Gene Watson

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Gene Watson.

Gene Watson (born October 11, 1943) is an American country singer. He is most famous for his 1975 hit "Love in the Hot Afternoon" and his 1982 hit "Fourteen Carat Mind."

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," "Farewell Party," "Should I Come (or Should I Go Crazy)," and "Nothing Sure Looked Good on You."

In 1982, after switching to the MCA label, he recorded the only number-one hit of his career, "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 Doing 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 his last album, From the Heart, under the Row Music Group label in 2001.

In 2005, Watson released his latest album, "Then & Now."

[edit] References

Vinopal, David (2003). Edited by Vladimir Bogdanov, Chris Woodstra, & Stephen Erlewine. "Gene Watson." All Music Guide to Country, 2nd ed. San Francisco: Backbeat Books, 2003. ISBN 0-87930-760-9