Mickey Gilley
| Mickey Gilley | |
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Mickey Gilley in 1970
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Mickey Leroy Gilley |
| Born | March 9, 1936 |
| Origin | Natchez, Mississippi, United States |
| Genres | Country, pop, countrypolitan |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, piano |
| Years active | 1964–present |
| Labels | Dot, Paula, Playboy, Epic, Branson, Varèse Sarabande |
| Associated acts | Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl McVoy, Charly McClain |
| Website | www |
Mickey Leroy Gilley (born March 9, 1936) is an American country music singer and musician. 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. Among 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". He is a cousin of Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl McVoy, Jim Gilley and Jimmy Swaggart. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, Gilley is 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.
Gilley is a son of Arthur Fillmore Gilley (November 27, 1897 – February 2, 1982) and Irene (Lewis) Gilley (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 rock and roll singer and musician in the 1950s and early '60s. Gilley grew up just across the Mississippi River from where Lewis grew up. Gilley, Lewis, and their cousin Jimmy Swaggart played together as children, and Lewis taught them his piano style. 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 Meaux. His a 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".
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