Dale Watson Feat Gene Kurtz Treat Her Right

Dale Watson at The Continental Club Houston 08-28-04

Gene co-wrote the internationally known hit song Treat Her Right, which is featured in Alan Parker's film, "The Commitments," as well as numerous television shows around the globe.

Treat Her Right has been recorded by: Roy Head and the Traits, Otis Redding, Mae West, Roy Buchanan, Jerry Lee Lewis, LeRoi Bros., Barbara Mandrell, George Thorogood, Arlen Roth, Johnny Thunders, Bob Dylan, The Box Tops, The Commitments, Los Straightjackets, Billy Crash Craddock, Len Barry, Sandy Nelson, Willie Mitchell, Nine Below Zero, Jamie Hartford Band, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen, Shelby Lynne, Rory Gallagher, The Tragically Hip, Paul Shaffer, Mark Lindsay, Shoe Suede Blues, Shakin' Stevens, Robert Plant, and many others.

Treat Her Right has been featured on these television shows, among others: "American Idol," "Ally McBeal," "Crime Story," "American Dreams," "Jake and the Fat Man," "Major League Baseball," "Adventures of Kanga Roddy," "Intimate Portrait of Barbara Mandrell," "Dragonfly TV," "The Late Show with David Letterman," " Late Show with Conan O'Brien."

A few quotes about Treat Her Right: "...one of the great pieces of up-tempo soul in the mid-'60s. "Treat Her Right" on Back Beat made it to number two on the R&B charts and number two pop." - All Music Guide (AMG.com) "...I took it upon myself to make the lyrics rhyme and have some continuity; and I also inserted the horn riff at the end of the song." - Gene Kurtz in Colin Escott's Tattooed on Their Tongues (Prentice Hall Publishers, 1996) "Treat Her Right is one of those songs that comes along once in a while where it's hard to put your finder on why it becomes so popular, but it's immediately evident in an intuitive sense. For the riff on Treat Her Right was certainly by no means novel when the single appeared in 1965. It was a standard 12 bar three-cord progression with a bit of bluesy boogie. What made it instantly memorable wasn't so much the melody as the delivery and arrangement. The guitar playing the principal riff had a distinctive low and twangy sound. The brass riffs kicked it along with undeniable Latin-influenced verve. The rhythms really stomped out during the extended instrumental intro, and changed into a beguiling calypso-like bounce during the vocal verses. But what put it over more than anything else was Roy head's masterful blue-eyed soul vocal, which succeeded by not trying too hard. Instead it was cool and cocky, evident even during the instrumental intro, where he threw off knowing cackling laughs, shouted "hey's," and compliments to an unknown lady. When the verse started, Head cooled it down with an ultra-sexy vocal that purported at first to be a "story," but instead turned out to be an extended lesson in seduction. After that lesson's over, the song goes into its extended chorus of sorts, which is just the horn blaring out its exultant riff, as if in celebration of the success of the lesson. Head urges the band along with infectious shouts of "hey," throwing in some quite credible son-of-James Brown screams. A bluesy guitar fattens the attack, and after a couple passes through the chorus, the song comes to an unexpected cold end, just a couple of minutes after it started. "Treat Her Right's" an unusual hit in that there's no bridge, just the verse and lyric-less chorus. But it was a very successful single, making #2 in both the pop and R&B charts in 1965, and becoming an oft-played bar band staple forever after that." -All Music Guide (AMG.com)


BEST OF THE REST:

Gene wrote You're Almost Tuff, which appears on the essential "Treat Her Right: The Best of Roy Head," and is considered by many to be Roy Head's most rockin' record: "...with a sound that almost verges on Texas garage." - All Music Guide (AMG.com)

Additionally, Gene co-wrote these songs that were milestones along the way: New York City Hello with Tomi Lee Bradley; Une Femme Extraordinaire with Jean-Pierre Ferland; Way Down Texas Way which has been used in the cable TV series "Rollergirls" and the NBC-TV series "Friday Night Lights"

click to enlargeGene is a long-time voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (The Grammy Awards); he's especially proud to be a charter member of the Texas Chapter. He is also honored to be a charter member of the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.

Today, Gene lives and records in the Austin area, and he tours (and records) with Dale Watson and His Lonestars.

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[swine70tx]

yea. the quality sucks. but at least i got it on tape. R.I.P. Gene.

[zakkdbd]

were gonna miss Gene

[rockin1953]

turns the lights on....