Mickey Leroy Gilley (March 9, 1936 – May 7, 2022) was an American country music singer, businessman, actor, and musician.
Among his hits are "Room Full of Roses", "Don't the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time", and "Lonely Nights". Gilley charted 42 singles in the top 40 on the US Country chart. His cover of "Stand by Me" was used in the movie Urban Cowboy and his nightclub in Pasadena, Texas appeared in the movie. He was a cousin of Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl McVoy, and Jimmy Swaggart.
Biography
Early life and the rise to fame
Gilley was born March 9, 1936, to Arthur Fillmore Gilley (November 27, 1897 – February 2, 1982) and Irene Gilley ( Lewis; September 11, 1900 – August 14, 1985) in Natchez, Mississippi.
For many years, Gilley lived in the shadow of his well-known cousin, Jerry Lee Lewis, a successful singer and musician in the 1950s and early 1960s. Gilley grew up in Louisiana, just across the Mississippi River from where Lewis grew up. Gilley's family moved to the east side of Houston, Texas, in the 1940s, where he attended Galena Park High School. He was primarily a guitarist at the time and took his guitar to school to entertain classmates.
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 then cut a few singles and played sessions in New Orleans with producer Huey P. Meaux. His record "Call Me Shorty" on the Dot label sold well in 1958. In the 1960s, he played at many clubs and bars, gaining a following at the Nesadel Club in Pasadena, Texas. Paula Records released Gilley's first album, Down the Line, in 1967. He had a minor hit from the album called "Now I Can Live Again".
Recording career in the 1970s before Urban Cowboy
In 1974, just for fun, Gilley recorded a cover of "Room Full of Roses", written by Tim Spencer of the Sons of the Pioneers, which was a hit for George Morgan.
Career in the 1980s with the success of Urban Cowboy
By 1980, Gilley sought the crossover success that many country stars (including Eddie Rabbitt, Juice Newton, Kenny Rogers, The Oak Ridge Boys, and Dolly Parton) were experiencing. His career got new life when his cover of the soul standard "Stand by Me" was used in Urban Cowboy.
Gilley also appeared on "Urban Cowboys", episode 9 in the third season of American Pickers, which aired originally on September 5, 2011. In 2012, Gilley signed a Branson-based vocal group, Six, to a three-year lease to perform in his theater, with an option to buy it when the contract expired.
Gilley returned to the studio in 2017 and released Kickin' It Down the Road the same year. The CD contains several new recordings and several remakes of classic songs originally recorded by him.
In 2018, Gilley teamed up with longtime friend Troy Payne to record his last studio album Two Old Cats, a CD containing 13 classic country duets.
Personal life
Gilley's first wife was Geraldine Garrett, whom he married in 1953 (when he was 17 years old); they divorced in 1961. She was the mother of three of his four children (Keith Ray, Michael, and Kathy). She died on March 6, 2010. Gilley's second wife, whom he married in 1962, was Vivian McDonald. Together they had a son, Gregory (1966–2022). She died in 2019.
In July 2009, Gilley was helping a neighbor move some furniture when he fell with the love seat falling on top of him, crushing four vertebrae. The incident left him temporarily paralyzed from the neck down, but after intense physical therapy he was able to walk again and return to the stage a year later. However, he still lacked the hand-eye coordination necessary to play the piano.
Gilley died on May 7, 2022, of complications from bone cancer.
Honors
For his contribution to the recording industry, Mickey Gilley has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6930 Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, California.
On March 2, 2002, Gilley, along with his two famous cousins Lewis and Swaggart, was inducted into the Delta Music Museum Hall of Fame in Ferriday, Louisiana.
In 2020, a road in Pasadena, Texas, was renamed in his honor as Mickey Gilley Boulevard.
Gilley's Dallas, an entertainment complex in Dallas, Texas, is named for Gilley.
Other
Gilley was a licensed pilot, holding an instrument rating with commercial pilot privileges for multi-engine airplanes, as well as private pilot privileges for single engine aircraft.
Discography
Awards and nominations
Music City News Country Awards
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|1976
|Mickey Gilley
|Most Promising Male Artist
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|1984
|Mickey Gilley and Charly McClain
|Vocal Duo of the Year
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|}
Academy of Country Music Awards
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|1975
|rowspan=3| Mickey Gilley
|Most Promising Male Vocalist
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|-
|rowspan=3| 1976
|Top Male Vocalist of the Year
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|Entertainer of the Year
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|"Overnight Sensation"
|rowspan=2| Single Record of the Year
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|-
|rowspan=6| 1977
|rowspan=2| "Bring It On Home to Me"
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|-
|rowspan=2| Song of the Year
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|-
|"Don't the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time"
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|-
|Gilley's Smoking
|Album of the Year
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|-
|rowspan=3| Mickey Gilley
|Top Male Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
|Entertainer of the Year
|
|-
|1978
|Top Male Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
|1984
|Mickey Gilley and Charly McClain
|Top Vocal Duo of the Year
|
|-
|2005
|Mickey Gilley
|Triple Crown Award
|
|}
References
- Rhodes, Don (1998). "Mickey Gilley". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Ed. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 202.
External links
- Official Website
- Mickey Gilley at Third Coast Talent
- at the Delta Music Museum Hall of Fame
- Gilley's Early Rock and Roll Recordings