Vern Gosdin

Although he is not as well known as his contemporaries Merle Haggard or George Jones, Singer-Songwriter Vern Gosdin is a genuine country music star charting twenty-seven hit records between 1978 and 1988. Interestingly, Gosdin's solo recording career represents a successful return to show business for a second act. He began his career in Alabama singing with his brothers, then moved to California in 1960. A skilled multi-instrumentalist, Gosdin started the Bluegrass group the Hillmen, with pre-Byrds mandolinist Chris Hillman, and later recorded an album with former Byrd Gene Clarke. He and his brother Rex hit the charts as the Gosdin Brothers once in 1967 with the song "Hanging On." Gosdin then spent the next nine years working outside the music industry. He proved to have a Midas touch when he came back to the business in 1977, though, and his song "Chiseled in Stone" was voted CMA Song of the Year in 1989. Gosdin sings in a soulful, well-worn voice that is absolutely convincing in its Honky-Tonk mournfulness.