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!
Acclaimed country music artist, Jeannie Kendall, was most gracious with her time and words about Gene Watson, when she submitted a quote on Friday 18 December 2020.
Jeannie Kendall, who was born on Saturday 30 October 1954, and her father, Royce Kendall (Wednesday 25 September 1935 – Friday 22 May 1998), were known as The Kendalls, an American country music duo from Saint Louis, Missouri.
Between the 1960s and 1990s, The Kendalls saw the release of sixteen albums on various record labels, including five on Mercury Records.
Between 1977 and 1985, 22 of their singles reached the Top 40 on the Billboard country music singles chart, including three No.1 hit singles: ‘Heaven’s Just A Sin Away’ (written by Jerry Gillespie) (No.1 for four weeks in October / November 1977) (also a No.69 Billboard Hot 100 pop music hit single in 1977), ‘Sweet Desire’ (written by Jeannie Kendall) / ‘Old Fashioned Love’ (written by M.R. Martin and Mitch Johnson) (No.1 for one week in November / December 1978), and ‘Thank God For The Radio’, which was written by Max D. Barnes (Friday 24 July 1936 – Sunday 11 January 2004) and Robert John Jones (No.1 for one week in April 1984).
Eight other singles also reached the Billboard Top 10.
The Kendalls continued to tour and perform until Friday 22 May 1998, when Royce Kendall died from a stroke while on tour in Marquette, Iowa.
In the years since her father’s death, Jeannie Kendall pursued a solo career.
In 2013, Carl Acuff Jr. and Jeannie Kendall teamed up and formed The Kendalls (Rekindled), and perform together all across the United States.
