Pure Country

[Colt1861Navy]

Vern Gosdin

Vern Gosdin's career in music began where he was born, Alabama, singing gospel music on the radio. Later on he and his brother Rex teamed up to explore bluegrass music in California where they worked briefly with Chris Hillman (Founding member of The Byrds) in his bluegrass band called The Hillmen. The Gosdin Brothers scored a top forty hit in '67, but shortly afterward Gosdin briefly retired. He re-emerged in the mid '70s as a solo artist and went on to score top ten hits in the '70s, '80s and '90s.

Born in Woodland, Alabama, August 5, 1934, to a farm family, Gosdin began singing in church. "I've been singing as long as I can remember. I sang in church and always loved it. If you loved singing as much as I did, I don't think there was any way to get away from it," says Gosdin. With his brothers Rex and Ray, he organized The Gosdin Family Gospel Show that appeared on radio in Birmingham. In 1953, he drifted to Atlanta, and later to Chicago where he opened a country nightclub that hired a 21 year-old tough guy as its bouncer named Beauford Pusser. "He was mean when he had to be, but a nice guy," Vern remembers.

In 1960, Vern joined his brother Rex in California. They hooked up wih a bluegrass band called The Golden State Boys that eventually included Chris Hillman and became The Hillmen. The brothers decided to move on to country music, and in 1967, scored a top forty hit on Bakersfield International with "Hangin' On." That was the one and only hit for the brothers and the label. While they were trying to hang on in California, Vern wrote a song called "Someone To Turn To" that ended up in the classic film, Easy Rider. That was one of the Gosdins' last hurrahs in California. When they could get nothing else going on the West coast, the frustrated brothers retired from show business and each opened a window glass business in Atlanta. Vern Gosdin stayed out of the music business for the next several years. Then, in '76, producer Gary Paxton talked him into recording again. This time it was as a solo artist on Elektra Asylum Records. Ironically, his first solo release, that reached number 16, was a remake of "Hangin' On," the song that had put the Gosdin Brothers on the chart nine years earlier.

Gosdin had evolved a classic country vocal style that made him a favorite among his peers and inspired critics to rank him up with Merle Haggard and George Jones as one of the best to ever sing a country song. Gosdin remained a frequent visitor to the top forty through the late '70s, hitting the top ten with "Yesterday's Gone," "Till the End" and "Never My Love."

In the early '80s, in spite of a series of label changes, he managed to continue hitting the top ten, and collected his first number one in '84 on Compleat Records with "I Can Tell By the Way You Dance (You're Gonna Love Me Tonight)." In '87, Gosdin's career seemed to slip again and he left Compleat. "I was about to give up on Nashville and go out to California. Merle (Haggard) had offered to record some stuff at his studios that I might pitch on TV, but when Bob Montgomery (Head of Columbia Nashville) heard about that, he offered to sign me at Columbia Records," Gosdin remembers. That turned out to be a great move for label and Gosdin. His album Chiseled in Stone was recorded for a measly $30,000 dollars, yet it became Gosdin's first gold record, was nominated for a Grammy and yielded four top ten hits including Gosdin's second number one, "Set 'Em Up Joe," a marvelous tribute to country legend, Ernest Tubb. His run of success on Columbia continued into the '90s. Gosdin was proud that, being a man in his fifties, he could reach the pinnacle of his career playing the music he loved, and do in the midst of a youth movement that was sweeping country music at the time.

In spite of two strokes in recent years, Vern Gosdin continues to perform occasionally and has recorded harmony vocals for other artists.

Top Albums

Chiseled in Stone (Columbia, '88)
Alone (Columbia, '89)
Top Songs
If You're Gonna Do Me Wrong (Do it Right) (Compleat, '83, 5)
Way Down Deep (Compleat, '83, 5)
I Can Tell By The Way You Dance (Compleat, '84, 1)
Do You Believe Me Now (Columbia, '87+, 4)
Set 'Em Up Joe (Columbia, '88, 1)
Who You Gonna Blame It On This Time (Columbia, '89, 2)
I'm Still Crazy (Columbia, '89, 1)
Additional solo country Top 40 hits: 23

Gosdin Brothers:
Hangin' On (Bakersfield International, '67, 37)




http://www.investorshub.com/boards/board.asp?board_id=1066
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/board.asp?board_id=1124
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/board.asp?board_id=1148
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/board.asp?board_id=1142