Larry Gatlin

Larry Gatlin (born May 2, 1948 in Seminole, Texas) is an American singer, songwriter, stage actor, and author.

The son of an oil field worker, he was the eldest of three Gatlin boys who all began singing together as small boys at family and church socials. A star football in high school, after graduating he studied at the University of Houston on a football scholarship. His singing and songwriting anilities eventually led him to Nashville, Tennessee and to Monument Records where he had several successful solo records beginning in the mid 1970s and became part of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee 1976.

In 1977, Larry Gatlin won the Grammy Award for Best Country Song for his composition of ""Broken Lady" and in 1979 he was voted the "Top Male Vocalist of the Year" by the Academy of Country Music.

However, he is also well known for his 1980s hit songs with the Gatlin Brothers on the Columbia Records label, notably their No.1 hits "All the Gold in California" (1979) and "Houston (Means I'm One Day Closer to You)" (1983).

In 1985, Larry Gatlin teamed up with Barry Gibb to write the song "Indian Summer" that he would record as a duet with singing legend, Roy Orbison.

After a decade singing together, in December of 1992 the Gatlin Brothers embarked on a farewell tour before retiring to their own theater in Branson, Missouri. Larry Gatlin went on to star in the Broadway production of "The Will Rogers Follies."

Larry Gatlin wrote a book called "All the Gold in California" that was published in 1998.