On Monday 15 April 2024, Gene Watson recalled receiving a special ‘Fourteen Carat Voice Exhibit’ at the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum in Nashville in 2008.
‘I’ve had many good times visiting the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum, from my most recent visit last year (2023), when I went with the band to look at all the historic items in the museum.
If you visit Nashville, be sure to go and enjoy all there is to see and hear at this fine museum’
Source
Gene Watson on Facebook
The ‘Gene Watson: Fourteen Carat Voice’ Exhibit opened on Monday 20 October 2008 and ran through to June 2009.
‘Gene Watson: Fourteen Carat Voice’ explored Gene Watson’s career as a soulful vocalist rooted in the classic country tradition, beginning with his steamy 1975 hit, ‘Love In The Hot Afternoon‘.
In the exhibit, Gene Watson’s musical consistency was juxtaposed with his wardrobe’s evolution.
Stage costumes on display trace Gene Watson’s 1970s clean-cut persona and attention-grabbing stage wear to a more relaxed look through the 1980s.
Gene Watson scored a string of honky-tonk-styled hits throughout the late 1970s and into the 1980s that included ‘Farewell Party‘, ‘Fourteen Carat Mind‘, ‘Paper Rosie‘ and ‘Memories To Burn‘.
Since winning his battle with cancer in 2001, Gene Watson continued to showcase his smooth, clear tenor voice on a number of highly acclaimed album releases.
Artifacts in the ‘Gene Watson: Fourteen Carat Voice’ Exhibit included the following:
- 1970s green suit with rhinestones and musical-note embroidery, designed by Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors
- a burgundy stage costume designed by Judy of Nashville with distinctive diamond shaped patterns embellished with rhinestones and ruby stones
- a suede cowboy hat with decorative pins that is featured on his ‘Between This Time & The Next Time‘ (MCA Records, 1981) album
- a floral-print western shirt from the early 1980s and hand tailored patchwork boots
