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Larry Gatlin
Background information
Birth name	Larry Wayne Gatlin
Born	(1948-05-02) May 2, 1948 (age 64) Seminole, Texas, United States
Genres	Country, countrypolitan
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, actor
Years active	1973–present
Labels	Monument, Columbia, Universal, Capitol, Curb
Associated acts	The Imperials, Dottie West, Kris Kristofferson, Janie Fricke, Kenny Rogers
Website	Larry Gatlin & Gatlin Brothers Official Site

Larry Wayne Gatlin (born May 2, 1948) is an American country music singer/songwriter. He is perhaps best known for teaming up with his brothers Steve and Rudy in the late 1970s, becoming one of country music's most successful acts of the 1970s and 1980s. Gatlin has had a total of 33 Top 40 singles (combining his solo recordings and those with his brothers). As their fame grew, the band became known as Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers.

Their popularity lasted throughout much of the 1980s. Their biggest hits together include, "Broken Lady", "All the Gold in California", "Houston (Means I'm One Day Closer to You)", "She Used to Be Somebody's Baby", and "Talkin' to the Moon". Larry Gatlin is known for his rich tenor voice and for the string of pop-inflected hit songs he wrote and recorded throughout the 1970s and 80s. During this time, country music trended heavily towards polished pop music arrangements in a style that came to be known as Countrypolitan. Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers came to prominence and enjoyed their greatest success during this period with hit singles that showcased the brothers' powerful three-part harmonies and Larry's evocative falsetto voice.

Biography[link]

Larry Gatlin was born in Seminole, Texas. He was raised listening to country and gospel music. Even since childhood, he and his brothers, Steve and Rudy have always sung and performed together. When they were younger, they often sang in their local church. They sometimes performed on local radio stations, and occasionally on television shows. They also recorded a gospel music album for the Gospel label Sword and Shield. The brothers even managed to beat out the legendary Roy Orbison in a local talent contest around this same time. After graduating from Odessa High School in 1966, Gatlin attended college at the University of Houston. A wide receiver on the football team, he caught a touchdown pass in a game in which the University of Houston scored 100 points.

He later auditioned for, and joined the gospel music group, the Imperials.^[1][2] The Imperials went on to perform in Las Vegas, Nevada in January 1971 at Jimmy Dean's Las Vegas Revue. While walking through the showroom, he caught legendary country singer Dottie West's attention when she thought he looked like Mickey Newbury.

West soon met Gatlin and was impressed with his songwriting skills. She was so impressed, in fact, that she recorded two of Gatlin's compositions, "You're the Other Half of Me" and "Once You Were Mine." West also passed one of Gatlin's demo tapes around Nashville, Tennessee, and even arranged for him to relocate there, purchasing a plane ticket for him—a story he related on the 11/12/09 episode of "Larry's Country Diner" on RFD-TV. West later recorded other compositions by Gatlin that would later become hits for him, including "Broken Lady", which was put on West's 1978 album, Dottie.

Work as a solo artist[link]

With West's help, Gatlin found work in Nashville as a background singer for Kris Kristofferson. In 1973, Gatlin finally landed a solo recording contract with Monument Records.

In 1973, Gatlin released his first album, The Pilgrim. Two singles were released from the album: "Sweet Becky Walker" and "Bitter They Are, Harder They Fall"; however, both singles failed. One stand-out composition called "Bitter They Are" was eventually recorded by Elvis Presley (who also later recorded Gatlin's Help Me). In 1974 came the release of a new album (Rain/Rainbow) and a new song ("Delta Dirt"). The album and single proved more successful. "Delta Dirt" was a Top 20 Country hit, peaking at No. 14. The song was also Gatlin's only entry on the Pop charts, when it reached No. 84. In 1975, Gatlin had his first major hit with his composition, "Broken Lady", which reached No. 5 on the Hot Country Songs chart in 1976. The song was so successful that Gatlin won a Grammy award for the song in 1977 for Best Country Song. A new album, High Time, was released in 1976.

Brothers Steve and Rudy made their first appearance on Larry's 1976 album Larry Gatlin with Family & Friends. They were featured on some of Gatlin's other hits he had during the late 1970s, notably "I Don't Wanna Cry", "Love Is Just a Game", and "Statues Without Hearts". In 1978, Gatlin gained his first number one hit with "I Just Wish You Were Someone I Love." Gatlin continued his music success as a solo act up until 1978, when he released his last solo album, Oh Brother, which featured the top 10 hits "I've Done Enough Dyin' Today" and "Night Time Magic", the latter of which also made an entry into the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. Both songs spotlighted Gatlin's soaring falsetto that became a trademark of his vocal style. Soon it became quite obvious that his brothers wanted to become country performers as well, and Gatlin decided to have his brothers as part of his band.

The Gatlin Brothers[link]

In 1979, when Gatlin signed with Columbia Records, he decided to officially have his brothers billed on his singles and on his albums. That year, their name was officially "Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers". In October, they released the album, Straight Ahead. It spawned the classic single "All the Gold In California", which became their biggest hit together, taking the No. 1 spot on the Hot Country Songs list. This was Larry Gatlin's second number one hit, and led to his being awarded "Top Male Vocalist of the Year" by the Academy of Country Music that year. On June 06, 1980, Straight Ahead was certified gold.

The group's next big hit came in early 1980, with "Take Me To Your Lovin' Place", which peaked at No. 5 in 1981; they followed up with "What Are We Doin' Lonesome", which peaked at No. 4 later in the year. They continued their hit success, garnering top 10 and top 20 hits, with "In Like With Each Other" (1982), "She Used to Sing on Sunday" (1982), "Sure Feels Like Love" (1982), "Almost Called Her Baby By Mistake" (1983), and "Denver" (1984). In 1983, the group had their third (and last) No. 1 hit, "Houston (Means I'm One Day Closer to You)". Even though the group never achieved another No. 1 hit, they had hits that came close, like the jaunty release in 1986, "She Used to Be Somebody's Baby" (which peaked at No. 2), as well as 1987's "Talkin' to the Moon", and 1988's "Love of a Lifetime" (both of which peaked at No. 4).

The Gatlin Brothers were also one of the first country groups to have music videos, like 1984's "The Lady Takes the Cowboy Everytime". In 1985, Gatlin wrote the song "Indian Summer" with Barry Gibb, which he recorded as a duet with Roy Orbison. In 1989, the Gatlin Brothers sang National Anthem before game three of the 1989 World Series, played at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California.

Later work[link]

When the "Neotraditional country" singers entered Nashville in 1986 with singers like Dwight Yoakam and Randy Travis pushing Gatlin and other Country-Pop-styled vocalists off the Top 10 list, Gatlin's chart success declined greatly. He had a duet recording in 1987 with another Country-Pop styled vocalist, Janie Fricke.^[3] However, their duet only reached No. 21. He briefly signed with Universal Records in 1989, where he recorded his last singles. His last charted single came in 1989, called "Number One Heartache Place". Gatlin underwent surgery on his vocal cords in 1991 after the years of wear and tear on his voice. In concert, he had begun to struggle with the high falsetto notes that were featured prominently in most of his songs. After recovery, Gatlin worked briefly with an opera coach and his vocals took on a powerful operatic style in the early 1990s.

Gatlin (left) playing cards with Seabees in Croatia after a performance in 1995.

After more than a decade of singing together, in December 1992, the Gatlin Brothers embarked on a farewell tour before retiring to their own theater in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Larry Gatlin went on to star in the Broadway production of The Will Rogers Follies. In 1994, Gatlin and his brothers opened a 2,000-seat theater in Myrtle Beach. In 1995, he played himself in the TV-movie about Dottie West's life, Big Dreams & Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story. West had died four years before in a major car accident.

Larry Gatlin co-wrote with celebrity biographer Jeff Lenburg a memoir called All the Gold in California that was published in 1998. In 1999 Larry toured and entertained troops of the 1st CAV division in Bosnia.

Since 2010, Larry Gatlin has contributed to Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network as a political and social commentator. In the summer of 2010, Gatlin acted as substitute host for Don Imus on Imus in the Morning ^[4] and Fox Across America with Spencer Hughes on March 16, 2011.

Discography[link]

References[link]

• Wood, Gerry. (1998). "The Gatlin Brothers". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 195–6.

External links[link]

• Larry Gatlin and Gatlin Brothers Official Website

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Gary Gene Watson (born October 11, 1943) is an American country singer. He is most famous for his 1975 hit "Love in the Hot Afternoon," his 1982 hit "Fourteen Carat Mind," and his signature song "Farewell Party." Watson's long career has notched six number ones, 23 top tens and over 75 charted singles.

Biography[link]

Watson was born in Palestine, Texas, in 1943. He began his music career in the early 1970s, performing in local clubs at night while working in a Houston auto body shop during the day. He recorded for only a few small, regional record labels until 1974, when Capitol Records picked up his album Love in the Hot Afternoon and released it nationally. The title track, a mid-tempo ballad in three-quarter time, was released in June 1975, and it quickly reached Number three on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart.

Watson's national success continued throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, as he recorded several Billboard top-40 hits, including "Where Love Begins," "Paper Rosie," "Should I Go Home (or Should I Go Crazy)," "Nothing Sure Looked Good on You," and "Farewell Party," which was released in 1979 and quickly became Watson's signature song and the namesake of his Farewell Party Band.

In 1982, after switching to the MCA label, he recorded the #1 Billboard hit, "Fourteen Carat Mind." He followed up with several more hits in the early 1980s, including "Speak Softly (You're Talking to My Heart)," "You're Out Doing What I'm Here Doing Without," and "Got No Reason Now for Going Home." By the mid-1980s, he was recording for Epic Records, where his most notable hit was 1985's "Memories to Burn."

Watson never gave up his classical country style, even as he continued to record music throughout the 1980s. He signed with Warner Bros. and released two new albums in 1989 and 1991. He recorded From the Heart, on the Row Music Group label in 2001.

In 2005, Watson released his album, "Then & Now."

In May 2007, Gene Watson signed with the independent Shanachie Records and began work on his first album for the label, which included new material, along with three covers of some of Watson's favourite classic country tunes such as Merle Haggard's classic "Today I started Loving You Again," a duet with Lee Ann Womack. Also featured on this album are Vince Gill, Mark Chesnutt, Rhonda Vincent, Connie Smith, and Joe Nichols. The album, 'In a Perfect World', was officially released on Tuesday, 25 September 2007. The duet with Vince Gill, "Let Me Be The First To Go," reached #1 on the HotDisc European chart. The US-released single "I Buried Our Love" reached #59 on the Music Row charts while "A Good Place To Turn Around" (featuring Connie Smith) placed #4 on the Gospel Radio Active chart.

It was also in May 2007, on the fifth, that the (all new) Gene Watson Fan Site went 'live'. The site, which is owned & maintained by Sean Brady, is based in Ireland (one of many countries outside the US where fans fully appreciate Watson and his unique traditional country music) and receives full support from Lytle Management in Nashville (Gene Watson's management team) and Gene Watson himself. Gene's official website is www.GeneWatsonMusic.com where he blogs on occasion and maintains a store to sell his CDs and merchandise.

In September 2007 "In A Perfect World" was released to great critical acclaim. The album was received by the country music industry as one of the best recordings of the year. The Associated Press noted "Like a well-aged whiskey, Gene Watson has gained smoothness yet maintained his visceral bite...Watson can make contemporary songs sound like timeless classics. He's never sounded better, which is saying something." The Philadelphia Inquirer stated 'In A Perfect World' is a stunning reminder of why the Texan is considered one of country's all time great balladeers."

In 2009, Gene Watson opened for Brad Paisley on his "Paisley Party" tour in Memphis, Tennessee, and released A Taste of the Truth featuring Alison Krauss, Trace Adkins, and bluegrass queen Rhonda Vincent. A Vincent/Watson duet of "Staying Together" was #1 on the World Indie chart. The album is a continuation of Watson's trademark traditional country sound, and critics hailed it as a landmark for him. Paul Dennis of the 9513.com website praised it as "Album of the Decade." In a national contest on the 9513.com site, Gene Watson's "A Taste of the Truth" was voted by the site's journalists as well as fans worldwide the Album Of The Year, beating out young country music darling, Miranda Lambert.

On 7 June 2011, Gene Watson and Rhonda Vincent released an all duets album, "Your Money and My Good Looks" (on independent UMM Records). This very traditional country music release garnered this quote from George Jones: "This is the real deal. Together they have created something very special. I haven't heard country music like this in years." Bill Anderson noted "It doesn't get any better than this! The first time I heard Gene Watson and Rhonda Vincent sing together, I knew it was a match made in country music heaven." A first single, "Gone For Good," was released with a video shot in and around Nashville, Tennessee. Gene Watson and Rhonda Vincent are touring together on selected dates in the United States.

2012 marks the Golden Anniversary for Gene Watson, fifty years in the music business. In 1962, Gene Watson began his professional career by recording his first single. To celebrate his 50 years in country music, Watson released Best of the Best: 25 Greatest Hits on his own Fourteen Carat Music label on February 14, 2012.

It is one of the curious facts of the music business that a major-label artist pays for their recording sessions, yet the label owns the recordings. In addition, Gene Watson’s classics are owned by multiple corporations. In a sense, by re-recording them to sound precisely like the originals, he now finally “owns” them all himself. “I wanted these to sound as close to the originals as could be done,” says Gene. “I had to work so hard to capture them the same way I did them originally. All of these songs are in the same keys. I just thank the good Lord above that He’s let me keep my voice intact. In fact, I can probably hit the notes better now than I could back then. Whenever there was a question when I was re-recording these, we went back and listened to the original recording."

On Wednesday 11 April 2012, the Gene Watson Fan Site underwent a massive redesign; the new version of the site, which is owned and maintained by Sean Brady, is based in Ireland (one of many countries outside the US where fans fully appreciate Watson and his unique traditional country music) and was developed using the content management system (CMS) Joomla! 1.7.

On Saturday 5 May 2012, the Gene Watson Fan Site received a further 'behind-the-scenes' makeover, when the CMS (content management system) used by the site, Joomla, was upgraded from Version 1.7.1 to 2.5.4, so that the site was up-to-date with the latest version of the software.

The Gene Watson Fan Site in Ireland continues to receive full support from Lytle Management in Nashville (Gene Watson's management team) and Gene Watson himself. Please note that Gene Watson's official website is www.GeneWatsonMusic.com where he continues to blog on occasion and maintains a store in order to sell his CDs and merchandise.

Gene Watson is managed by Lytle Management of Nashville, TN.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

External links[link]

• The Official Gene Watson Site
• Gene Watson Site Based in Ireland

Romain Virgo (born c. 1990) is a singer from Jamaica, specializing in the lovers rock style of reggae music.

He rose to prominence upon winning the Digicel Rising Stars competition in 2007, two months before his graduation from high school in St. Ann, Jamaica. At 17 years old, he was the youngest contestant to ever win top prize at the competition, which included a JA$1,000,000 prize and a recording contract with Greensleeves Records.^[1] A few weeks after winning the competition, Virgo met Donovan Germain who produced his first hit record "Mi Caan Sleep" on the Penthouse label.^[2] Several hit singles followed, including "Wanna Go Home", "Live Mi Life", and "Alton's Medley". In June 2010, VP Records released his debut album, self-titled Romain Virgo.

After winning the Digicel competition, Romain performed dances and stageshows, including Rebel Salute, Passa Passa, and Weddy Weddy. In the autumn of 2010, he joined fellow artists Capleton and Munga on a tour of the United States.^[3] In addition to his music career, Virgo is pursuing his bachelor's degree at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in Kingston, majoring in voice and minoring in keyboard.^[4]

References [link]