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 Watsson Fan Site, during 2007. 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 Jett Williams, which she submitted to this site on Wednesday 5 September 2007.
Sean Brady would like to take this opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to Jett Williams who has made a special contribution to a unique part of this online ‘celebration of a Lone Star Hero’.
Jett Williams
This quote was submitted on Wednesday 5 September 2007.
‘Gene Watson is one of the icons in this business.
We have done lots of shows together and he is one of the most talented and consistent entertainers we have.
He is always a true gentleman and I value his friendship, and I appreciate him’
Thank you, Jett Williams, for your support of Gene Watson.
About Jett Williams…
Jett Williams is the daughter of country music icon Hank Williams (Monday 17 September 1923 – Thursday 1 January 1953) and Bobbie Jett, whose brief relationship with Hank Williams occurred between his two marriages.
(Monday 17 September 1923 – Thursday 1 January 1953)
Jett Williams was born in Montgomery, Alabama on Thursday 6 January 1953, some five days after the controversial death of her father, Hank Williams (Monday 17 September 1923 – Thursday 1 January 1953).
In December 1954, Jett Williams was legally adopted by Hank Williams’ mother Lillian; Lillian had already named her Catherine Yvonne Stone. Lillian died in 1955 and the young Cathy was made a ward of the state of Alabama and subsequently adopted by new parents. She was renamed Cathy Louise Deupree.
Gene Watson recorded Hank Williams’ ‘I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still In Love With You)’ and included the track on ‘Should I Come Home‘ (Capitol Records, 1979).
Jett Williams knew that she was adopted, but it was not until the early 1980s that she learned who her biological parents were. Jett Williams was forced to go to extreme lengths to prove the relationship and be recognised as Hank Williams’ daughter.
In 1985, the Alabama State Court ruled that she was the daughter of Hank Williams (Monday 17 September 1923 – Thursday 1 January 1953).
On Monday 26 October 1987, the Supreme Court of Alabama ruled that Jett Williams was entitled to her half-share in the Williams estate, as she had been the victim of fraud and judicial error.
In September 1990, Jett Williams saw the publication of her autobiography, ‘Ain’t Nothin’ As Sweet As My Baby: The Story of Hank Williams’ Lost Daughter’, which was co-authored by Jett Williams and Pamela Thomas and was published by Harcourt Publishing.
In 1992, ‘A Tribute to Hank Williams’ (EMI Records, 1992) was released, and included the following tracks:
‘Honky Tonkin’ / this track featured Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
‘Half As Much’ / this track featured Glen Campbell (Wednesday 22 April 1936 – Tuesday 8 August 2017)
‘Hey, Good Looking’ / this track featured Faron Young (Thursday 25 February 1932 – Tuesday 10 December 1996)
‘I Just Don’t Like This Kind of Living’ / this track featured George Jones (Saturday 12 September 1931 – Friday 26 April 2013)
‘Your Cheatin’ Heart’ / this track featured Jody Miller (Saturday 29 November 1941 – Thursday 6 October 2022)
‘A Mansion On The Hill’ / this track featured Slim Whitman (Saturday 20 January 1923 – Wednesday 19 June 2013)
‘I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still In Love With You)’ / this track featured Gene Watson
‘Jambalaya’ / this track featured Wanda Jackson
‘There’ll Be No Teardrops Tonight’ / this track featured Willie Nelson
‘Lovesick Blues’ / this track featured Sonny James (Wednesday 1 May 1929 – Monday 22 February 2016)
‘House of Gold’ / this track featured George Jones (Saturday 12 September 1931 – Friday 26 April 2013) and Melba Montgomery
‘May You Never be Alone’ / this track featured Tennessee Ernie Ford (Thursday 13 February 1919 – Thursday 17 October 1991)
‘Nobody’s Lonesome For Me’ / this track featured Ronnie Hawkins
‘Move It On Over’ / this track featured Rose Maddox (Saturday 15 August 1925 – Wednesday 15 April 1998)
‘I Could Never Be Ashamed of You’ / this track featured George Jones (Saturday 12 September 1931 – Friday 26 April 2013)
‘I Saw The Light’ / this track featured Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Roy Acuff (Tuesday 15 September 1903 – Monday 23 November 1992)
‘I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry’ / this track featured Glen Campbell (Wednesday 22 April 1936 – Tuesday 8 August 2017)
‘Kaw-Liga’ / this track featured Frank Ifield
‘You Win Again’ / this track featured Wanda Jackson
‘There’s A Tear In My Beer’ / this track featured Big Bill Lister (Friday 5 January 1923 – Tuesday 1 December 2009)
‘Why Should We Try Anymore’ / this track featured Ferlin Husky (Thursday 3 December 1925 – Thursday 17 March 2011)
‘I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive’ / this track featured Ray Benson & Asleep At The Wheel
In 2000, the Tennessee legislature passed HJR 621 designating Thursday 18 May 2000 as ‘Jett Williams Appreciation Day’ in Macon County, which is part of the Nashville-Davidson-Mufreesboro’Franklin, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area.
In January 2006, the Tennessee Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling stating Hank Williams’ heirs, son Randall Hank Williams (Hank Williams Jr.) and daughter Jett Williams, have the sole rights to sell his old recordings made for a Nashville radio station in the early 1950s. The court rejected claims made by Polygram Records and Legacy Entertainment in releasing recordings Hank Williams made for ‘Mother’s Best Flour Show’, a program which was originally aired on WSM.
The recordings, which Legacy Entertainment acquired in 1997, included ‘live’ versions of Hank Williams’ hits and covers of other songs. Polygram Records contended Hank Williams’ contract with MGM Records, which Polygram Records now owns, gave them rights to release the radio recordings.
On Tuesday 28 October 2008, a selection of the ‘Mother’s Best’ recordings were released by Time-Life Music, as a 3-CD set, titled ‘Hank Williams: The Unreleased Recordings’ (Time-Life Music, 2008), which included the following tracks:
Disc 1
‘Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain’, which was written by Fred Rose (24 August 1898 – Wednesday 1 December 1954)
‘Dust On The Bible’ (written by Johnny Bailes, Walter Bailes, Zeke Clements and M.D. Wright)
‘I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry’, which was written by Hank Williams (Monday 17 September 1923 – Thursday 1 January 1953)
‘I Heard My Savior Calling Me’ (written by Johnny Bailes, Zeke Clements and M.D. Wright)
‘Precious Lord, Take My Hand’ (written by Reverand Thomas A. Dorsey)
‘Hey, Good Lookin’, which was written by Hank Williams (Monday 17 September 1923 – Thursday 1 January 1953)
‘On Top of Old Smokey’ (traditional)
‘I Can’t Tell My Heart That’, which was written by Jack Anglin (Saturday 13 May 1916 – Friday 8 March 1963) and Johnnie Wright (Wednesday 13 May 1914 – Tuesday 27 September 2011)
‘I Dreamed That the Great Judgement Morning’ (written by L.L. Pickett and B. Shadduck)
‘Next Sunday, Darling, Is My Birthday’ (written by S. Nathan and A. Smith)
‘At The First Fall of Snow’ (written by Alicia J. Rose)
‘Dear John’, which was written by A.A. Gass and Tex Ritter (Thursday 12 January 1905 – Wednesday 2 January 1974)
‘The Blind Child’s Prayer’ (written by I. Mercer)
‘I’ll Have A New Life’
‘On The Banks of The Pontchartrain’, which was written by Rick Vincent and Hank Williams (Monday 17 September 1923 – Thursday 1 January 1953)
‘Low & Lonely’, which was written by Fred Rose (24 August 1898 – Wednesday 1 December 1954)
‘Drifting Too Far From The Shore’ (written by Clyde Moody)
‘I’m Gonna Sing’, which was written by Hank Williams (Monday 17 September 1923 – Thursday 1 January 1953)
Disc 2
‘I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still In Love With You)’, which was written by Hank Williams (Monday 17 September 1923 – Thursday 1 January 1953)
‘Seaman’s Blues’, which was written by Ernest Tubb (Monday 9 February 1914 – Thursday 6 September 1984)
‘The Prodigal Son’, which was written by Fred Rose (24 August 1898 – Wednesday 1 December 1954)
‘Cherokee Boogie’, which was written by Moon Mullican (Monday 29 March 1909 – Sunday 1 January 1967) and Chief William Redbird
‘Where He Leads Me’ (written by E. Blandy and John Norris)
‘From Jerusalem To Jericho’ (written by W.M. Robinson)
‘Cool Water’, which was written by Bob Nolan (Monday 13 April 1908 – Monday 16 June 1980)
‘I’ve Got My One-Way Ticket To The Sky’ (written by Johnny Bailes and Walter Bailes)
‘Searching For A Soldier’s Grave’, which was written by Roy Acuff (Tuesday 15 September 1903 – Monday 23 November 1992)
‘California Zephyr’, which was written by Hank Williams (Monday 17 September 1923 – Thursday 1 January 1953)
‘Softly & Tenderly’ (written by Will L. Thompson)
‘Just When I Needed You’, which was written by Jack Anglin (Saturday 13 May 1916 – Friday 8 March 1963), C. Baum and Johnnie Wright (Wednesday 13 May 1914 – Tuesday 27 September 2011)
‘Gathering Flowers For The Master’s Bouquet’ (written by Marvin Baungardner)
‘Why Should We Try Any More’, which was written by Hank Williams (Monday 17 September 1923 – Thursday 1 January 1953)
‘The Old Country Church’ (written by J. Vaughan)
‘May You Never Be Alone’, which was written by Hank Williams (Monday 17 September 1923 – Thursday 1 January 1953)
‘When The Fire Comes Down’ (written by M. Estes, J.W. Fowler, T. Harrell and P. Kinsey)
‘Lonely Tombs’ (written by J. Ellis)
Disc 3
‘Pictures From Life’s Other Side’ (written by C. Baer)
‘I’ll Fly Away’ (written by A. Brumley and Art Brumley)
‘Cold, Cold Heart’, which was written by Hank Williams (Monday 17 September 1923 – Thursday 1 January 1953)‘Have I Told You Lately That I Love You’ (written by Scotty Wiseman)
‘When God Dips His Love In My Heart’ (written by Cleavant Derricks)
‘Thy Burdens Are Greater Than Mine’ (written by P.W. King and Ron Stewart)
‘When The Saints Go Marchin’ In’ (traditional)
‘I’ll Sail My Ship Alone’ (written by H. Bernard, M. Burns, S. Nathan and H. Thurston)
‘Wedding Bells’ (written by C. Boone)
‘Mind Your Own Business’, which was written by Hank Williams (Monday 17 September 1923 – Thursday 1 January 1953)
‘You Blotted My Happy Schooldays’ (written by L. Fields and L. Messer)
‘Where The Soul Never Dies’ (written by William Lee Golden)
‘Pins & Needles (In My Heart)’, which was written by Fred Rose (24 August 1898 – Wednesday 1 December 1954)
‘Tennessee Border’, which was written by Jimmy Work (Saturday 29 March 1924 – Saturday 22 December 2018)
‘There’s Nothing As Sweet As My Baby’, which was written by Hank Williams (Monday 17 September 1923 – Thursday 1 January 1953)
‘Wait For The Light To Shine’, which was written by Fred Rose (24 August 1898 – Wednesday 1 December 1954)
‘If I Didn’t Love You’, which was written by Fred Rose (24 August 1898 – Wednesday 1 December 1954) and Hank Williams
‘The Pale Horse & His Rider’ (written by Johnny Bailes, Zeke Clements, Ervin Staggs and M.D. Wright)
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