Don Gibson biography

Singer/songwriter Don Gibson was one of the most popular and influential forces in '50s and '60s country, scoring numerous hit singles as a performer and a songwriter. Gibson's music touched on both traditional country and highly produced country-pop, which is part of the reason he had such a broad audience. For nearly a decade after his first hit single, "Sweet Dreams," in 1956, he was a reliable hit maker, and many of his songs have become country classics.

He was born in 1928 as Donald Eugene Gibson in Shelby, NC, the youngest of five children of Solon and Mary Gibson. His father, a railroad worker, died when Gibson was just two years old, and his mother remarried in the early '40s, when Don Gibson was still a boy - by that time, the family survived as sharecroppers, but even as a boy the youngest Gibson hated farming, and as he grew older he made the decision to get as far away from it as possible. He ceased attending school regularly after the second grade, a decision that he regretted in the years to come.

At the age of 14 he bought a guitar and learned some rudimentary chords. He was soon sitting with the instrument, watching and listening to other, older boys and men playing, and trying to pick up on what they were singing and playing.

In 1946, when Gibson was 16 years old, he and some  teenage friends formed a group called  the Hi-Lighters. He was still earning his living doing outside jobs, when a radio salesman named Marshall Pack chanced to hear the Hi-Lighters. He was impressed with the entire group but most especially with Gibson's singing, and he, in turn, convinced Mercury Records producer Murray Nash that the group might be worth an audition. Out of that chance encounter came Gibson's first recording, a set of four songs: "Automatic Mama," "I Love My Love," "Cloudy Skies" and "Why Am I So Lonely"; the latter was also the first song written by Don Gibson to see the light of day as a record. All four sides were issued by Mercury, credited to the Sons of the Soil.

Gibson marked time for a while, until a chance at a contract with RCA Victor opened up in 1950. He put together a new group called the King Cotton Kinfolks and also took back his rhythm guitar spot in the new band.

In 1955, he began to compose songs in earnest, and one of his originals, "Sweet Dreams," especially impressed a friend of Gibson's named Mel Foree, who worked for Acuff-Rose publishers. He, in turn, arranged for Wesley Rose - a partner in the company - to see Gibson perform the song. He offered Gibson a writing contract, which he accepted, but only if it included a chance to record. Rose agreed, and Acuff-Rose secured him a contract with MGM Records. This time, with his own song "Sweet Dreams" as the A-side, the resulting debut single for the label became a Top Ten hit and was covered by Faron Young, who took it to number three at the same time.

Following the success of "Sweet Dreams," Gibson was signed to RCA Victor in 1957 by Chet Atkins, who would become his producer for the next seven years. Released early in 1958, Gibson's first RCA single, "Oh Lonesome Me," was a blockbuster, spending eight weeks at the top of the country charts and crossing over into the pop Top Ten. That same year, he realized a long-held dream when he made his first appearance at the Grand Ole Opry. Gibson and Atkins developed a pop-friendly style featuring rock & roll flourishes that brought him to a larger audience -- he was a country artist, to be sure, but listening to some of his songs during the late '50s one could also hear the influence of artists such as Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly woven into his work, all sounding perfectly natural.

In the course of 1958-1961, Gibson had a total of 11 Top Ten singles, including "I Can't Stop Lovin' You," "Blue Blue Day," "Who Cares," "Don't Tell Me Your Troubles," "Just One Time," "Sea of Heartbreak," and "Lonesome Number One." "I Can't Stop Lovin' You," along with a brace of his other compositions, became instant country and pop standards in the hands of other artists, and successful as Gibson was as a recording artist, he was even more influential as a composer.

Although his career wasn't as successful in the latter half of the '60s, he still had the occasional Top Ten single, including "(Yes) I'm Hurting" (1966), "Funny, Familiar, Forgotten, Feelings" (1966), "Rings of Gold" (1969), and "There's a Story (Goin' Round)" (1969).

After two Top Ten hits in 1974 -- "One Day at a Time" and "Bring Back Your Love to Me" -- he settled into a string of minor hits that ran until 1980's "Love Fires." During the '80s and '90s, he continued to tour and perform at the Grand Ole Opry.

Gibson died in Nashville on November 17, 2003.