New CD returns Gatlins to Nashville

LARRY GATLIN

Longtime country vocalist, bandleader and songwriter Larry Gatlin freely admits that when he and his brothers left Nashville more than 16 years ago and returned to Texas he didn't anticipate returning to do any writing or singing.

“Well things had gotten to a point where we just weren't having the kind of success that we'd had earlier and I just felt it was the end of the run and time to do something else,” Gatlin said. “I wasn't very happy at the time and I did have some hard feelings about it and about Nashville.”

But those feelings are definitely in the past these days.

The Gatlin brothers have a strong new CD, Pilgrimage, one that Larry Gatlin says he's as happy with and excited about as any they've ever done.

“This project came about in part because I was convinced to come back to Nashville by people that I'm very close to and whose opinions I really respect,” he said. “Terry Choate and Leslie Satcher told me that there were a lot of young bands and current artists who really loved our harmonies and were huge fans of our music. They told me to come back and write some more songs and do some other things.”

The Pilgrimage includes several stirring, reflective and autobiographical tracks, most notably “The Pilgrim: Country Music Will Never Be The Same,” a masterful tribute to Johnny Cash that's also the disc's first single released to country radio.

The first album that Larry Gatlin recorded included liner notes from Johnny Cash. It was Cash who dubbed him “the pilgrim” and when Gatlin cut his first release on the Monument label produced by the legendary Fred Foster they called it The Pilgrim.

“That song kind of sums up my feelings about what Johnny Cash meant to me, his importance to country music, and for that matter, to the world at large,” Gatlin said. “He was simply one of a kind, and those types of people don't come around very often. It was an honor to do a song in his memory, and we're really thrilled that John Carter Cash also did the liner notes for it as well.”

Gatlin's still evocative, powerful tenor and heartfelt harmonies with brothers Steve and Rudy remain a band trademark, but other numbers like “The Pilgrim: Now It's Your Turn,” “Say, Nashville Wadda Ya Say” and “The Pilgrim: I Never Had A Big Brother” display deep, passionate feelings about the country audience, the music's tradition, and his place in it.

Likewise, “Sweet Becky Walker,” “Come Back To Texas,” “Handsome Young Gringo” and “If I Ever See Utah Again” reaffirm Gatlin's flair with language, ability to intersperse colorful metaphors and transitional phrases within the songs, and the overall linguistic skills that reflect his writing background as an English major.

Another twist is the fact that in today's country universe, Gatlin and his brothers, once pegged in some singers as the prime embodiment as polished pop influences seeping into a traditional sound are now squarely part of the mainstream, even though they haven't had a major radio hit since 1989. But in their heyday during the '70s and '80s, they stayed on the country charts almost constantly.

While Larry Gatlin initially got his break as a background singer for Kris Kristofferson and even had both a number one hit and earned a Grammy award with the song “Broken Lady,” it was when he began recording with his brothers that things really exploded.

They officially became Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers in 1979 with the album Straight Ahead. The single “All The Gold In California” topped the charts, and they remained a hot item through much of the '80s, before cooling off near the end of the decade with the rise of the “New Traditional” sound.

They finally did a “farewell tour” in 1992. Among the many things Larry Gatlin did during his long time away from Nashville was write a memoir, All The Gold In California, star on Broadway in The Will Rogers Follies and portray himself in a TV-movie about Dottie West's life, Big Dreams & Broken Hearts.

Still an avid golfer, Gatlin's also a proud grandfather and at 60 has no illusions about anything regarding the music business, nor any bitterness about current trends or styles.

“I think there's a lot of great young artists out there today, and I wish them well,” he said. “I'm very philosophical about what may or may not happen with this disc, but I think if the people get a chance to her it, they will like it. You never know these days about what radio might or might not play, but I hope they give us a chance.”

“For me, my biggest thrill now, aside from Granddad days, comes in songwriting and performing.”