Monday 2 July 2007 & Tuesday 3 July 2007
Gene Watson was present in Curb recording studios in Nashville working on the mixing process of his new Shanachie Records release; Gene Watson’s ‘In a Perfect World‘ (Shanachie Records, 2007) would be officially launched on Tuesday 25 September 2007.
Monday 9 July 2007
Gene Watson’s Fan Site received copies of two promotional ‘flyers’, which were produced in order to promote Gene Watson’s tour of Ireland (Republic of Ireland & Northern Ireland), a tour which was scheduled to take place in October 2007.
Promotional Flyers for Gene Watson’s Irish Tour in 2007
Promotional Flyer 1 and Promotional Flyer 2
Gene Watson & The Farewell Party Band would bring their distinctive brand of traditional country music to thirteen venues around Ireland, including Killarney, Castlebar, Letterkenny, Limerick, Belfast, Cookstown, Enniskillen, Omagh, Armagh, Castleblayney, Coleraine, Ballymena, Dublin and Sligo.
Monday 9 July 2007
The mastering of ‘In a Perfect World‘ (Shanachie Records, 2007), Gene Watson’s new album on Shanachie Records, took place at Independent Mastering, 114 17th Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37203.
The mastering was undertaken by Eric Conn, Don Cobb and producer Brent Rowan.
Eric Conn & Don Cobb
Independent Mastering, Nashville
Eric Conn
Eric Conn opened Independent Mastering in Nashville in October 2001, having spent four hours at Georgetown (with Don Cobb), three years at Doug Sax’s Sheffield Lab recording, one year at The Smithsonian and one year at The Airshow.
Eric Conn also spent many years in recording and mastering at facilities in California, Colorado, Washington DC and Nashville. Eric Conn also spent two years repairing woodwind instruments, brass winds and orchestral string instruments. Eric Conn holds a degree in music from The University of Massachusetts in Boston.
Don Cobb
Don Cobb has been a recording and mixing engineer for artists such as Take Six, Quincy Jones and Waylon Jennings (Tuesday 15 June 1937 – Wednesday 13 February 2002). Don Cobb also managed, edited and mastered at Denny Purcell’s Georgetown Masters for eleven years. Don Cobb was a multi-instrumentalist and could play mandolin, guitar and bass.
Gene Watson’s ‘In a Perfect World‘ (Shanachie Records, 2007) would be officially released by Shanachie Records on Tuesday 25 September 2007.
Monday 9 July 2007
Gene Watson’s Fan Site exclusively revealed that there would be six special guest vocalists on ‘In a Perfect World‘ (Shanachie Records, 2007), Gene Watson’s new album on Shanachie Records, which would be officially released on Tuesday 25 September 2007.
These special guest vocalists would include Joe Nichols, Rhonda Vincent, Mark Chesnutt, Vince Gill, Lee Ann Womack and Connie Smith.
Rhonda Vincent & Gene Watson would perform Buck Owens’ ‘Together Again’, which was a No.1 Billboard country music hit single for Buck Owens (Monday 12 August 1929 – Saturday 25 March 2006) & The Buckaroos in 1964; the track was also No.1 on the Billboard country music singles chart for one week in April 1976 for Emmylou Harris.
Mark Chesnutt would join Gene Watson on ‘This Side of The Door’ (written by Tim Menzies and Shawn Camp), a track which was originally recorded by Mark Chesnutt for ‘What A Way To Live’ (Decca Records, 1994) and by Tim Menzies for ‘Tim Mensy’ (PJM Records, 2002).
Gene Watson’s ‘In a Perfect World‘ on Shanachie Records was anticipated to be one of the more important country music releases of 2007.
Friday 13 July 2007
Gene Watson & The Farewell Party Band traveled from Houston, Texas to Nashville, Tennessee to perform on the hallowed stage of The Grand Ole Opry.
However, their tour bus caught fire on the outskirts of Nashville. The blaze ignited from a broken axle shaft, which was spewing grease. Gene Watson’s years as an auto mechanic stood him in good stead as he quickly went to work trying to extinguish the fire.
Sarah Brosmer, Gene Watson’s publicist, said that black smoke and flames had engulfed the back of the bus by the engine. Gene and the band members kept the fire from spreading under the floorboard and fought the fire for thirty minutes until firefighters arrived.
Gene stated: ‘We used everything we had on the bus to douse the flames, from sodas to water bottles. The firemen arriving on the scene still gave it a good shot, too. When we say that we were smoldering hot in Nashville, we really mean it’.
No one was harmed, though Gene did singe his hair. Gene & The Farewell Party Band rented another bus in order to continue their journey to The Grand Ole Opry appearance. It was expected that it would take several days before Gene’s regular bus was repaired.
Friday 13 July 2007
Following dramatic events earlier in the day, Gene Watson & his acclaimed Farewell Party Band graced the hallowed stage of The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville at 9:30pm. Considering the traumatic events earlier in the day, Gene did see the funny side of things when he performed ‘Memories To Burn’, which was written by Dave Kirby (Sunday 10 July 1938 – Saturday 17 April 2004).
Other country music artists who appeared on The Grand Ole Opry on the night of Friday 13 July 2007 included Chris Young, Jimmy Wayne, The Grascals, Little Jimmy Dickens (Sunday 19 December 1920 – Friday 2 January 2015), Bobby Osborne (Monday 7 December 1931 – Tuesday 27 June 2023) & The Rocky Top X-Press.
Connie Smith and Gene Watson
The Grand Ole Opry, Nashville
Friday 13 July 2007
The legendary Connie Smith was also present at The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville on the night of Friday 13 July 2007. Connie Smith and Gene Watson had an opportunity to talk and Gene told her how delighted he was that she sang on his new album.
Monday 16 July 2007
Following the dramatic bus fire on Friday 13 July 2007, Gene Watson traveled to Nashville with the temporary bus to see if the repairs on his bus had been completed.
According to the members of The Farewell Party Band, Gene Watson was the heroic one on Friday 13 July 2007 as he was right up amid the flames, dousing them with everything he could find on the bus. Obviously, a grease fire couldn’t be put out, but Gene did all he could to contain it, so that it wouldn’t spread further.
The good news is that no one was hurt in the incident on Friday and Gene proved himself to be a Lone Star Hero – we all knew he was!
Monday 16 July 2007
Gene Watson’s Fan Site exclusively revealed that Robert K. Oermann, ‘the dean of Nashville’s entertainment journalists’, was working on a Gene Watson biography. ‘In a Perfect World‘ (Shanachie Records, 2007), Gene Watson’s new album, would be officially released by Shanachie Records on Tuesday 25 September 2007.
Tuesday 17 July 2007
Gene Watson’s Fan Site officially confirmed that Gene Watson would be a special guest on Eddie Stubbs’ radio show on WSM 650AM. The show would be broadcast ‘live’ from The Country Music Hall of Fame on Wednesday 12 September 2007 between 7:00pm and 9:00pm.
Gene Watson would have copies of ‘In a Perfect World‘ (Shanachie Records, 2007), his new album on Shanachie Records, available for sale on that evening only, as a special event promotion, so that those who lived near the Nashville area could have an opportunity to purchase a copy of the CD before the official release date of Tuesday 25 September 2007.
Wednesday 18 July 2007
Following the dramatic bus fire on Friday 13 July 2007, Gene Watson was in Nashville in order to check out the repairs being carried out on his tour bus.
Thursday 19 July 2007
Following the dramatic bus fire on Friday 13 July 2007, Gene Watson was in Nashville and was informed that repairs had been carried out successfully on his tour bus – everything was, once again, in full working order.
Saturday 21 July 2007
Gene Watson’s Fan Site was proud to receive, and publish, an official Shanachie Records Press Release from Monifa Brown at Shanachie Records, based in Newton, New Jersey:
‘Everybody’s Favourite Country Singer Delivers ‘In a Perfect World‘
‘Gene Watson’s new CD, featuring guest vocals from fans Vince Gill, Lee Ann Womack, Joe Nichols, Mark Chesnutt, Connie Smith and Rhonda Vincent.
Ask any number of country artists (or any fan of real country music) who their favourite country singer is and there’s a good chance they will name Gene Watson, arguably the greatest country singer of his generation.
Having scored a string of over 48 chart singles with 21 Top Ten hits and 5 No.1 hits since his mid-seventies chart debut, Gene Watson’s name is synonymous with real country music. His deeply-felt, expressive singing is akin to that of the great soul singers; it just so happens that his medium of expression is country music.
Gene’s new CD, ‘In a Perfect World‘, is destined to be one of the country music events of the year, as an impressive list of major talents who happened to be Gene Watson admirers stepped forward to take part in the recording: Vince Gill, Lee Ann Womack, Joe Nichols, Mark Chesnutt, Connie Smith and Rhonda Vincent.
Producer / musician extraordinaire Brent Rowan took on the role of producer on ‘In a Perfect World‘, as a labor of love. ‘As plans for the album progressed’, relates Gene, ‘my manager John Lytle played some stuff for Brent Rowan and Brent said he wanted to produce it, which I never would have dreamed of.
Word started getting out about the recording and pretty soon we had a bunch of artists inquiring how they could be a part of it, first off Mark Chesnutt, who is my friend, Connie Smith, who has always been one of my favourite female artists and Vince Gill, ‘what can you about Vince Gill?’
The caliber of people like Vince Gill, Lee Ann Womack, Joe Nichols and Rhonda Vincent is just tremendous. My manager and Brent said it was because they admired me as an artist. What a great feeling it is to hear that! I can’t even express it!’
‘In a Perfect World‘ features a mix of new material and classic country songs, with the emphasis on new material in the classic country tradition. Gene explains, ‘I contacted some of the best writers in the business and we started to get some premium songs. Tim Menzies, just about everyone in the traditional country field knows him; plus he’s one of the finest singers and musicians around. Skip Ewing, he’s just fantastic. I talked to Skip personally and Tim too about the songs’.
Gene Watson played a major role in selecting the material on the CD and all of the cover songs were hand-picked by him. He reflects, ”Today I Started Loving You Again’ is a song that’s been in my show for quite awhile. I’m a huge Merle Haggard (Tuesday 6 April 1937 – Wednesday 6 April 2016) fan and I usually do one of his songs in my shows and people have always responded to ‘Today I Started Loving You Again”.
Other standouts on the album include ‘This Side of The Door’, which Gene performs with Mark Chesnutt and which was written by Tim Menzies and Shawn Camp. Mark Chesnutt originally recorded the song in 1994 on his album ‘What A Way To Live’. Mark Chesnutt shares the following, ‘I have been a Gene Watson fan all my life. He is truly one of country music’s best voices’.
Gene Watson also performs ‘Together Again’, the Buck Owens (Monday 12 August 1929 – Saturday 25 March 2006) song, which was a hit for him in 1964, as well as for Emmylou Harris in 1976. Gene is joined on this gem by Rhonda Vincent who shares, ‘This is one of the greatest duets of my career. His voice is awesome and exquisite!’ Gene adds, ‘Anybody who is anybody in the country field has performed it or recorded it. The only thing I knew to do was to forget about all the great versions of the song I had heard and to just sing it the way I felt it’.
Gene’s formula proves to be a success as throughout ‘In a Perfect World‘ he renders heartfelt, personal and poignant versions that drive home his ability to bring out the best in any song. ‘I was just blown away by the sounds we were getting in the studio’, Gene says of his new CD, which was recorded live in the studio in order to capture the spontaneous magic of Gene’s expressiveness as he worked with an A-list of Nashville session men.
He adds, ‘Recording the old way is the only way I know. The best way for me to capture the song is for me to be in the studio with the musicians and I inspire them and they inspire me. I have always thrived using this means of recording’.
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.
Born one of seven children in Palestine, Texas on October 11 1943, Gene Watson has been singing virtually all his life. However, working early on in the auto industry, which left Gene with a lifetime affinity for automobiles, Gene did not really consider a career in music for some time.
In the mid-70s, while on Capitol (who Gene recorded with until 1980), he enjoyed success with a string of national hits, ‘Where Love Begins’, ‘Paper Rosie’, ‘Farewell Party’, ‘Should I Come Home (Or Should I Go Crazy)’ and ‘Nothing Sure Looked Good On You’.
Before signing with MCA in the ’80s, Gene’s single, ‘Any Way You Want Me’, from the soundtrack of the Clint Eastwood movie, ‘Any Which Way You Can’, reached the Top 40 on the Billboard country music singles chart. Somewhere along the way, Clint Eastwood had heard the song as a demo recording by its writer, Leo Ofman, but he insisted that Gene should record the song.
Shortly after moving to MCA, Watson recorded ‘Fourteen Carat Mind’ which hit No.1. A parade of Top Ten hits followed during the early ’80s including ‘Speak Softly (You’re Talking To My Heart)’, ‘You’re Out Doing What I’m Here Doing Without’, ‘Sometimes I Get Lucky’, ‘Drinkin’ My Way Back Home’, ‘Forever Again’ and ‘Little By Little’.
In 1985, Gene moved to Epic Records and returned to the Top 5 with the western swing-influenced ‘Memories To Burn’, which was also the title of his first album on the label. Subsequent albums with Epic included ‘Starting New Memories‘ (Epic Records, 1986) in 1986 and ‘Honky Tonk Crazy‘ (Epic Records, 1987) in 1987.
The following year, Gene Watson made his Warner Bros. debut with ‘Back in The Fire‘ (Warner Bros. Records, 1989), which was followed by ‘At Last‘ (Warner Bros. Records, 1991). Leaving the label in 1991, Gene recorded the album ‘In Other Words‘ (Broadland International Records / Mercury Canada, 1992), which was initially released only in Canada on Gary Buck’s label, Broadland International Records. It was later released in the United States in 1993.
The same year, Gene made his debut album for Step One Records, ‘Uncharted Mind‘ (Step One Records, 1993) and followed it with the albums ‘The Good Ole Days‘ (Step One Records, 1996), ‘Jesus is All I Need‘ (Step One Records, 1997) and ‘A Way to Survive‘ (Step One Records, 1997).
A brief stint with the RMG (Row Music Group) Records label yielded the title ‘From The Heart‘ (RMG Records, 2001), which was followed by the recording ‘Gene Watson…Sings‘ (Intersound Records, 2003) on Intersound Records in 2003.
Gene Watson has persevered and survived throughout country music and the music business’ many changes. But one thing has remained constant, his raw talent, commitment to upholding country music’s grand tradition, his passion and overwhelming emotion and honest approach to singing country music.
With the release of ‘In a Perfect World‘ Gene Watson bears his soul, putting all his talents on the line and proving just why he has managed to stand the test of time. The result is a testament to Gene’s talents as the greatest country singer of his generation and a true soul singer who knows how to get right to the heart of the matter.
Street Date: September 25, 2007‘
Sunday 22 July 2007
Gene Watson’s Fan Site exclusively revealed the full track listing and full musician credits for ‘In a Perfect World‘, Gene Watson’s new Shanachie Records album.
Vince Gill will be a guest vocalist on ‘Let Me Be The First To Go’
Lee Ann Womack will be a guest vocalist on ‘Today I Started Loving You Again’
Joe Nichols will be a guest vocalist on ‘In A Perfect World’
Rhonda Vincent will be a duet vocalist on ‘Together Again’
Mark Chesnutt will be a duet vocalist on ‘This Side of The Door’
Connie Smith will be a guest vocalist on ‘A Good Place To Turn Around’
Here is a full track listing for Gene Watson’s ‘In a Perfect World‘ (Shanachie Records, 2007):
1 ‘Don’t You Ever Get Tired of Hurting Me’
2 ‘Let Me Be The First To Go’ (with Vince Gill)
3 ‘What Was I Thinking’
4 ‘Today I Started Loving You Again’ (with Lee Ann Womack)
5 ‘In A Perfect World’ (with Joe Nichols)
6 ‘She’s Already Gone’
7 ‘I Buried Our Love’
8 ‘Together Again’ (with Rhonda Vincent)
9 ‘This Side of The Door’ (with Mark Chesnutt)
10 ‘A Good Place To Turn Around’ (with Connie Smith)
11 ‘Like I Wasn’t There’
Here are the musician credits for Gene Watson’s ‘In a Perfect World‘ (Shanachie Records, 2007):
Acoustic Guitar: Bobby All (passed away on Thursday 19 March 2009) and Brent Rowan
Drums: Shannon Forrest and John Gardner
Lead Guitar: Gregg Galbraith
Steel Guitar: Sonny Garrish
Piano: Hargus ‘Pig’ Robbins (Tuesday 18 January 1938 – Sunday 30 January 2022)
Fiddle and Mandolin: Aubrey Haynie
Bass: David Smith
Harmony Vocals: Mark Chesnutt, Rhonda Vincent, Vince Gill, Joe Nichols, Lee Ann Womack and Connie Smith
‘In a Perfect World‘ was expected to be officially released by Shanachie Records on Tuesday 25 September 2007.
Thursday 26 July 2007
Gene Watson’s Fan Site was granted permission, courtesy of Sarah Brosmer at Lytle Management in Brentwood, TN and Shanachie Records in Newton, New Jersey, to preview two of the tracks on ‘In a Perfect World‘, Gene Watson’s new album on Shanachie Records, which would be officially released on Tuesday 25 September 2007; the two tracks were ‘I Buried Our Love’ (written by Tim Menzies and Tony Haselden) and ‘Don’t You Ever Get Tired of Hurting Me’.
Thursday 26 July 2007
Gene Watson’s Fan Site exclusively revealed, courtesy of Sarah Brosmer at Lytle Management in Brentwood, TN and Shanachie Records in Newton, New Jersey, that Gene Watson’s new single, ‘I Buried Our Love’ (written by Tim Menzies and Tony Haselden), would ship to radio on Monday 20 August 2007. Besides regular mailings, the single would also be included on the CDX Compilation, which was received by many radio presenters around the world.
‘I Buried Our Love’ (written by Tim Menzies and Tony Haselden) was the featured promotional single from Gene Watson’s new album; Gene Watson’s ‘In a Perfect World‘ would be officially released by Shanachie Records on Tuesday 25 September 2007.
Thursday 26 July 2007
Legendary country music songwriter, Lawton Williams (Monday 24 July 1922 – Thursday 26 July 2007), writer of ‘Farewell Party’, passed away at The Harris Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas at 2:00pm.
Lawton Williams
Monday 24 July 1922 – Thursday 26 July 2007
‘Farewell Party’ was written by Lawton Williams (Monday 24 July 1922 – Thursday 26 July 2007) and was included on Gene Watson’s ‘Reflections‘ (Capitol Records, 1978). When released as a single (catalogue number Capitol 4680), ‘Farewell Party’ reached No.3 on the Billboard country music singles chart in 1979.
‘Farewell Party’ would go on to become Gene Watson’s signature tune and the name of his highly acclaimed touring band.
Gene Watson’s version of ‘Farewell Party’ is considered by many to be the definitive version of the song, with Lloyd Green playing the legendary steel guitar part – ‘Farewell Party’ was the last Gene Watson track which Lloyd Green played steel guitar on, having played on a number of Gene Watson’s Capitol Records recordings.
‘Farewell Party’ should have been the foundation on which the recording session was based, but the track was apparently a last minute addition to the recording session. Gene Watson also recorded ‘Farewell Party’ in one take.
Walter Stettner in Austria established a Lloyd Green Tribute Site; without Walter Stettner’s assistance, acquisition of a ‘Peer’s Quote’ about Gene Watson from Lloyd Green would not have been possible.
Visitation for Lawton Williams took place on Sunday 29 July 2007 between 5:00pm and 7:00pm in Lourel Land Funeral Chapel at 7100 Crowley Road in Fort Worth, Texas. Lawton Williams‘ funeral service took place on Monday 30 July 2007 at 2:00pm.
Friday 27 July 2007
Gene Watson’s Fan Site exclusively revealed, courtesy of Sarah Brosmer at Lytle Management in Brentwood, TN and Shanachie Records in Newton, New Jersey, that Gene Watson’s new single, ‘I Buried Our Love’ (written by Tim Menzies and Tony Haselden), would ship to radio on Monday 20 August 2007. Besides regular mailings, the single would also be included on the CDX Compilation, which was received by many radio presenters around the world.
‘I Buried Our Love’ (written by Tim Menzies and Tony Haselden) was the featured promotional single from Gene Watson’s new album – ‘In a Perfect World‘ will be officially released by Shanachie Records on Tuesday 25 September 2007.