Friday, May 1, 2009

Vern Gosdin, 1934 - 2009

In his quiet, understated way, Vern Gosdin touched our hearts.

"He was one hell of a country singer......", George Strait said in a statement.

Country singers loved Vern Gosdin. You can hear a bit of that "heart in his throat" sound when you listen to him perform. Much like George Jones and Keith Whitley, when Vern sang a song, you felt it.

Vern began his career as a Gospel singer; then, with his brother, Rex, branched off into Bluegrass, forming the California group, The Hillmen, which included future Byrds' and future Desert Rose singer, Chris Hillman.

Vern had actually retired from the music business, before Emmylou came a'callin'. Here's a photo montage, set to the music of Yesterday's Gone, featuring Emmylou:



Here is Chiseled In Stone:



My all-time favorite recording by Vern is this one. I struggled to find an embeddable video, and this one probably won't be available for long, so please enjoy:

Here's That Just About Does It





Thank you, Vern. God rest ye.


~~~

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