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Watson: At home at the Red River Valley Fair
By Krista Goerte
Published October 2, 2009
Judging by the crowd under the Livestock Pavilion at the Lamar County Fairgrounds Thursday night, Gene Watson draws a crowd today with the same traditional country music he’s been singing since the 1960s.
Threats of severe weather couldn’t keep the crowd away from Watson’s soulful country ballads, including music from his new album, “A Taste of the Truth.”
The country singer has returned to the Red River Valley Fair for years — and back to what he considers his home town — Paris.
“I like being back home,” Watson said. “It’s always fun to come back and do the fair. I’ve been doing it now for quite a few years, and surprisingly we always have a good following here. It’s always good to come back.”
Watson’s tour bus is headquartered in the area, Watson said he passes through here quite a bit. His daughter and other family live in the area as well — another draw bringing him back in the Paris direction.
“These people around here are friends, more so than fans ... it’s good to come back and be a part of the community.”
Starting with his hit “Love in the Hot Afternoon” in the 1970s, Watson has kept to the traditional country sound and feel, ignoring the trends that have come and gone throughout the years. He said he is not a fan of modern country music, simply because he thinks the artistry in much of it has gone by the wayside.
“I think it’s a phase that will hopefully wear itself out,” he said. “I got my break in 1975, my first major contract, and I’ve been through the “rhinestone cowboy” phase, the “middle of the road” phase where everybody recorded country music with the hope it would cross over into pop, and I went through the “urban cowboy” craze, the hat acts, the “outlaw” phase — I’ve seen a lot of them come and go, and now, this is the technology phase. There’s not that much talent out there, there’s just great technology.”
Watson said his music has stayed pretty much the same over the years, and instead of changing his style, he tries to improve on the patented sound he has created by choosing songs that will work well for him and his style of country.
“The only possible thing I can do with my music is just to do what I do, better,” he said. “I’m my own worst enemy anyway. I think what makes this album a little bit taller than any of the rest of them is the material, the songs on the album. I worked really, really hard selecting the songs on the album. A lot of the finest songwriters out there gave me a shot at recording any of their material that I found.
“If my talent went beyond singing, it would probably be to know the right song for Gene Watson,” he said. “I take a lot of pride in that. Sometimes I might be wrong, but I’ve been pretty lucky so far in picking the material that’s right for me. So many songs that are hit songs for someone else wouldn’t be good songs for me.”
“A Taste of the Truth” even has some bluegrass influence from his duet “Staying Together” with Rhonda Vincent. He said he appreciates the bluegrass heritage and the way it has stayed true to its original style throughout the years. The bluegrass influence is good for his style, and for Vincent’s as well, making them a good match for some tour dates in 2010, he said.
Even with the star talent of Trace Adkins and Allison Krauss added into the mix of his new album, he is adamant about staying true to his own style.
“The fans out here are too fickle,” he said. “You can’t change every time some little fad comes along. You might pick up a few here and there, but you are going to lose a lot that were sticking with you. I don’t want to take that chance. I just stick with what I’ve got and try to do it better and more appealing and hopefully the crowds will come around.”
Watson is focused on keeping the fan base happy, which has served him so well throughout the years, while still appealing to an ever-widening audience.
“I’m real adamant about letting the people know how much I appreciate them, and that’s in all sincerity,” he said. “Those people could have gone anywhere they wanted to go tonight; they didn’t have to come out here. They don’t owe me a visit to the fair just because I was raised here, just because this is my hometown. When they come out, it makes me feel good, and I appreciate it.
“I prove everywhere we go, there’s still a hell of an audience out there for what we do, and that means so much to me,” he said. “Do you realize what it would do to my fans if I turned my back on them, as loyal as they’ve been to me? They started out with me; they watched me release those records that didn’t get off the ground; they’ve seen me go No. 1; and they’ve seen me through the cancer deal and watched me beat that — with the good Lord’s help, I might add. They’ve seen me through thick and thin.”
Raised in a family of singers and growing up singing in church with his siblings, Watson said music was just a part of his life. The singer said today even more so than in the past, he loves what he does.
“I never went looking for music, I was content working on cars. Music was something we were going to do in my family no matter what. If I was picking cotton, I was going to be singing; if I was working on a car, I was going to be singing. Somebody was going to be hearing me, because that was my life. Singing was so ordinary; I can remember singing before I can remember talking. That’s just a natural thing with me and my whole family.
“I am fortunate in the fact that a man’s not supposed to have as much fun as I do making a living. I think with the younger guns that are out here now, they take too much for granted. I think all those people that won’t take time to sign their autograph — they’re going to be watching when they come back down.”
“A Taste of the Truth” is available at Watson’s Web site, www.genewatsonmusic.com, along with his tour schedule. He and his seven-member band and bus driver leave today for the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tenn.
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