

As the movie was becoming successful, so was "Stand by Me". The song was the country remake of the soul standard " Stand by Me". His career was given a second go-around when one of his recordings was featured on the box-office-selling movie Urban Cowboy. Recording career in the 1980s with the success of Urban Cowboy īy 1980, Gilley decided to come up with a new sound, to bring him country crossover success so many other country singers (including Eddie Rabbitt, Juice Newton, Kenny Rogers, and Dolly Parton) were having at the time. Songs like "The Power of Positive Drinkin'", "Just Long Enough to Say Goodbye", and "My Silver Lining" just made the Top Ten. By 1979, his success was fading slightly. In 1978, Gilley signed on with Epic Records, when Playboy Records was bought by Epic. To compete with this new breed of Country singers, Gilley had to sound like them and have that kind of country-pop success that these singers were having. These singers include Glen Campbell, Crystal Gayle, Anne Murray, Olivia Newton-John, Barbara Mandrell, and Kenny Rogers. These singers were country-crossover artists that brought country success with them onto the pop charts. However, a new breed of singers were entering country music. These songs were a mix of honky tonk and countrypolitan that brought Gilley to the top of the charts in the 1970s. Other hits in the 1970s include "Chains of Love" (1977), "Honky Tonk Memories" (1977), " She's Pulling Me Back Again" (1977), and "Here Comes the Hurt Again" (1978). He remained a popular country act for the rest of the 1970s. Some of these hits were cover versions of songs, including the Bill Anderson song " City Lights", George Jones' " Window Up Above", and Sam Cooke's " Bring It On Home to Me". He had a string of top tens and No. 1s throughout the 1970s.
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"Room Full of Roses" became the song that put Gilley on national radar, hitting the very top of the Country charts that year, as well as making it to No. 50 on the pop music chart. From then on, Gilley was signed to Playboy Records, working with his long-time friend Eddie Kilroy. The song was released by Astro Records that year, and then Playboy Records got ahold of the single and got national distribution for "Room Full of Roses". In 1974, Gilley recorded a song that originally was only supposed to be recorded for fun entitled "Room Full of Roses", written by Tim Spencer of the Sons of the Pioneers, which was a one-time hit for George Morgan. Recording career in the 1970s before Urban Cowboy


The club portion of Gilley's burned in 1990, and the rodeo arena portion was razed in 2005 to make way for a school. He shared Gilley's Club with Sherwood Cryer, who asked Gilley to re-open his former bar with him. It later became known as the "world's biggest honky tonk." Gilley's Club and its mechanical bull were portrayed in the 1980 film, Urban Cowboy. In 1970, Gilley opened up his first nightclub in Pasadena, Texas, called Gilley's Club. He had a minor hit from the album called "Now I Can Live Again". Paula Records released Gilley's first album, Down the Line, in 1967. In the 1960s, he played at many clubs and bars, gaining a following at the Nesadel Club in Pasadena, Texas. His record "Call Me Shorty" on the Dot label sold well in 1958. Gilley then cut a few singles and played sessions in New Orleans with producer Huey Meaux.
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They sang both boogie-woogie and gospel music, but Gilley did not become a professional singer until Lewis hit the top of the charts in the 1950s. Gilley, Lewis, and their cousin Jimmy Swaggart played together as children, and Lewis taught them his piano style. Gilley grew up just across the Mississippi River from where Lewis grew up. įor many years, Gilley lived in the shadow of his well-known cousin, Jerry Lee Lewis, a successful rock and roll singer and musician in the 1950s and early 1960s. Gilley is a son of Arthur Fillmore Gilley (Novem– February 2, 1982) and Irene (Lewis) Gilley (Septem– August 14, 1985) and was born in Natchez, Mississippi, United States. 1.3 Recording career in the 1980s with the success of Urban Cowboyīiography Early life and the rise to fame.1.2 Recording career in the 1970s before Urban Cowboy.
