Gary Gene Watson
(born October 11, 1943) is an American country singer. He is most famous for his 1975 hit "Love in the Hot Afternoon" , his 1982 hit "Fourteen Carat Mind" and his signature song, "Farewell Party." Watson's long career has notched 6 Number Ones, 22 Top Tens and 50 charted singles.
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GENE WATSON TICKETS
| EVENT | DATE | AVAILABILITY |
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| Gene Watson Tickets 1/31 | Jan 31, 2025
Fri, 7:30 PM |  | | The Bellamy Brothers, Gene Watson & Moe Bandy Tickets 2/7 | Feb 07, 2025
Fri, 8:00 PM | | | Gene Watson Tickets 2/26 | Feb 26, 2025
Wed, 7:00 PM | | | Gene Watson Tickets 3/22 | Mar 22, 2025
Sat, 7:00 PM | | | Gene Watson Tickets 4/5 | Apr 05, 2025
Sat, 8:00 PM | |
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Biography
Watson was born in
Palestine,
Texas, in 1943 and began his music career in the early 1970s, performing in local clubs at night while working in a
Houston auto body shop during the day. He only recorded for a few small, regional record labels until 1974, when
Capitol Records picked up his album
Love in the Hot Afternoon
and released it nationally. The title track, a mid-tempo
ballad in 3/4 time, was released in June 1975 and it quickly reached Number 3 on the
Billboard magazine
Hot Country Singles chart.
Watson's national success continued throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, as he recorded several
Billboard top-40 hits, including "Where Love Begins," "Paper Rosie," "Should I Go Home (or Should I Go Crazy)," "Nothing Sure Looked Good on You." and "Farewell Party" which was released in 1979 and quickly became Watson's signature song and soon allowed Watson to name his band after the tragic ballad.
In 1982, after switching to the
MCA label, he recorded the #1 Billboard hit, "Fourteen Carat Mind." He followed up with several more hits in the early 1980s, including "Speak Softly (You're Talking to My Heart)," "You're Out Doing What I'm Here Doing Without" and "Got No Reason Now for Going Home." By the mid-1980s, he was recording for
Epic Records, where his most notable hit was 1985's "Memories to Burn."
Watson never gave up his classical country style, even as he continued to record music throughout the 1980s. He signed with
Warner Bros. and released two new albums in 1989 and 1991. He recorded
From the Heart
, under the Row Music Group label in 2001.
In 2005, Watson released his album, "
Then & Now
."
In May 2007, Gene Watson signed with the independent Shanachie Records & began work on his first album for the label, which includes new material, along with 3 covers of some of Gene's favourite classic country tunes such Merle Haggard's classic "Today I started Loving You Again", a duet with Lee Ann Womack. Also featured on this album are Vince Gill, Mark Chesnutt, Rhonda Vincent, Connie Smith and Joe Nichols. The new album, 'In a Perfect World', was officially released on Tuesday 25 September 2007. The duet with Vince Gill "Let Me Be The First To Go" reached #1 on the HotDisc European chart. The US released single "I Buried Our Love" reached #59 on the Music Row charts while "A Good Place To Turn Around" (featuring Connie Smith) placed #4 on the Gospel Radio Active chart.
It was also in May 2007 (Saturday 5 May 2007) that the (all new) Gene Watson Site went 'live'. The site, which is owned & maintained by Sean Brady, is based in the Republic of Ireland & receives full support from Lytle Management in Nashville (Gene Watson's management team) & Gene Watson himself.
In September 2007 "In A Perfect World" was released to great critical acclaim. The album was received by the country music industry as being one of the best recordings of the year. The
Associated Press
noted "Like a well-aged whiskey, Gene Watson has gained smoothness yet maintained his visceral bite...Watson can make contemporary songs sound like timeless classics. He's never sounded better, which is saying something." The
Philadelphia Inquirer
stated 'In A Perfect World' is a stunning reminder of why the Texan is considered one of country's all time great balladeers."
In 2009, Gene Watson has opened for Brad Paisley on his "Paisley Party" tour and is working on the follow up album to the much lauded 2007 release.
Discography
Albums
| Year
| Album
| US Country
| Label
|
| 1974
| Gene Watson
|
| Wide World
|
| 1975
| Love in the Hot Afternoon
| 5
| Capitol
|
| 1976
| Because You Believed in Me
| 24
|
| 1977
| Paper Rosie
| 22
|
| Beautiful Country
| 32
|
| 1978
| The Best
| 29
|
| Reflections
| 23
|
| 1979
| Should I Come Home
| 16
|
| 1980
| No One Will Ever Know
| 45
|
| 1981
| The Best 2
|
|
| Between This Time and the Next Time
| 38
| MCA
|
| Old Loves Never Die
| 57
|
| 1982
| This Dream's on Me
| 27
|
| 1983
| Sometimes I Get Lucky
| 16
|
| Little By Little
| 34
|
| 1984
| Heartaches and Love and Stuff
| 21
|
| 1985
| Greatest Hits
|
|
| Memories to Burn
| 35
| Epic
|
| 1986
| Starting New Memories
| 49
|
| 1987
| Honky Tonk Crazy
| 54
|
| 1989
| Back in the Fire
| 42
| Warner Bros.
|
| 1990
| At Last
| 74
|
| 1992
| In Other Words
|
| Broadland
|
| 1993
| Uncharted Mind
|
| Step One
|
| 1996
| The Good Ole Days
|
|
| 1997
| Jesus Is All I Need
|
|
| A Way to Survive
|
|
| 2001
| From the Heart
|
| Row Music Group
|
| 2003
| Sings
|
| Compendia
|
| 2004
| Gospel Side
|
|
| 2005
| Then and Now
|
| Koch
|
| 2007
| In a Perfect World
|
| Shanachie
|
| 2009
| A Taste of the Truth
|
|
Singles
| Year
| Single
| Chart Positions
| Album
|
| US Country
| CAN Country
|
| 1975
| "Bad Water"
| 87
| —
| Love in the Hot Afternoon
|
| "Love in the Hot Afternoon"
| 3
| 3
|
| "Where Love Begins"
| 5
| 4
|
| 1976
| "You Could Know as Much About a Stranger"
| 10
| 42
|
| "Because You Believed in Me"
| 20
| —
| Because You Believed in Me
|
| "Her Body Couldn't Keep You (Off My Mind)"
| 52
| —
|
| 1977
| "Paper Rosie"
| 3
| 1
| Paper Rosie
|
| "The Old Man and His Horn"
| 11
| 9
| Beautiful Country
|
| 1978
| "I Don't Need a Thing at All"
| 8
| 4
|
| "Cowboys Don't Get Lucky All the Time"
| 11
| 14
|
| "One Sided Conversation"
| 8
| 6
| Reflections
|
| 1979
| "Farewell Party"
| 5
| 9
|
| "Pick the Wildwood Flower"
| 5
| 2
|
| "Should I Come Home (Or Should I Go Crazy)"
| 3
| 6
| Should I Come Home
|
| 1980
| "Nothing Sure Looked Good on You"
| 4
| 3
|
| "Bedroom Ballad"
| 18
| 43
|
| "Raisin' Cane in Texas"
| 15
| 53
| No One Will Ever Know
|
| "No One Will Ever Know"
| 13
| 22
|
| 1981
| "Any Way You Want Me"
| 33
| —
| Single only
|
| "Between This Time and the Next Time"
| 17
| 8
| Between This Time and the Next Time
|
| "Maybe I Should Have Been Listening"
| 23
| 12
|
| "Fourteen Carat Mind"
| 1
| 5
| Old Loves Never Die
|
| 1982
| "Speak Softly (You're Talking to My Heart)"
| 9
| 4
|
| "This Dream's on Me"
| 8
| 11
| This Dream's on Me
|
| "What She Don't Know Won't Hurt Her"
| 5
| 3
|
| 1983
| "You're Out Doing What I'm Here Doing Without"
| 2
| 5
| Sometimes I Get Lucky
|
| "Sometimes I Get Lucky and Forget"
| 9
| 6
|
| "Drinkin' My Way Back Home"
| 10
| 8
| Little By Little
|
| 1984
| "Forever Again"
| 10
| 18
|
| "Little By Little"
| 33
| 21
|
| "Got No Reason Now for Goin' Home"
| 7
| 15
| Heartaches and Love and Stuff
|
| 1985
| "One Hell of a Heartache"
| 43
| 38
|
| "Cold Summer Day in Georgia"
| 24
| 22
| Memories to Burn
|
| "Memories to Burn"
| 5
| 2
|
| 1986
| "Carmen"
| 32
| 27
|
| "Bottle of Tears"
| 50
| 40
| Starting New Memories
|
| "Everything I Used to Do"
| 29
| 27
|
| 1987
| "Honky Tonk Crazy"
| 43
| 30
| Honky Tonk Crazy
|
| "Everybody Needs a Hero"
| 28
| 46
|
| 1988
| "Don't Waste It on the Blues"
| 5
| *
| Back in the Fire
|
| 1989
| "Back in the Fire"
| 20
| 24
|
| "The Jukebox Played Along"
| 24
| 40
|
| "The Great Divide"
| 41
| —
|
| 1991
| "At Last"
| 61
| 59
| At Last
|
| "You Can't Take It with You When You Go"
| 67
| 56
|
| 1993
| "One and One and One"
| 66
| 92
| In Other Words
|
| 1997
| "Change Her Mind"
| 44
| 90
| The Good Ole Days
|
| "No Goodbyes"
| 73
| —
|
| 2009
| "We've Got A Pulse" (Duet With Trace Adkins) "A"
|
|
| A Taste of The Truth
|
"A" TBD