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 during 2018, 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 John Northrup, which he submitted to this site on Thursday 25 January 2018.
Sean Brady would like to take this opportunity to say 'thank you' to John Northrup who made a special contribution to this unique part of this online 'celebration of a Lone Star Hero'.
John Northrup
This quote was submitted on Thursday 25 January 2018.
'Sean, I have been blessed to have a lot of songs that I've wrote over the years be recorded by everyone from George Strait to George Jones (Saturday 12 September 1931 - Friday 26 April 2013).
When a writer writes a song, he imagines how it's gonna sound, hearing the singer sing it.
But when I heard Gene sing 'One & One & One' (written by John Northrup and Buddy Cannon), it far exceeded my expectation of what I imagined it would sound like.
Gene Watson is one of country music's greatest singers!'
Thank you, John Northrup, for your support of Gene Watson.
About John Northrup...
John Northrup hails originally from Toppenish, a city in Yakima County, Washington. As of the 2010 census, the city population of Toppenish was 8,949; it is located within the Yakama Indian Reservation, which was established in 1855.
John Northrup grew up in a large family with seven brothers and four sisters, but was the only one in his family who was musical.
John Northrup recalls saving up all his lawn-mowing money, when he was just nine years old, in order to buy the first record released by Merle Haggard (Tuesday 6 April 1937 - Wednesday 6 April 2016); John Northrup had learned the song before the record had finished spinning.
John Northrup's avid love for music developed into a driving force.
By his early twenties, John Northrup was deep into the songwriting craft and was out playing five nights a week at local venues, while running his own fourteen bay auto repair and body shop.
John Northrup spent two years performing at rodeos in the north-west of the United States and sold over 20,000 copies of his self released album.
John Northrup knew all he wanted was to be in the music business.
Having found music his greatest dream, John Northrup began traveling back and forth to Nashville, where he would co-write with a number of writers, including Buddy Cannon, John Scott Sherrill and Mickey Newbury (Sunday 19 May 1940 - Sunday 29 September 2002).
MCA Records took notice of John Northrup's talent and signed him as an artist. Later, John Northrup went on to sign as a songwriter with Acuff-Rose and found his niche there.
John Northrup had only been in Nashville a year and a half and already had seven major cuts, and one Billboard hit record on Vern Gosdin's recording of 'Month of Sundays', which was written by John Northrup, Buddy Cannon and Vern Gosdin (Sunday 5 August 1934 - Tuesday 28 April 2009) (No.54, 1991).
Vern Gosdin (Sunday 5 August 1934 - Tuesday 28 April 2009) went on to record five more of John Northrup's songs, George Strait recorded three, George Jones (Saturday 12 September 1931 - Friday 26 April 2013) recorded two, and Ken Mellons recorded eight.
Other artists, including Gene Watson, Tim McGraw, The Statler Brothers, Kenny Chesney and Sammy Kershaw, have found success with John Northrup's songs as well.
In 2005, John Northrup's song 'One's A Couple' (co-written with Billy Lawson and Dale Dodson) earned a place on Lee Ann Womack's 'There's More Where That Came From' (MCA Nashville Records, 2005).
Branching out his career, John Northrup got into producing, which led him further into the industry.
John Northrup then went into radio promotion, undertaking all the syndicated radio work for David Ball's single 'Riding WIth Private Malone' (written by Wood Newton and Thomas Shepherd), which was included on David Ball's 'Amigo' (Dualtone Records, 2001), reaching No.2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks Chart in 2001; the track also reached No.36 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop music singles chart in 2001.
John Northrup then began breaking acts in Texas on The Texas Chart with a soaring success rate of over eighty percent.
John Northrup's career led him next into artist management, where he managed a number of artists, including Sammy Kershaw and Michael Martin Murphy.
Along his musical journey, John Northrup also starting finding acts, developing them and getting them record deals, such as Morgan Frazier.
Throughout all his time working in various parts of the music industry, John Northrup's songwriting has remained his mainstay.
John Northrup's songwriting spans several country music eras and is going strong with multiple cuts from leading act every year.
John Northrup: 1991
Vern Gosdin (Sunday 5 August 1934 - Tuesday 28 April 2009) recorded John Northrup's 'A Month of Sundays' (co-written with Buddy Cannon and Vern Gosdin) and included the track on 'Out of My Heart' (Columbia Records, 1991); the track reached No.54 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks Chart in 1991.
Vern Gosdin (Sunday 5 August 1934 - Tuesday 28 April 2009) recorded John Northrup's 'Love Will Keep Your Hand On The Wheel' (co-written with Buddy Cannon and Vern Gosdin) and included the track on 'Out of My Heart' (Columbia Records, 1991).
Vern Gosdin (Sunday 5 August 1934 - Tuesday 28 April 2009) recorded John Northrup's 'The Bridge I'm Still Building On' (co-written with Buddy Cannon and Vern Gosdin) and included the track on 'Out of My Heart' (Columbia Records, 1991).
The Statler Brothers recorded John Northrup's 'Remember Me' (co-written with Gordon Payne) and included the track on 'All American Country' (Polygram Records, 1991).
Shane Barmby recorded John Northrup's 'One & One & One' (co-written with Buddy Cannon) and included the track on 'Jukebox Symphony' (Mercury Records, 1991).
John Northrup: 1992
Gene Watson recorded John Northrup's 'One & One & One' (co-written with Buddy Cannon) and included the track on 'In Other Words' (Canada: Mercury Records / Polygram Records, 1992 / United States: Broadland International Records, 1992); the track reached No.66 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks Chart in 1993.
Gene Watson's recording of John Northrup's 'One & One & One' (co-written with Buddy Cannon) reached No.66 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks Chart in 1992.
John Northrup: 1993
Dean Dillon recorded John Northrup's 'Hot, Country & Single' (co-written with Dean Dillon) and included the track on 'Hot, Country & Single' (Atlantic Records, 1993); the track reached No.62 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks Chart in 1993.
George Strait recorded John Northrup's 'Without Me Around' (co-written with Dean Dillon) and included the track on 'Easy Come, Easy Go' (MCA Records, 1993).
Tim McGraw recorded John Northrup's 'Two Steppin' Mind' (co-written with Buddy Brock) and included the track on 'Tim McGraw' ( Records, 1993); the track reached No.71 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks Chart in 1993.
Benny Berry recorded John Northrup's 'All The Things She Can't Do', which was co-written with Sanger D. 'Whitey' Shafer (Wednesday 24 October 1934 - Saturday 12 January 2019), and included the track on 'When The Trains Still Ran Through Dixie' (Hawk Records, 1993).
John Northrup: 1995
Sawyer Brown recorded John Northrup's 'She's Gettin' There' (co-written with Mark Miller, Scott Emerick and Mary Cristina Potts) and included the track on 'This Thing Called Wantin' & Havin' It All' (Curb Records, 1995); the track reached No.46 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks Chart in 1996.
John Northrup: 1996
In 1996, The Sky Kings recorded John Northrup's 'Picture Perfect' (co-written with Robert Ellis Orrall) for Warner Bros. Records; the track reached No.52 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks Chart in 1996.
The Sky Kings' recording of John Northrup's 'Picture Perfect' (co-written with Robert Ellis Orrall) was intended to be included on 'From Out of The Blue' (Warner Bros. Records, 1996), but the album was not released; the album was subsequently released by Rhino Handmade Records on Wednesday 26 July 2000.
George Jones (Saturday 12 September 1931 - Friday 26 April 2013) recorded John Northrup's 'The Lone Ranger' (co-written with Billy Yates and Gerald Smith) and included the track on 'I've Lived To Tell It All' (MCA Records, 1996).
M.C. (Mary Cristina) Potts recorded John Northrup's 'It Ain't Over' (co-written with Wendy Brothers and Mary Cristina Potts) and included the track on 'Straight To You' (Critique Records, 1996).
M.C. (Mary Cristina) Potts recorded John Northrup's 'Why Do I Do This To Me' (co-written with Wendy Brothers) and included the track on 'Straight To You' (Critique Records, 1996).
Curtis Day recorded John Northrup's 'Rock The Boat' (co-written with Taylor Dunn and Mary Cristina Potts) and included the track on 'Curtis Day' (Elektra Records, 1996).
Marty Haggard recorded John Northrup's 'I'm Still Holding On' (co-written with Wendy Brothers and Scott Emerick) and included the track on 'Borders & Boundaries' (Popular Records, 1996).
John Northrup: 1997
Sammy Kershaw recorded John Northrup's 'One Day Left To Live' (co-written with Dean Dillon and Randy Boudreaux) and included the track on 'Labor of Love' (Mercury Records, 1997); the track reached No.35 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks Chart in 1997.
Rich McCready recorded John Northrup's 'One of Those Nights' (co-written with Wendy Brothers and Gerald Smith) and included the track on 'That Just About Covers It' (Magnatone Records, 1997).
John Northrup: 2000
Chris Cagle recorded John Northrup's 'Rock The Boat' (co-written with Mary Cristina Potts and Taylor Dunn) and included the track on 'Chris Cagle' (Virgin Nashville Records, 2000); the album was re-issued by Capitol Records in 2003.
John Northrup: 2001
Sammy Kershaw & Lorrie Morgan recorded John Northrup's 'Be My Reason' (co-written with Dale Dodson and Billy Lawson) and included the track on 'I Finally Found Someone' (RCA Records, 2001).
John Northrup: 2003
George Strait recorded John Northrup's 'Honk If You Honky Tonk' (co-written with Dean Dillon and Ken Mellons) and included the track on 'Honkytonkville' (MCA Records, 2003); the track reached No.45 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart in 2003.
Con Hunley recorded John Northrup's 'Only Time Will Tell' (co-written with Dean Dillon) and included the track on 'Sweet Memories' (IMMI Records, 2003); the track was released as a single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart in early 2005, but it did not chart
John Northrup: 2004
Ken Mellons recorded John Northrup's 'Climb My Tree' (co-written with Billy Lawson and Dean Dillon) and included the track on 'Sweet' (Home Records, 2004); this track was released as a single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart in 2004, but it did not chart.
Ken Mellons recorded John Northrup's 'Just What I'm Wantin' To Do' (co-written with Ken Mellons) and included the track on 'Sweet' (Home Records, 2004).
Ken Mellons recorded John Northrup's 'Interstate Gypsy' (co-written with Ken Mellons and David Vowell) and included the track on 'Sweet' (Home Records, 2004).
Ken Mellons recorded John Northrup's 'You Can't Make My Heart Believe' (co-written with Ken Mellons and Dean Dillon) and included the track on 'Sweet' (Home Records, 2004).
Ken Mellons recorded John Northrup's 'All I Need Is A Bridge' (co-written with Ken Mellons) and included the track on 'Sweet' (Home Records, 2004).
Ken Mellons recorded John Northrup's 'Any Time, Any Place' (co-written with Mary Cristina Potts) and included the track on 'Sweet' (Home Records, 2004).
Ken Mellons recorded John Northrup's 'Institute of Honky Tonks' (co-written with Ken Mellons and Larry Alderman) and included the track on 'Sweet' (Home Records, 2004).
Ken Mellons recorded John Northrup's 'If I've Learned Anything At All' (co-written with Ken Mellons and Dale Dodson) and included the track on 'Sweet' (Home Records, 2004).
Brittany Roe recorded John Northrup's 'Just Enough To Go On' (co-written with Mary Cristina Potts and Gerald Smith) and included the track on 'Is It Hot In Here?' (Labeless Records, 2004).
Tracy Lawrence recorded John Northrup's 'Climb My Tree' (co-written with Billy Lawson and Dean Dillon) and included the track on 'Strong' (DreamWorks Records, 2004); the track was released as a single on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks Chart in 2004, but it did not chart.
John Northrup: 2005
Lee Ann Womack recorded John Northrup's 'One's A Couple' (co-written with Billy Lawson and Dale Dodson) and included the track on 'There's More Where That Came From' (MCA Nashville Records, 2005).
Gerald Smith recorded John Northrup's 'The Lone Ranger' (co-written with Gerald Smith and Billy Yates) and included the track on 'You Play Like Chet' (Hit Happens Entertainment, 2005).
Gerald Smith recorded John Northrup's 'That Ol' Truck' (co-written with Gerald Smith and Wynn Varble) and included the track on 'You Play Like Chet' (Hit Happens Entertainment, 2005).
John Northrup: 2007
Chad Tyson recorded John Northrup's 'A Cold One Can't Cure' (co-written with Billy Lawson and Ken Mellons) and included the track on 'Chad Tyson' (DiamonDisc Records, 2007).
Moe Bandy recorded John Northrup's 'Only Time Will Tell' (co-written with Dean Dillon and Tommy Rocco) and included the track on 'Moe Bandy: Legendary Country' (CBUJ Records, 2007).
John Northrup: 2010
Ken Mellons recorded John Northrup's 'A Cold One Can't Cure' (co-written with Billy Lawson and Ken Mellons) and included the track on 'Rural Route' (Jukebox Junkie Inc. Records, 2010).
Ken Mellons recorded John Northrup's 'King of All Kings' (co-written with Larry Alderman and Ken Mellons) and included the track on 'Rural Route' (Jukebox Junkie Inc. Records, 2010).
Kerry Gilbert recorded John Northrup's 'Her' (co-written with Billy Lawson) and included the track on 'The Song Remembers When' (Kerry Gilbert Music, 2010).
John Northrup: 2011
Vicki Vann recorded John Northrup's 'You Must Think My Heart Has Swinging Doors' (co-written with Mary Christina Potts) and included the track on 'Reckless Heart' (Vicki Vann Music, 2011).
John Northrup: 2012
Todd Fritsch recorded John Northrup's 'Top of My List' (co-written with Dean Dillon) and included the track on 'Up Here in The Saddle' (Saddle Up Records, 2012).
John Northrup: 2015
On Friday 20 November 2015, Morgan Frazier saw the release of 'The Best' (Curb Records, 2015), which included the following tracks:
'Part of My Show' (written by Randy Boudreaux, Morgan Frazier and Jerry Holland)
'Hallelujah Instead' (written by Morgan Frazier and Billy Montana)
'Way That He Loves Me' (written by Pat Bunch, Morgan Frazier and Doug Johnson)
'One of Those Nights' (written by Morgan Frazier and Doug Johnson)
'Feet Standing Still' (written by Pat Bunch, Morgan Frazier and Doug Johnson)
'Hey, Bully' (written by Sherrié Austin, Morgan Frazier and Tiffany Goss)
'Yellow Brick Road' (written by Jim Brown, Steve Clark and Morgan Frazier)
'Cowboys Ride' (written by Casey Beathard, Dale Dodson and Morgan Frazier)
'Love Letters' (written by Lynn Hutton, Tammi Kidd Hutton and Jason Saenz)
'Halo' (written by Morgan Frazier and Mike Ulvila)
Artie Rodriguez recorded John Northrup's 'Get Used To It' (co-written with Gerald Smith and Billy Yates) and included the track on 'Borderline Fool' (Artie Rodriguez Music, 2015).
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