Wednesday 9 May 2007
Shanachie Entertainment released an official statement with regard to the release of Gene Watson's first album for the label:

Shanachie Entertainment signs Deal with Country Music Hit-maker Gene Watson for New Album

'Shanachie Entertainment is pleased to announce the signing of an agreement with acclaimed country singer Gene Watson for an album of new recordings, his first CD of all-new country material since 2003's 'Gene Watson...Sings'.

The as-yet untitled album will feature both new songs and Gene's special versions of some of his favourite country classics.

The recording for this highly anticipated album is scheduled to begin in May in Nashville and will be produced by Brent Rowan (Joe Nichols, Blake Shelton), who, as a producer and musician, has been involved in recordings that have sold collectively in excess of 100,000,000 copies.

'Gene Watson is widely acknowledged to be one of the finest country singers of the past forty years', notes Shanachie General Manager Randall Grass.  'We strongly believe that a singer of Gene's talent and classic style embodies the best of country music's traditions and so we are very proud to enter in this agreement with him.

What's especially impressive is that even at this stage in his long career, Gene is singing better than ever!'

Gene Watson's Shanachie Entertainment debut is slated for a September release and will make his 30th album in an impressive career has yielded over 26 Top Twenty country hits, including five No.1 singles.

The singer says, 'I'm excited to have this opportunity to record a new album for a great label like Shanachie.  I think the fans will find we've got some great country songs and I hope they'll also enjoy my spin on some of my favourite country classics'.

Watson continues to tour extensively both within the United States and abroad'.

Shanachie’s deal with Gene Watson marked an important milestone in the label's commitment to country music.

Having released new recordings by Daryle Singletary, David Ball and Confederate Railroad, Shanachie was determined to deliver high-quality recordings by great artists to audiences hungry for 'real country music'.

Monday 14 May 2007
It was announced that Gene Watson's photo shoot, in preparation for the release of his first album for Shanachie Records, would take place on Wednesday 16 May 2007.

The photographer was announced as Traci Goudie, who was also a video director.

Traci Goudie has also directed a number of videos, including 'Out Loud' for Mindy Smith, 'River's Gonna Run' for Sam Bush, 'God Only Cries' for Diamond Rio, 'America First' for Merle Haggard (Tuesday 6 April 1937 - Wednesday 6 April 2016), 'Keep Your Distance' for Patty Loveless' and 'Don't Come The Cowboy With Me' for Kelly Willis.

Traci Goudie worked for Taillight TV, a full service television and music video production company, which was based on Nashville's Music Row.  Taillight TV was founded by Tom Forrest in August 2000, with Chandra LaPlume-Pereira joining the company in 2004.

Wednesday 16 May 2007
Gene Watson's photo shoot, in preparation for the release of his first album for Shanachie Records, took place in the very quaint town of Watertown, Tennessee. The picturesque village had a lovely town square with antique shops and cafes.

Gene Watson in Watertown, Tennessee on Wednesday 16 May 2007

Photographer Traci Goudie, along with her assistant Danni, took photos inside and outside a warehouse, which was used to store video / theatre props.  They also took some exterior shots on location in Watertown, Tennessee.

As an aside, Gene Watson's friend Tom T. Hall recorded 'Watertown Tennessee' (written by Tom T. Hall) and included the track on 'Homegrown' (Mercury Records, 1997).

Gene Watson recorded Tom T. Hall's 'Three' and included the track on 'Between This Time & The Next Time' (MCA Records, 1981).

Thursday 17 May 2007
Gene Watson was in Curb recording studio in Nashville with producer Brent Rowan to begin work on tracks for his forthcoming album on Shanachie Records.

The day was what was termed, in recording circles, a 'tracking day'.  It was on this day when Gene Watson put down 'scratch vocals'; he was expected to record 'true vocals' on Friday 18 May 2007.

The studio musicians involved in the recording sessions on Thursday 17 May 2007 included Shannon Forrest (drums), Sonny Garrish (pedal steel), Bobby All (passed away on Thursday 19 March 2009) (acoustic guitar), Gregg Galbraith (electric guitar), Aubrey Haynie (fiddle and mandolin), David Smith (bass), Hargus 'Pig' Robbins (piano) and Brent Rowan (guitar).

Gene Watson was expected to return to Curb recording studio in Nashville on Friday 18 May 2007 and undertake further 'scratch' and 'true' vocal work.  Further recording sessions were also expected to take place at the end of May 2007.

Gene Watson with Hal Ketchum at Curb Studios in Nashville on Thursday 17 May 2007

It was also on Thursday 17 May 2007 when singer / songwriter Hal Ketchum came to Curb recording studio in Nashville to visit with Gene Watson.

Friday 18 May 2007
Gene Watson was in Curb recording studio in Nashville with producer Brent Rowan, working on vocal tracks for his forthcoming album on Shanachie Records.

The day was what was termed, in recording circles, a 'true vocal' day; it was on this day when Gene Watson put down 'true vocals', having recorded 'scratch vocals' on Thursday 17 May 2007, a day which had been termed a 'tracking vocal' day.

It was expected that Gene Watson would return to Curb recording studio in Nashville at the end of May to record further 'scratch' and 'true' vocal tracks for his debut album on Shanachie Records.

Friday 18 May 2007
Gene Watson graced the hallowed stage of The Grand Ole Opry at Grand Ole Opry House on Opryland Drive in Nashville.

Gene Watson performed two songs on the segment between 9:30pm and 10:00pm; 'Love In The Hot Afternoon', the title track from 'Love in the Hot Afternoon' (Capitol Records, 1975) and 'Pick The Wildwood Flower' from 'Reflections' (Capitol Records, 1978).

Gene Watson was given a wonderful introduction by fellow country music artist Jeannie Seely and was backed by his Farewell Party Band: Kenneth 'Corky' Owens (steel guitar), Staley Rogers (rhythm guitar), Todd Hines (drums), Joe Eddie Gough (Friday 27 January 1939 - Friday 14 August 2009) (piano) and Steve Anderson (guitar).

Other country music artists who graced the stage of The Grand Ole Opry on the night of Friday 18 May 2007 included Patty Loveless, Charlie Nagatani, Daryle Bruce Singletary (Wednesday 10 March 1971 - Monday 12 February 2018), Jean Shepard (Tuesday 21 November 1933 - Sunday 25 September 2016) and Megan Mullins.

Gene Watson with Patty Loveless backstage at Grand Ole Opry in Nashville on Friday 18 May 2007

Gene Watson enjoyed a nice visit, backstage at The Grand Ole Opry, with Patty Loveless, Daryle Bruce Singletary (Wednesday 10 March 1971 - Monday 12 February 2018) and internationally known singer, Charlie Nagatani from Japan.

Charlie Nagatani gave Gene a gift of one of his souvenir t-shirts, as well as a delicious Japanese delicacy called Honey Doughnuts.  Gene and the members of The Farewell Party Band sampled those backstage and thought they were wonderful.

Tuesday 29 May 2007
Gene Watson and producer Brent Rowan held a song meeting to listen to and discuss songs to record - Gene Watson's debut album for Shanachie Records was slated for a September 2007 release.

Preliminary recording sessions for the new album had taken place on Thursday 17 May 2007 and Friday 18 May 2007; further recording sessions were expected to take place in late May / early June 2007.

Wednesday 30 May 2007
Gene Watson was in the recording studio in Nashville with producer Brent Rowan to undertake further work on tracks for his forthcoming album on Shanachie Records.

Gene Watson in Nashville on Wednesday 30 May 2007

The day was what was termed, in recording circles, a 'tracking day'; it was on this day when Gene Watson put down 'scratch vocals'; he was expected to record 'true vocals' on Thursday 31 May 2007.

The studio musicians involved in the recording sessions on this day included Bobby All (passed away on Thursday 19 March 2009) (guitar), Gregg Galbraith (guitar), Aubrey Haynie (fiddle), Hargus 'Pig' Robbins (piano), John Gardner (drums) and David Smith (bass guitar).  Also present on the day were Craig White (main studio engineer) and Greg Strizek (studio assistant).