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LARRY GATLIN
Over the course of a
four-decade career that has taken the Larry Gatlin and
the Gatlin Brothers from dusty Texas stages to White
House performances, from Broadway to Grammy Awards to
the top of the country charts, there has been one
unifying element, music. Raised on Gospel music, the
brothers first began entertaining audiences in churches
and then with guest appearances on the Slim Willet radio
and TV shows in Abilene, Texas when they were 2, 4, and
6 years old. Larry says that their history as "gospel
music junkies" came from those early roots. " My first
hero was James Blackwood of the Blackwood Brothers
Quartet-I just knew somehow from that moment that I
wanted to be a singer for the rest of my life." |
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After high
school, Larry went to the University of Houston on a
football scholarship. He majored in English and quickly
developed "a love affair with the English language" that
later served him well in his songwriting. On the
strength of his song writing talents and exceptional
vocal ability, his life was changed by the legendary
Dottie West who saw gold just under the unpolished
surface of young Gatlin. Larry, aided by West, moved to
Nashville to write songs that would be recorded by names
like Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Barbara Streisand,
Tom Jones, and yes, Elvis Presley.
In 1972, Larry landed a solo
deal with Monument Records through friend Kris
Kristofferson and invited his siblings up to Nashville
to sing backup on his first two albums—1974's
The
Pilgrim and
1975's
Rain Rainbow.
The release of
The Pilgrim
landed Gatlin his first hit with "Sweet
Becky Walker," and
then found himself at #1 on the charts the next year
with "Broken
Lady," a song that
captured him a Grammy in 76'.
The
same year all three brothers were inducted into the
Grand Ole Opry.
1977's
High
Time, credited
to "Larry Gatlin with Brothers and Friends," featured
the No.1 hit "I
Just Wish You Were Someone I Love."
The success of this album encouraged the brothers to
become an official trio and in 1979, they signed a group
deal with Columbia records. In concert, their
performances were simply magical events, filled with
incredible family harmonies, total professionalism, and
downright fun for both the trio and their audiences.
Over the next decade the Brothers scored more than a
dozen Top 40 hits, including "Denver,"
"Houston
(Mean That I'm One Day Closer To You),"
Midnight Choir (Mogen David),"
and "She
Used To Be Somebody's Baby,"
"I
Don't Want To Cry,"
"Statues
Without Hearts," "What
Are We Doing Lonesome,"
I've
Done Enough Dyin' Today,"
"Take
Me To Your Lovin' Place,"
"Night
Time Magic," "Love
Is Just A Game," "The
Lady Takes The Cowboy Every Time,"
and
Talkin' To The Moon."
It was also in 79' that Larry Gatlin won the ACM's "Top
Male Vocalist," Straight Ahead won "Album of the Year,"
and "All The Gold In California" won "Single of the
Year."
Throughout the
70's and 80's, the Gatlin Brothers lit up major marquees
and packed concert halls across America. Then, in 1992
after much soul searching and prayer, the brothers made
a decision to stop touring. They ended with "The Adios
Tour" along with an accompanying album release of the
same name. Explains Larry, "We just thought our time in
the spotlight was probably over. We had a great run and
are thankful for it.” Retirement didn’t last long, and
according to Larry, a promoter in Dover, Delaware "made
us an offer we couldn't understand...so we took it!
Since then a popular ground swell, maybe not a large
popular ground swell, but a ground swell nonetheless,
has arisen that has persuaded us to do some selected
dates that we are calling 'The Gatlin Brothers Never
Ending Reunion Tour."
At this stage,
the Larry and his brothers have the best of both worlds,
families and fans, plenty of work both as individuals
and together. "
Song Highlights
Solo hits:
“”Sweet
Becky Walker
"Delta Dirt"
"Broken Lady."
"I Don't Wanna Cry"
"Love Is Just a Game"
"Statues Without
Hearts"
"I Just Wish You Were
Someone I Love."
Gatlin Brothers:
"All the Gold in
California."
Houston
(Means I'm One Day Closer to You)."
"Talkin' to the Moon,"
Love is Just a Game"
"Take Me to Your Lovin'
Place"
"Denver"
“She Used to Be
Somebody's Baby"
Awards and honors
Grammy Award for Best
Country Song
"Broken Lady"
"Top Male Vocalist of
the Year"
Academy of Country
Music.
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