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 2006, 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 Luke Reed, which he submitted to this site on Friday 16 June 2006.

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





Luke Reed
This quote was submitted on Friday 16 June 2006.

'I have always thought of Gene as one of the two greatest pure singers in country music - the other is Ray Price (Tuesday 12 January 1926 - Monday 16 December 2013).



When I heard Gene sing 'Ain't No Fun To Be Alone In San Antone' (co-written with Buddy Cannon), the first major recording of one of my songs, I thought it just couldn't get any better than that.

And, you know what?  It never has'.

Thank you, Luke Reed, for your support of Gene Watson.



About Luke Reed...



Luke Reed is a songwriter and recording artist, who was born in Ringling, Oklahoma on Monday 14 June 1954.

Luke Reed has had the privilege of having his Western-style compositions recorded by fellow country music artists, including Red Steagall, Don Edwards, George Strait, Michael Martin Murphey, Randy Travis, Gary Allan, David Ball, Bonnie Bramlett, Johnny Bush (Sunday 17 February 1935 - Friday 16 October 2020) and Hank Thompson (Thursday 3 September 1925 - Tuesday 6 November 2007).



Gene Watson recorded Luke Reed's 'Ain't No Fun To Be Alone In San Antone' (co-written with Buddy Cannon) and included the track on 'Back in The Fire' (Warner Bros. Records, 1988).



Jeffrey Barosh Sr. (Jeff Chance) (Monday 13 December 1954 - Friday 12 December 2008) recorded Luke Reed's 'Ain't No Fun To Be Alone In San Antone' (co-written with Buddy Cannon) and included the track on 'Walk Softly On The Bridges' (Mercury Records, 1992).



Don Edwards recorded Luke Reed's 'Line Shack Blues' (co-written with Roger Brown) and included the track on 'Goin' Back To Texas' (Warner Bros. Records, 1993).



Red Steagall recorded Luke Reed's 'Panhandle Wind' (co-written with Tom Paxton and Billy Joe Foster) and included the track on 'Born To This Land' (Warner Western Records, 1993).



Randy Travis recorded Luke Reed's 'Down At The Old Corral' (co-written with Roger Brown) and included the track on 'Wind In The Wire' (Warner Bros. Records, 1993).



Randy Travis recorded Luke Reed's 'Blue Mesa' (co-written with Roger Brown) and included the track on 'Wind In The Wire' (Warner Bros. Records, 1993).



Randy Travis recorded Luke Reed's 'Roamin' Wyomin' (co-written with Roger Brown) and included the track on 'Wind In The Wire' (Warner Bros. Records, 1993).



Michael Martin Murphey recorded Luke Reed's 'Adobe Walls' (co-written with Roger Brown) and included the track on 'Sagebrush Symphony' (Warner Bros. Records, 1995), an album which was recorded 'live' at Majestic Theater in San Antonio, Texas.



Red Steagall & The Boys In The Bunkhouse recorded Luke Reed's 'Cowboy Church' (co-written with Red Steagall) and included the track on 'Faith & Value' (Warner Western Records, 1995).



Kate Wallace recorded Luke Reed's 'Going Through The Emotions' (co-written with Kate Wallace) and included the track on 'Kate Wallace' (Honest Records, 1995); the track was dedicated to Kate Wallace's brother, Bob.



Hank Thompson (Thursday 3 September 1925 - Tuesday 6 November 2007) recorded Luke Reed's 'Find Her, Keep Her' (co-written with Buddy Cannon) and included the track on 'Greatest Songs, Volume 1' (Curb Records, 1995).

Roger Brown & Swing City recorded Luke Reed's 'Swing City' (co-written with Roger Brown and Buck Ramsey) and included the track on 'Roger Brown & Swing City' (MCA Records, 1996), a 5-track extended play (EP).

Roger Brown & Swing City recorded Luke Reed's 'Adobe Walls' (co-written with Roger Brown) and included the track on (the 5-track EP) 'Roger Brown & Swing City' (Decca Records, 1996).



Noel Haggard recorded Luke Reed's 'Cowgirl Blues', which was co-written with Phil Thomas (1944 - Saturday 5 January 2019), and included the track on 'One Lifetime' (Atlantic Records, 1997).



Red Steagall & The Boys In The Bunkhouse recorded Luke Reed's 'Forty & Found' (co-written with Red Steagall) and included the track on 'Dear Mama, I'm A Cowboy' (Warner Western Records, 1997).



George Strait recorded Luke Reed's 'One Step At A Time' (co-written with Earl Clark) and included the track on 'One Step At A Time' (MCA Nashville Records, 1998).



Red Steagall recorded Luke Reed's 'Belle of The Ball (co-written with Red Steagall) and included the track on 'Love of The West' (Warner Western Records, 1999).



Roger Brown recorded Luke Reed's 'If You Mess With The Bull' (co-written with Roger Brown) and included the track on (the EP) 'Rodeo Boogie' (Prairie Crooner Records, 2000).



Craig Chambers recorded Luke Reed's 'Adobe Walls' (co-written with Roger Brown) and included the track on 'West By South West' (WR Records, 2000).



Gary Allan recorded Luke Reed's 'Adobe Walls' (co-written with Roger Brown) and included the track on 'Alright Guy' (MCA Nashville Records, 2001).



David Ball recorded Luke Reed's 'Missing Her Blues' (co-written with David Ball) and included the track on 'Amigo' (Dualtone Records, 2001).



In 2001, Luke Reed recorded 'Corridos' (Blue Hat Records, 2001), an album which featured Luke Reed's original Western songs with guest appearances by Waylon Jennings (Tuesday 15 June 1937 - Wednesday 13 February 2002), Bonnie Bramlett, Bill Miller and Riders In The Sky; the album was nominated for a Grammy Award in the 'Best Contemporary Folk' category.

Luke Reed's 'Corridos' (Blue Hat Records, 2001) included the following tracks:

'Blue Mesa' (written by Roger Brown and Luke Reed) / this track featured guest vocals from Ranger Doug Green
'If There Wasn't Any Cows' (written by Luke Reed)
'Adobe Walls' (written by Roger Brown and Luke Reed)
'The Spanish Rose' (written by Luke Reed)
'Every Horse I Ever Rode' (written by Luke Reed)
'The Land of Manana' (written by Luke Reed and Michael Smotherman)
'Remember The Eagle' (written by Baxter Black and Luke Reed) / this track featured guest vocals from Waylon Jennings (Tuesday 15 June 1937 - Wednesday 13 February 2002)
'Panhandle Wind' (written by Bill Joe Foster, Luke Reed and Red Steagall)
'And Cowboy Is His Name' (written by Luke Reed)
'The Banks of Red River' (written by Luke Reed)
'Cowboy Church' (written by Luke Reed)

Luke Reed was also nominated for a Tony Award for his original song, which was featured in the Broadway musical version of 'Urban Cowboy'.

Luke Reed received The Will Rogers Award from The Academy of Western Artists for 'Excellence in The Field of Western Arts'.



Clay Blaker recorded Luke Reed's 'A Day Late & A Darlin' Short' (co-written with Clay Blaker) and included the track on 'Welcome To The Wasteland' (Neobilly Records, 2001).



R.W. Hampton recorded Luke Reed's 'Adobe Walls' (co-written with Roger Brown) and included the track on 'Always In My Heart' (Paras Recordings Records, 2001).



Michael Martin Murphey recorded Luke Reed's 'Adobe Walls' (co-written with Roger Brown) and included the track on 'Playing Favourites: Greatest Hits, Volume 1' (Paras Group International / Real West Productions Records, 2001).



Bonnie Bramlett recorded Luke Reed's 'Sure Sign of Something' (co-written with Bonnie Bramlett) and included the track on 'I'm Still The Same' (Audium Records, 2002).

At the time of the acquisition of this Gene Watson 'Peer's Quote', in June 2006, Luke Reed had his own group called Modern Western Civilisation, which comprised of Hilary Schacht on fiddle and Lance Quadri on upright bass.

Sadly, since the acquisition of this Gene Watson Peer's Quote from Luke Reed, in June 2006, Luke Reed's official site is now offline.



Red Steagall recorded Luke Reed's 'I Left The Best Part of Texas In Tennessee' (co-written with Buddy Cannon and Rich Grissom) and included the track on 'Here We Go Again' (Wildcatter Records, 2007).



The Blackbury Band recorded Luke Reed's 'Down At The Old Corral' and included the track on 'Thirty Years Too Late, Volume 1' (Blackbury Band Records, 2007).



The Grateful Hooligans recorded Luke Reed's 'Old Home Place' and included the track on 'Turn Back Time' (Static Stage Records, 2007).



Clay Blaker recorded Luke Reed's 'In The Name of Love' (co-written with Clay Blaker) and included the track on (the EP) 'Still Rockin' (Neobilly Records, 2015).



Artie Rodriguez recorded Luke Reed's 'Borderline Fool' (co-written with Gerald Smith) and included the track on 'Borderline Fool' (Artie Rodriguez Independent Release, 2015).



Artie Rodriguez recorded Luke Reed's 'Starting To Feel That Way' (co-written with Gerald Smith) and included the track on 'Borderline Fool' (Artie Rodriguez Independent Release, 2015).

• Like Luke Reed on Facebook