Don Gibson

Donald Eugene "Don" Gibson (born April 3, 1928 in Shelby ; North Carolina , † November 17, 2003 ) was an American country singer and songwriter . His best-known songs include I Can't Stop Loving You , Oh Lonesome Me , Sea of ​​Heartbreak and A Legend in My Time .

Career

family

Gibson was born in North Carolina in 1928, the youngest of five children of Solon and Mary Magdalene Gamble Gibson. In 1930 his father, who was employed by the railway, died; the family then moved to the stepfather's farm. Shy and stuttering, Don Gibson left elementary school after second grade in 1936 to help the family with the farm. In his spare time he taught himself to play the guitar, which earned him $ 30 a week in pubs. In 1940 he left the farm to earn money with music.

First appearances

As early as 1942 he was a professional guitarist, in 1944 he founded the Sons of the Soil with Ned Costner ( fiddle ) and Howard "Curly" Sisk (guitar) with Gibson as bassist and singer, who were employed in the same year by the local radio station WOHS and a similar style of music as the Sons of the Pioneers used to do . There they also appeared as Hi-Lighters , who went through a complete staff change with Billy Roberts ( trumpet ), Doc Whitmire ( accordion ), Howard Sisk (guitar / vocals), Jim Barber (fiddle) and founder Milton Scarborough (accordion / vocals) . An initial sound recording was organized by music producer Murray Nash at the WBBO radio station in Forrest City , North Carolina, for Mercury Records in October 1948 . This resulted in the line- up of Howard Sisk (guitar / vocals), Jim Barber (fiddle / vocals) and Milton Scarborough (accordion / vocals) with Don as singer and bassist the singles Cloudy Skies (February 1949) and Automatic Mama (April 1949), which brought no hit parade resonance. Gibson's first composition was Why am I so Lonely in October 1948 , which was recorded in that session and was to become the benchmark for later text content.

Don Gibson & His King Cotton Kinfolks - I Love No One But You (January 1951)

Frequent changes of record labels and band members were now the order of the day. Gibson's new band was called Don Gibson & His King Cotton Kinfolks from 1950 and auditioned with Steve Sholes for RCA Records . On October 17, 1950, they stood in front of the microphones of the WSOC radio station in Charlotte , North Carolina, under the production direction of Steve Sholes, who also monitored a recording session taking place for the first time in Nashville on October 10, 1951. It was first mentioned in Billboard magazine in January 1951, when the single I Love No One But You / Carolina Breakdown (B-side was an instrumental recording) was presented in the country division for RCA, but could not be placed either. With this band he appeared in 1952 on the country program Tennessee Barn Dance , which was broadcast by the radio station WNOX , which made WNOX aware of him. In August 1952 Gibson moved from RCA to Columbia Records . In 1953 he hired the bluegrass fiddler Kenneth Clayton "Kenny" Baker (born June 26, 1926, † July 8, 2011) for appearances in the Tennessee Barn Dance, to which he belonged for many years. Shortly thereafter, his last band broke up, so that session musicians were recruited for studio recordings.

The density of the recording dates was still comparatively low, because for Gibson they only took place annually. When he recorded his self-composed ballad Sweet Dreams for MGM Records on September 12, 1955 , Acuff Rose Music Publishing , the largest country music publisher, noticed him. Co-owner Wesley Rose hired him as a composer. With a ninth place in the country charts , it was Don Gibson's first and so far only hit parade, successfully covered by Faron Young (second place). Patsy Cline recorded Sweet Dreams shortly before her death and brought the title to number five on the charts in May 1963. A large number of other interpreters took up this title, including Reba McEntire (February 7, 1979; # 19). Gibson arrived in Nashville, which was increasingly establishing itself as the center of American country music.

Years of success

RCA had also recognized this trend and in early 1957 opened Studio B in Nashville, which is equipped with the latest studio technology. On February 25, 1957, the virtuoso country guitarist Chet Atkins led Gibson's recording session for the first time after he returned to RCA after a five-year absence. In early 1957 Atkins had taken over the studio management in Nashville from Steve Sholes, who had to concentrate largely on the production work with Elvis Presley ; Atkins remained Gibson's producer until 1964. When the Gibson compositions Oh Lonesome Me and I Can't Stop Loving You were recorded on December 3, 1957, the situation changed for the country singer, who had been relatively unsuccessful for over 10 years. Gibson was now one of the first to benefit from the Nashville Sound , as both titles already met the musical requirements of this style. Chet Atkins had taken out the fiddles for this and weakened the steel guitar. These were two of the early country hits that made it into the pop hit parade as a crossover .

Don Gibson - I Can't Stop Loving You

Ole Lonesome Me was actually the original title, but Oh Lonesome Me emerged from it as an uncorrected spelling mistake by a secretary in the recording studio. After its release in December 1957, Oh Lonesome Me was number one on the country charts for eight weeks and number seven on the pop hit parade. Now the market had apparently recognized Gibson's talents. Well-selling records and good placements in the country charts were then the top hit Blue Blue Day (June 26, 1957; first place), Give Myself a Party (recorded on February 27, 1958; fifth place) and Look Who's Blue from the same session (Eighth place), Who Cares (September 26, 1958; third place), Don't Tell Me Your Troubles (March 16, 1959; fifth place) or Just One Time (January 3, 1960; second place). One of his greatest hits, Sea of ​​Heartbreak (April 5, 1961; second place), did not come from his pen, but from Hal David and Paul Hampton, but lyrically sounded clearly like Gibson's melancholy spelling.

In November 1959, he was voted best country music songwriter for 1959, relegating successful authors Boudleaux and Felice Bryant to second place. The longest Gibson remained loyal to the record label RCA, namely from March 1957 to September 1970, when he moved to Hickory Records , which belonged to the music publisher Acuff-Rose. From August 1971 he brought out a large number of duets with Sue Thompson until April 1975. As a soloist, however, he had his last number one hit , Woman (Sensuous Woman) (April 11, 1972; # 1), written by Gary S. Paxton. Alcohol and other drugs threw him back from 1980, it was not until 1984 that he entered a recording studio again. On October 22, 1985 he made his last recordings, namely in the recording studio of his co-discoverer Chet Atkins; The session no longer produced hits. Then he retired from the music business.

Since 2000 he has been artificially fed through a feeding tube; his fourth wife, Barbara "Bobbi" Patterson Gibson, whom he married on June 4, 1967, cared for him. Don Gibson died in hospital in 2003 and is buried in the Sunset Cemetery of his hometown Shelby.

Statistics, covers and awards

Don Gibson wrote 201 songs, according to BMI ; for 15 he received a BMI award. His composition I Can't Stop Loving You alone appeared in at least 700 cover versions, the most successful being the million seller by Ray Charles . Roy Orbison recorded an entire album of Gibson songs, which was released in November 1966 under the title Roy Orbison Sings Don Gibson . With Too Soon to Know (June 1, 1966) Orbison had a pop hit in Great Britain (3rd place). Ronnie Milsap turned Gibsons (I'd Be) A Legend in my Time (November 1974) into a top hit in the country charts.

Gibson was able to place a total of 82 titles in the country charts, 65 of them in the Top40. Of his country hits, a total of 14 made it onto the pop hit parade between 1958 and 1961. When Elvis Presley happened to hear Gibson's typical two-finger guitar style in the RCA studio and Chet Atkins asked who it was, he replied: “That's Don Gibson”. Gibson first appeared in the Grand Ole Opry in 1958, was elected to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1973 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001.

Web links

• Don Gibson at Rock 'n' Roll AG

Discography (singles, selection; release date)

Mercury Records (as The Sons Of The Soil ):

• Cloudy Skies / I Lost My Love (The Color Song) (# 6158), February 1949
• Automatic Mama / Why Am I So Lonely (# 6178), April 1949

RCA Victor (as King Cotton Kinfolks ):

• I Love No One But You / Carolina Breakdown (48-0424) January 1951
• Wiggle Wag / Roses Are Red (48-0460), April 1951
• Red Lips, White Lies, And Blue Hours / Just Let Me Love You (47-4364), October 1951
• A Blue Million Tears / Dark Future (47-4473), January 1952

Columbia Records :

• No Shoulder To Cry On / We're Stepping Out Tonight, (4-20999), August 1952
• Sample Kisses / Let Me Stay In Your Arms (4-21060), January 1953
• Just Walkin 'In The Moonlight / I Just Love The Way You Tell (4-21109), May 1953
• You Cast Me Out / Waitin 'Down The Road (4-21156), September 1953
• Symptoms Of Love / Many Times I've Waited For You (4-21231), March 1954
• Selfish With Your Kisses / Ice Cold Heart (4-21281), July 1954

MGM Records :

• Run, Boy / I Must Forget You (K 12109), October 1955
• Sweet Dreams / The Road Of Life Alone (K 12194), March 1956
• I Ain't Gonna Waste My Time / Ah-ha (K 12290), July 1956
• I Believed In You / What A Fool (I Was To Fall For You) (K 12331), September 1956
• I'm Gonna Fool Everybody / You're The Only One For Me (K 12393), December 1956
• It Happens Everytime / I Ain't A-Studyin 'You, Baby (K 12494), June 1957

RCA Victor :

• I Love You Still / I Can't Leave (47-6860), March 1957
• Sittin 'Here Cryin' / Everything Turns Out For The Best (47-6942), June 1957
• Blue Blue Day / Too Soon To Know (47-7010), August 1957
• Oh, Lonesome Me / I Can't Stop Loving You (47-7133), December 1957
• Look Who's Blue / Give Myself A Party (47-7330), May 1958
• Who Cares (For Me) / Stranger To Me (47-7437), December 1958
• I Couldn't Careless / Lonesome Old House (47-7505), April 1959
• Don't Tell Me Your Troubles / Heartbreak Avenue (47-7566), July 1959
• Big Hearted Me / I'm Movin 'On (47-7629), October 1959
• Just One Time / I May Never Get To Heaven (47-7690), February 1960
• Sweet Dreams / The Same Street (47-7805), February 1960
• What About Me? / The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise (47-7841), February 1961
• Sea Of Heartbreak / I Think It's Best (To Forget Me) (47-7890), May 1961
• Lonesome Number One / The Same Old Trouble (47-7959), October 1961
• I Can Mend Your Broken Heart / I Let Her Get Lonely (47-8017), March 1962
• Baby, We're Really In Love / So How Come (No One Loves Me) (47-8085), September 1962
• Head Over Heels In Love With You / It Was Worth At All (47-8144), February 1963
• Anything New Gets Old / After The Heartache (47-8192), June 1963
• Oh, Such A Stranger / Fireball Mail (47-8367), May 1964
• Cause I Believe In You / A Love That Can't Be (47-8456), October 1964
• You're Going Away / Again (47-8589), May 1965
• Watch Where You're Going / There's A Big Wheel (47-8678), September 1965
• A Born Loser / All The World Is Lonely Now (47-8732), December 1965
• (Yes) I'm Hurtin '/ My Whole World Is Hurt (47-8812), April 1966
• Funny, Familiar, Forgotten Feelings / Forget Me (47-8975), October 1966
• Lost Highway / Around The Town (47-9177), April 1967
• All My Love / No Doubt About It (47-9266), July 1967
• Ashes Of Love / Good Morning, Dear (47-9460), February 1968
• It's A Long, Long Way To Georgia / Low And Lonely (47-9563), June 1968
• Ever-Lovin ', Never-Changing Mind / Thoughts (47-9663), November 1968
• Rings Of Gold / Final Examination (47-9715) January 1969 with Dottie West
• Solitary / I Just Say Goodbye To My Dreams (74-0143), April 1969
• Sweet Memories / How's The World Treating You? (74-0178) June 1969
• Half As Much / I Will Always (74-0219), August 1969
• There's A Story (Goin 'Round) / Lock, Stock, And Teardrops (74-0291), November 1969 with Dottie West
• 'Til I Can't Take It Anymore / I Love You Because (47-9867), June 1970 with Dottie West
• Montego Bay / If My Heart Had Windows (47-9906), September 1970

Hickory Records :

• Pretending Everyday / Don't Take All Your Loving (K-1559), February 1970
• A Perfect Mountain / Would You Believe Me (K-1571), June 1970
• Comfort For Your Mind / Someway (K-1579) September 1970
• Guess Away The Blues / I Wanna Live (K-1588), January 1971
• (I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle / Window Shopping (K-1598), May 1971
• The Two Of Us Together / Oh, Yes I Love You (K-1607), August 1971 with Sue Thompson
• Country Green / Move It On Over (K-1614), October 1971
• What's Happened To Me / Far, Far Away (K-1623), February 1972
• Love's Garden / Did You Ever Think (K-1629), April 1972 with Sue Thompson
• Woman (Sensuous Woman) / If You Want Me To I'll Go (K-1638), May 1972
• Over There's A Door / I Think They Call It Love (K-1646), July 1972 with Sue Thompson
• Watching It Go / Is This The Best I'm Gonna Feel (K-1651), October 1972
• 'Cause I Love You / My Tears Don't Show (K-1654), December 1972 with Sue Thompson
• Lonesome Number One / If You're Going Girl (K-1661), January 1973
• Go With Me / The Two Of Us Together - 02-73 with Sue Thompson
• Touch The Morning / Too Soon To Know (K-1665), April 1973
• Too Soon To Know / Touch The Morning (HK 301), June 1973
• That's What I'll Do / Sweet Dreams (HK 306), September 1973
• Snap Your Fingers / Love Is A Lonesome Thing (H 312), December 1973
• Bring Back Your Love / Drinking Champagne (H 327), August 1974
• Pocatello / I'll Sing For You (H 338), January 1975
• I Wish Her Well / Funny, Familiar, Forgotten Feelings (H 345), May 1975
• Don't Stop Loving Me / Somebody's Words (H 353), August 1975
• You've Got To Stop Hurtin 'Me / Blues In My Mind (H 365), February 1976
• Doing My Time / The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise (H 372), May 1976
• I'm All Wrapped Up On You / We Live In Two Different Worlds (AH-54001), October 1976
• Fan The Flame, Feed The Fire / Bringin 'In The Georgia Mail (AH-54010), February 1977
• If You Ever Get To Houston (Look Me Down) / It's All Over (AH-54014), June 1977
• When Do We Stop Starting Over / Love Is Not The Way (AH-54019), October 1977
• Starting All Over Again / I'd Rather Die Young (AH-54024), February 1978
• The Fool / Every Song I Sang Would Be Blue (AH-54029), May 1978
• Oh, Such A Stranger / I Love You Because (AH-54036), September 1978
• Any Day Now / Look Who's Blue (AH-54039), November 1978

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Worldpress, August 5, 2011, Don Gibson
2. ^ A synonym for hillbilly
3. ↑ Billboard Magazine, Jan. 6, 1951, New Releases , p. 17
4. ↑ WNOX was founded in 1921 as WNAV and is one of the ten oldest radio stations in the USA; The Tennessee Encyclopedia
5. ^ Ed Hooper, Knoxville's WNOX , 2009, p. 10
6. ↑ Billboard Magazine, September 13, 1952, p. 102
7. ^ Paul Kingsbury, The Encyclopedia of Country Music , 1998, p. 199
8. ^ Colin Larkin, The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music , 1993, p. 502
9. ↑ Billboard Magazine, Nov. 9, 1959, Gibson Voted Top C&W Songwriter , p. 22
10. ↑ The Shelby Star of November 8, 2004, She Can't Stop Loving Him ( Memento of the original of September 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
11. ↑ Waymarking over the grave of Don Gibson
12. ↑ BMI entry via Don Gibson  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
13. ^ CD Don Gibson, The Singer, The Songwriter 1949-1960 ; Liner Notes by Dale Vinicur / Charles Wolfe, May 1993