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 Lionel Cartwright, which he submitted to this site on Thursday 15 August 2013.

Sean Brady would like to take this opportunity to say 'thank you' to Lionel Cartwright who has made a special contribution to a unique part of this online 'celebration of a Lone Star Hero'.





Lionel Cartwright
This quote was submitted on Thursday 15 August 2013.

'I was a staff musician on the WWVA Jamboree in Wheeling, West Virginia in the late 1970s / early 1980s.

We backed up a lot of regional performers and Gene Watson's songs were performed many, many times.

Gene's records, many of which were in my personal record collection, incorporated classic country instrumentation which complimented his unmistakably authentic country voice.

He definitely left his mark on the genre'

Thank you, Lionel Cartwright, for your support of Gene Watson.



About Lionel Cartwright...



Lionel Cartwright was born on Wednesday 10 February 1960 in Gallipolis, Ohio, but was raised in Glen Dale, West Virginia.

Lionel Cartwright was interested in music from an early age, and first took piano lessons as a child, before going on to master guitar and eight other instruments.

Lionel Cartwright first performed publicly at the age of ten in community gatherings.

Lionel Cartwright also went on to serve as performer, arranger and musical director on The Nashville Network's musical sitcoms 'I 40 Paradise' and 'Pickin' At The Paradise'.



Dottie West (Tuesday 11 October 1932 - Wednesday 4 September 1991) recorded Lionel Cartwright's 'Blue Fiddle Waltz' and included the track on 'Just Dottie' (Permian Records, 1984 / First Generation Records, 2000).

Later on, Lionel Cartwright moved to Nashville and worked as a demo singer.

Lionel Cartwright was eventually spotted by Tony Brown, a producer at MCA Records, while performing in Knoxville, Tennessee.  Tony Brown thought that Lionel Cartwright needed more experience before being signed to a record deal and, by 1986, Lionel Cartwright was signed to MCA Records.



On Monday 6 March 1989, Lionel Cartwright saw the release of his self-titled debut album, 'Lionel Cartwright' (MCA Records, 1989), which was produced by Tony Brown and Steuart Smith, and included four tracks, which were hit singles on the Billboard country music singles chart:

'You're Gonna Make Her Mine' (written by Lionel Cartwright) (No.45, 1988)

'Like Father, Like Son' (written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz) (No.14, 1989)

'Give Me His Last Chance' (written by Lionel Cartwright) (No.3, 1989)

'In My Eyes' (written by Lionel Cartwright) (No.12, 1989)

Lionel Cartwright's self-titled debut album, 'Lionel Cartwright' (MCA Records, 1989), also included the following tracks:

'Fallin' Again' (written by Lionel Cartwright)
'A Little Lesser Blue' (written by Lionel Cartwright)
'That's Why They Call It Falling' (written by Lionel Cartwright)
'Blue Fiddle Waltz' (written by Lionel Cartwright)
'She Never Saw Love' (written by Lionel Cartwright)
'Let The Hard Times Roll' (written by Lionel Cartwright)

Personnel involved in the recording of Lionel Cartwright's self-titled debut album, 'Lionel Cartwright' (MCA Records, 1989), included the following:

Eddie Bayers (drums)
Lionel Cartwright (mandolin, acoustic guitar, piano, fiddle, lead vocals, background vocals)
Pat Flynn (acoustic guitar)
Paul Franklin (steel guitar)
Steve Gibson (electric guitar)
Vince Gill (background vocals)
David Hungate, Michael Rhodes (Wednesday 16 September 1953 - Saturday 4 March 2023) and Tom Robb (bass guitar)
John Barlow Jarvis and Matt Rollings (piano)
Mac McAnally (acoustic guitar, background vocals)
Mark O'Connor (mandolin, viola)
Steuart Smith (piano, electric guitar, acoustic guitar)
Harry Stinson (drums, background vocals)

Lionel Cartwright's self-titled debut album, 'Lionel Cartwright' (MCA Records, 1989), reached No.44 on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart in 1989.



On Tuesday 15 May 1990, Lionel Cartwright saw the release of 'I Watched It All On The Radio' (MCA Records, 1990), which included three tracks, which were hit singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks Chart:

'I Watched It All On The Radio' (written by Don Schlitz and Lionel Cartwright) (No.8, 1990)

'My Heart Is Set On You' (written by Lionel Cartwright) (No.7, 1990)

'Say It's Not True' (written by Lionel Cartwright) (No.31, 1990)

Lionel Cartwright's 'I Watched It All On The Radio' (MCA Records, 1990) also included the following tracks:

'Old Coal Town' (written by Lionel Cartwright)
'Playing It Safe' (written by Lionel Cartwright)
'In The Long Run' (written by Lionel Cartwright)
'I Refuse To Sing the Blues' (written by Lionel Cartwright)
'Let's Try Again' (written by Lionel Cartwright)
'Hard Act To Follow' (written by Lionel Cartwright and Cindy Cartwright)
'True Believer' (written by Lionel Cartwright)

Personnel involved in the recording of Lionel Cartwright's 'I Watched It All On The Radio' (MCA Records, 1990) included the following:

Eddie Bayers (drums)
Barry Beckett (piano, Fender Rhodes, B-3 organ)
Lionel Cartwright (mandolin, acoustic guitar, piano, synthesizer, lead vocals)
Paul Franklin (steel guitar)
Dale Jarvis and Harry Stinson (background vocals)
Mac McAnally (acoustic guitar, background vocals)
Leland Sklar (bass guitar)
Steuart Smith (electric guitar, synthesizer)

Lionel Cartwright's 'I Watched It All On The Radio' (MCA Records, 1990) was his highest peaking release on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart, where it reached No.21.



On Saturday 31 August 1991, Lionel Cartwright saw the release of 'Chasin' The Sun' (MCA Records, 1991), which was produced by Harry Stinson, Ed Seay, Andy Byrd, Lionel Cartwright, Barry Beckett and Tony Brown, and included three tracks, which were hit singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks Chart:

'Leap of Faith' (written by Lionel Cartwright) (No.1, September 1991)

'What Kind of Fool' (written by Lionel Cartwright) (No.24, 1991)

'Family Tree' (written by Lionel Cartwright) (No.62, 1992)

Lionel Cartwright's 'Chasin' The Sun' (MCA Records, 1991) also included the following tracks:

'Waitin' For The Sun To Shine' (written by Sonny Throckmorton)
'Susannah' (written by Gretchen Peters)
'30 Nothing' (written by Lionel Cartwright)
'When You Cross That Line' (written by Steve Bogard and Rick Giles)
'I'm Your Man' (written by Lionel Cartwright)
'Smack Dab In The Middle of Love' (written by Lionel Cartwright)
'Great Expectations' (written by Lionel Cartwright)

Personnel involved in the recording of Lionel Cartwright's 'Chasin' The Sun' (MCA Records, 1991) included the following:

Eddie Bayers, Harry Stinson and Alex Torrez (drums)
Mike Brignardello, Dale Jarvis, Michael Rhodes (Wednesday 16 September 1953 - Saturday 4 March 2023) and Glenn Worf (bass guitar)
Bob Britt, Chris Leuzinger and George Marinelli (electric guitar)
Lionel Cartwright (acoustic guitar, piano, mandolin)
Jerry Douglas (Dobro)
Glen Duncan (fiddle)
Buddy Emmons (Wednesday 27 January 1937 - Wednesday 29 July 2015), Paul Franklin and Weldon Myrick (Monday 10 April 1939 - Monday 2 June 2014) (steel guitar)
John Jorgenson (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin)
Paul Kramer (fiddle)
Mike Lawler (keyboards)
Mac McAnally, Don Potter and Biff Watson (acoustic guitar)
Matt Rollings (acoustic piano)
John Willis (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, gut string guitar)
The Beech (Nut) Boys, Marty Brown, Doug Clements, Alison Krauss, Mac McAnally, George Marinelli, Louis Nunley (Thursday 15 October 1931 - Friday 26 October 2012), Hershey Reeves, Judy Rodman, Ricky Skaggs, Russell Smith (Friday 17 June 1949 - Friday 12 July 2019), Harry Stinson, Jim Photoglo and Karen Taylor-Good (background vocals, harmony vocalists)

Following the release of 'Chasin' The Sun' (MCA Records, 1991), Lionel Cartwright saw the release of two further singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks Chart, 'Be My Angel' (No.63, 1992) and 'Standing On The Promises' (No.50, 1992), both of which were non-album tracks; shortly afterwards, Lionel Cartwright left the roster at MCA Records.

Since exiting MCA Records, Lionel Cartwright composed theme tunes for television series, including '30 Minute Meals'.



On Tuesday 4 February 1997, Kathy Mattea saw the release of 'Love Travels' (Mercury Records / Polygram Records, 1997); one of the included tracks was Lionel Cartwright's 'If That's What You Call Love'.

Kathy Mattea's 'Love Travels' (Mercury Records / Polygram Records, 1997) included two tracks, which were hit singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks Chart:

'455 Rocket' (written by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch) (No.21, 1997)

'Love Travels' (written by Bob Halligan Jr. and Linda Halligan) (No.39, 1997)

Kathy Mattea's 'Love Travels' (Mercury Records / Polygram Records, 1997) also included the following tracks:

'Sending Me Angels' (written by Francis John Miller and Jerry Lynn Williams)
'Patiently Waiting' (written by Gillian Welch)
'Further & Further Away' (written by Cheryl Wheeler) / this track featured background vocals from Suzy Bogguss
'I'm On Your Side' (written by Jim Lauderdale)
'The Bridge' (written by Jim Pittman and Tom Kimmel)
'All Roads To The River' (written by Janis Ian and Jon Vezner)
'The End of The Line' (written by Kye Fleming, Mark Stephen Cawley and Mary Ann Kennedy)
'Beautiful Fool' (written by Don Henry)



On Tuesday 19 February 2002, Lionel Cartwright saw the release of 'Signature Series, Volume 1' (Intuitive Records, 2002), which included the following tracks:

'Leap of Faith' (written by Lionel Cartwright)
'Perfect Stranger' (written by Lionel Cartwright)
'In My Eyes' (written by Lionel Cartwright)
'Little White Lies' (written by Lionel Cartwright)
'My Place Is Here With You' (written by Lionel Cartwright)



In 2011, Lionel Cartwright saw the release of 'Practise Your Presence' (Lionel Cartwright Independent Release, 2011), which included the following tracks:

'Practice Your Presence' (written by Lionel Cartwright)
'Help Me Be Still' (written by Lionel Cartwright)
'Into Your Hands' (written by Lionel Cartwright)
'Doxology' (written by Lionel Cartwright)

At the time of the acquisition of this Gene Watson 'Peer's Quote', in August 2013, Lionel Cartwright was serving as the Worship Pastor at HopePark Church in Nashville, a role he first undertook in 2001.





• Visit Lionel Cartwright's official site at lionelcartwright.com