His record 'Call Me Shorty' on the Dot label sold well in 1958. Gilley then cut a few singles and played sessions in New Orleans with producer Huey P. 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, Lewis, and their cousin, Jimmy Swaggart, played together as children. He was primarily a guitarist at the time and took his guitar to school to entertain classmates.

Gilley's family moved to the east side of Houston, Texas, in the 1940s, where he attended Galena Park High School. Gilley grew up in Louisiana, just across the Mississippi River from where Lewis grew up. įor many years, Gilley lived in the shadow of his well-known cousin, Jerry Lee Lewis, a successful rock and roll singer and musician in the 1950s and early 1960s. Gilley was born to Arthur Fillmore Gilley (Novem– February 2, 1982) and Irene Gilley ( née Lewis Septem– August 14, 1985) in Natchez, Mississippi. He was a cousin of Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl McVoy, and Jimmy Swaggart.īiography Early life and the rise to fame Gilley charted 42 singles in the top 40 on the US Country chart. Although he started out singing straight-up country and western material in the 1970s, he moved towards a more pop-friendly sound in the 1980s, bringing him further success on not just the country charts, but the pop charts as well.Īmong his biggest hits are ' Room Full of Roses', ' Don't the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time', and the remake of the Soul hit ' Stand by Me'. Mickey Leroy Gilley (Ma – May 7, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter.

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