)
Session Personnel
Marty Robbins (vocal)
Grady Martin (Thursday 17 January 1929 – Monday 3 December 2001), Jack Pruett and George Richey (Saturday 30 November 1935 – Saturday 31 July 2010) (guitar)
Henry Strzelecki (Tuesday 8 August 1939 – Monday 29 December 2014) (bass guitar)
Bradley’s Barn, Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, Friday 9 March 1979
Loretta Lynn‘s Recording Session for ‘I’ve Got A Picture of Us In My Mind’
Producer: Owen Bradley (Thursday 21 October 1915 – Wednesday 7 January 1998)
Session Personnel
Loretta Lynn (Thursday 14 April 1932 – Tuesday 4 October 2022) and The Jordanaires (vocal)
Harold Bradley (Saturday 2 January 1926 – Thursday 31 January 2019) (6-string electric bass guitar)
Ray Edenton (Wednesday 3 November 1926 – Wednesday 21 September 2022) (acoustic guitar)
Buddy Harman (Sunday 23 December 1928 – Thursday 21 August 2008) (drums)
Hargus ‘Pig’ Robbins (Tuesday 18 January 1938 – Sunday 30 January 2022) (piano)
Henry Strzelecki (Tuesday 8 August 1939 – Monday 29 December 2014) (bass guitar)
Harald ‘Hal’ Rugg (Tuesday 21 July 1936 – Tuesday 9 August 2005) (steel guitar)
Herman Wade (electric guitar)
Eleven Eleven Sound Studio, Nashville, 1987
Gene Watson’s ‘Honky Tonk Crazy‘ (Epic Records, 1987)
Producer: Billy Sherrill (Thursday 5 November 1936 – Tuesday 4 August 2015)
Musician Credits
Guitar: Billy Sanford
Keyboards: Bobby Wood
Guitar: Dale Sellers
Steel Guitar: Weldon Myrick (Monday 10 April 1939 – Monday 2 June 2014)
Fiddle: Mark O’Connor
Drums: Kenny Malone (Thursday 4 August 1938 – Thursday 26 August 2021)
Bass: Robert Wray
Lead Guitar: Jerry Kennedy
Harmonica: Terry McMillan (Monday 12 October 1953 – Friday 2 February 2007)
Piano: Hargus ‘Pig’ Robbins (Tuesday 18 January 1938 – Sunday 30 January 2022)
Bass: Henry Strzelecki (Tuesday 8 August 1939 – Monday 29 December 2014)
Background Vocals: Hurshel Wayne Wiginton (Saturday 29 January 1938 – Monday 6 March 2017), Wendy Suits, Diane Tidwell and Louis Nunley (The Jordanaires) (Thursday 15 October 1931 – Friday 26 October 2012)
In June 1996, Lyle Lovett saw the release of ‘Road To Ensenada’ (Curb Records / MCA Records, 1996); one of the included tracks was Henry Strzelecki’s ‘Long Tall Texan’.
On the morning of Tuesday 30 December 2014, Henry Strzelecki passed away, having sustained injuries suffered in a traffic accident near his home in Davidson County, Tennessee, on Monday 22 December 2014.
On Saturday 17 January 2015, at 2:00pm, a ‘Celebration of Life’ for Henry Strzelecki (Tuesday 8 August 1939 – Tuesday 30 December 2014) was held at Pennington United Methodist Church, 2745 Pennington Bend Road in Nashville.
• Henry Strzelecki Memorial