Larry Gatlin

They were featured on some of Gatlin's other hits he had during the late 1970s, notably "I Don't Wanna Cry", "Love Is Just a Game", and "Statues Without Hearts". Read Less

That year, their name was officially "Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers". In October, they released the album, Straight Ahead. It spawned the classic single "All the Gold in California", which became their biggest hit together, taking the No. 1 spot on the Hot Country Songs list. This was Larry Gatlin's second number one hit, and led to his being awarded "Top Male Vocalist of the Year" by the Academy of Country Music that year. On June 06, 1980, Straight Ahead was certified gold.

The group's next big hit came in early 1980, with "Take Me To Your Lovin' Place", which peaked at No. 5 in 1981; they followed up with "What Are We Doin' Lonesome", which peaked at No. 4 later in the year. They continued their hit success, garnering top 10 and top 20 hits, with "In Like With Each Other" (1982), "She Used to Sing on Sunday" (1982), "Sure Feels Like Love" (1982), "Almost Called Her Baby By Mistake" (1983), and "Denver" (1984). In 1983, the group had their third (and last) No. 1 hit, "Houston (Means I'm One Day Closer to You)". On January 19, 1985, the Gatlin Brothers sang "All the Gold in California" at the nationally-televised 50th Inaugural Gala, the day before the second inauguration of Ronald Reagan. Even though the group never achieved another No. 1 hit, they had hits that came close, like the jaunty release in 1986, "She Used to Be Somebody's Baby" (which peaked at No. 2), as well as 1987's "Talkin' to the Moon", and 1988's "Love of a Lifetime" (both of which peaked at No. 4). Read Less

However, their duet only reached No. 21. Read Less

In concert, he had begun to struggle with the high falsetto notes that were featured prominently in most of his songs. After recovery, Gatlin worked briefly with an opera coach and his vocals took on a powerful operatic style in the early 1990s. Read Less