Larry Gatlin is an American Country and Southern gospel singer and songwriter. He was born in Seminole, Texas in 1948, the son of a driller in the oil field. Larry had two younger brothers, Steve and Rudy, and by the time he was seven years old, he was singing at church and family events with them.
Larry attended the University of Houston on a football scholarship. It was there that he majored in English and developed “a love affair with the English Language.” This would eventually serve him well in his songwriting, a talent that would make him known throughout the Nashville Music Industry.
He began touring in small venues as a solo act while his brothers were in college. Including his brothers in the act was always his intention. The dream finally came true in 1976 when the brothers began to tour extensively. They performed throughout the United States, Canada and overseas until 1992. Together they earned some of the most prestigious awards in the industry and cranked out hit after hit.
Every Gatlin Brothers hit was penned by Larry. He would go on to write songs that were recorded by Elvis Presley, Glen Campbell, Barbra Streisand, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Charlie Rich, Johnny Mathis, Dottie West and many more. They would round off their career in December of 1992. It was marked by a farewell tour as they completed their ADIOS TOUR with a CD of the same name.
Following the brothers career, Larry took the opportunity to play the lead role on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning musical “The Will Rogers Follies.” The musical eventually toured throughout the nation gaining rave reviews at every stop along the way.
Larry would go on to write an autobiography, All The Gold In California, record a solo album, In My Life, and occasionally tour solo.
In the early 2000’s the Gatlin Brothers reunited for selective show dates and in 2008, they recorded their first album in nearly two decades. It was titled Pilgrimage. They celebrated 60 ways of playing together with the release of a new album, The Gospel According to Gatlin.
Larry currently resides in Nashville. He lives with his wife Janis of 44 years. They are the proud parents of two children, Josh and Kristin. He is also “Papa” to Kristin’s daughters, Parker and Campbell. More information about Larry can be found at the Gatlin Brothers’ website, https://www.gatlinbrothers.com/larry-gatlin.