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 Watson Fan Site, during 2009, 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 Dale Dodson, which he submitted to this site on Tuesday 12 May 2009.

Sean Brady would like to take this opportunity to say 'thank you' to Dale Dodson who made a special contribution to this unique part of this online 'celebration of a Lone Star Hero'.





Dale Dodson
This quote was submitted on Tuesday 12 May 2009.

'The tone of Gene Watson's voice is one of the greatest I have ever heard, coupled with a great ear for a country song is what makes him a country legend'.

Thank you, Dale Dodson, for your support of Gene Watson.



About Dale Dodson...



Dale Dodson was reared in West Virginia and started his professional music career as a disc jockey for a small radio station in Berkeley Springs.

But Dale Dodson wanted in on the action so, in 1987, he moved to Nashville and obtained a job performing at Opryland.

In his spare time, Dale Dodson played songs for Music Row veteran Pat Rolfe at ASCAP.

In 1992, Pat Rolfe arranged a meeting for Dale Dodson with Sony / ATV Tree president Donna Hilley, who was so impressed by Dale's knowledge of the Tree song catalogue that she suggested that he come on board as a writer and see if he could use his knowledge and ambition to carve out a place for himself on Tree's staff of song-pluggers.

Dale Dodson then decided to delve into some of the older catalogue, where lay the rich gems of songwriters like Harlan Howard (Thursday 8 September 1927 - Sunday 3 March 2002), Hank Cochran (Friday 2 August 1935 - Thursday 15 July 2010), Merle Haggard (Tuesday 6 April 1937 - Wednesday 6 April 2016), Buck Owens (Monday 12 August 1929 - Saturday 25 March 2006) and others; Dale Dodson was able to get some impressive cuts on them.

Eventually Dale Dodson got into Bill Anderson's old catalogue and the results were so good that Bill got excited, re-signed with Tree and moved into a new phase in his career, writing new songs in a new era, and hearing them on the radio.

Two years after Dale Dodson arrived at Tree, in recognition of his efforts, he was put on staff with a salary and subsequently enjoyed cuts by Tracy Byrd, Mark Chesnutt, George Strait, Wade Hayes, Lee Ann Womack, Sara Evans, Rodney Crowell, Lorrie Morgan, Ty Herndon, Chely Wright, Ken Mellons and Gary Allan; nearly ninety cuts in all.

To date, Dale Dodson has had a number of his compositions recorded by his contemporaries in country music, including the following:



Chely Wright recorded Dale Dodson's 'Go On & On' (co-written with Chely Wright) and included the track on 'Woman in The Moon' (Polydor Records, 1994).



Chely Wright recorded Dale Dodson's 'Sea of Cowboy Hats' (co-written with Jimmy Melton and Chely Wright) and included the track on 'Woman in The Moon' (Polydor Records, 1994).



Chely Wright recorded Dale Dodson's 'He Don't Do Bars Anymore' (co-written with Jimmy Melton and Chely Wright) and included the track on 'Woman in The Moon' (Polydor Records, 1994).



Chely Wright recorded Dale Dodson's 'The Last Supper' (co-written with Jimmy Melton and Chely Wright) and included the track on 'Woman in The Moon' (Polydor Records, 1994).



Ken Mellons recorded Dale Dodson's 'I Can Bring Her Back' (written with Ken Mellons and Gene Simmons) and included the track on 'Ken Mellons' (Epic Records, 1994); the track reached No.42 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles  & Tracks Chart in 1994.



Ken Mellons recorded Dale Dodson's 'Lookin' in The Same Direction' (written with Ken Mellons and Jimmy Melton) and included the track on 'Ken Mellons' (Epic Records, 1994).



Ken Mellons recorded Dale Dodson's 'Seven Lonely Days Makes One Weak' (written with Ken Mellons and Jimmy Melton) and included the track on 'Ken Mellons' (Epic Records, 1994).



Ken Mellons recorded Dale Dodson's 'Learnin' To Live Without You' (written with Ken Mellons, Gene Simmons and Jerry Cupit) and included the track on 'Ken Mellons' (Epic Records, 1994).



Ken Mellons recorded Dale Dodson's 'Honky Tonk Teachers' (written with Ken Mellons and Jerry Cupit) and included the track on 'Ken Mellons' (Epic Records, 1994).



James House recorded Dale Dodson's 'A Real Good Way To Wind up Lonesome', which was co-written with James House and John Jarrard (Thursday 7 May 1953 - Thursday 1 February 2001), and included the track on 'Days Gone By' (Columbia Records, 1994); the track reached No.52 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks Chart in 1994 and featured background vocals from John Wesley Ryles.



Ken Mellons recorded Dale Dodson's 'Memory Remover' (co-written with Ken Mellons and Jimmy Melton) and included the track on 'Where Forever Begins' (Epic Records, 1995).



Lee Ann Womack recorded Dale Dodson's 'The Man Who Made My Mama Cry' (co-written with Billy Lawson and Lee Ann Womack) and included the track on 'Some Things I Know' (MCA Records, 1998).



Lorrie Morgan & Sammy Kershaw recorded Dale Dodson's 'Be My Reason' (co-written with Billy Lawson and John Northrup) and included the track on 'I Finally Found Someone' (RCA Nashville Records, 2001).



Lee Ann Womack recorded Dale Dodson's 'He'll Be Back', which was co-written with Hank Cochran (Friday 2 August 1935 - Thursday 15 July 2010) and Red Lane (Thursday 2 February 1939 - Wednesday 1 July 2015), and included the track on 'Something Worth Leaving Behind' (MCA Records, 2002).



Dierks Bentley recorded Dale Dodson's 'I Bought The Shoes' (co-written with Ken Mellons and Jimmy Melton) and included the track on 'Dierks Bentley' (Capitol Nashville Records, 2003).



Gene Watson recorded Dale Dodson's 'Coast of Texas' (co-written with Jimmy Melton) and included the track on 'Gene Watson...Sings' (Intersound Records, 2003).



Mark Chesnutt recorded Dale Dodson's 'Since You Ain't Home' (co-written with Ken Mellons and Shawn Camp) and included the track on 'Savin' The Honky Tonks' (Vivaton Records, 2004).



Ken Mellons recorded Dale Dodson's 'If I've Learned Anything At All' (co-written with John Northrup and Ken Mellons) and included the track on 'Sweet' (Home Records, 2004).



George Strait recorded Dale Dodson's 'Good News, Bad News' (co-written with Dean Dillon and Lee Ann Womack) and included the track on 'Somewhere Down in Texas' (MCA Records, 2005); the track was a duet with Lee Ann Womack.



Lee Ann Womack recorded Dale Dodson's 'Twenty Years & Two Husbands Ago' (co-written with Lee Ann Womack and Dean Dillon) and included the track on 'There's More Where That Came From' (MCA Nashville Records, 2005); the track reached No.32 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks Chart in 2005.



Lee Ann Womack recorded Dale Dodson's 'One's a Couple' (co-written with Billy Lawson and John Northrup) and included the track on 'There's More Where That Came From' (MCA Nashville Records, 2005).



Alan Jackson recorded Dale Dodson's 'I Want To Stroll Over Heaven With You' and included the track on 'Precious Memories' (Arista Records, 2006).



Sarah Johns recorded Dale Dodson's 'It's Hard To Be a Girl (In a Young Man's World)' (co-written with Sarah Johns and Dean Dillon) and included the track on 'Big Love in a Small Town' (BNA Records, 2007).



Sarah Johns recorded Dale Dodson's 'A Lot To Let Go Of' (co-written with Sarah Johns and Jason Sellers) and included the track on 'Big Love in a Small Town' (BNA Records, 2007).



Sarah Johns recorded Dale Dodson's 'That's Just Me Getting Over You' (co-written with Sarah Johns and Billy Lawson) and included the track on 'Big Love in a Small Town' (BNA Records, 2007).



Lee Ann Womack recorded Dale Dodson's 'New Again' (co-written with Lee Ann Womack and Casey Beathard) and included the track on 'Call Me Crazy' (MCA Records, 2008).



Lee Ann Womack recorded Dale Dodson's 'Have You Seen That Girl' (co-written with Lee Ann Womack and Dean Dillon) and included the track on 'Call Me Crazy' (MCA Records, 2008).



Lee Ann Womack recorded Dale Dodson's 'If These Walls Could Talk' (co-written with Lee Ann Womack) and included the track on 'Call Me Crazy' (MCA Records, 2008).



Lee Ann Womack recorded Dale Dodson's 'Everything But Quits' (co-written with Lee Ann Womack and Dean Dillon) and included the track on 'Call Me Crazy' (MCA Records, 2008); this track was a duet with George Strait.



Gene Watson recorded Dale Dodson's 'Use Me Again', which was co-written with Billy Lawson and Curly Putman (Thursday 20 November 1930 - Sunday 30 October 2016), and included the track on 'A Taste of The Truth' (Shanachie Records, 2009).



Daryle Singletary recorded Dale Dodson's 'She Sure Looks Good In Black' (co-written with Billy Lawson) and included the track on 'Rockin' in The Country' (E1 Music Records, 2009).



Marty Raybon & Full Circle recorded Dale Dodson's 'Going Through Hell (To Get There)', which was co-written with Curly Putman (Thursday 20 November 1930 - Sunday 30 October 2016) and Billy Ryan, and included the track on 'This, That & The Other' (Marty Raybon Music, 2009).



Teea Goans recorded Dale Dodson's 'He'll Be Back', which was co-written with Hank Cochran (Friday 2 August 1935 - Thursday 15 July 2010) and Red Lane (Thursday 2 February 1939 - Wednesday 1 July 2015), and included the track on 'The Way I Remember It' (Crosswind Records, 2010).



Rodney Atkins recorded Dale Dodson's 'The Corner' (co-written with Jessie Jo Dillon and Dean Dillon) and included the track on 'Take a Back Road' (Curb Records, 2011).



Kellie Pickler recorded Dale Dodson's 'Long As I Never See You Again' (co-written with Kellie Pickler and Dean Dillon) and included the track on '100 Proof' (XIX / BNA Records, 2012).



Kellie Pickler recorded Dale Dodson's 'The Letter (To Daddy)' (co-written with Dean Dillon and Kellie Pickler) and included the track on '100 Proof' (XIX / BNA Records, 2012).



Jamey Johnson recorded Dale Dodson's 'She’ll Be Back', which was written with Hank Cochran (Friday 2 August 1935 - Thursday 15 July 2010) and Red Lane (Thursday 2 February 1939 - Wednesday 1 July 2015), and included the track on a tribute album, which honoured the great songs written by Hank Cochran.

'Living For a Song: A Tribute To Hank Cochran' (Mercury Nashville Records, 2012) was released, on vinyl, on Tuesday 25 September 2012 and, on CD, on Tuesday 16 October 2012, and was overseen by producer Buddy Cannon.

 

Erin Enderlin recorded Dale Dodson's 'Use Me Again', which was co-written with Curly Putman (Thursday 20 November 1930 - Sunday 30 October 2016) and Billy Lawson, and included the track on 'Chapter Three: Whatever Gets You Through The Night' (Erin Enderlin Productions / Blaster Records, 2019), a 3-track extended play (EP) disc; the track, which featured background vocals from Ronnie Bowman, was subsequently included on Erin Enderlin's 'Faulkner County' (Black Crow Productions, 2019).

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