Paul Gilley

Herbert Paul Gilley (October 1, 1929 – June 16, 1957) was an American country music lyricist and promoter from Kentucky. In his lifetime, he was little known as a songwriter, but decades after his death by drowning at age 27, he was identified more widely as likely having written the lyrics to a dozen famous songs, including two that were hits for Hank Williams: "Cold, Cold Heart" and "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry". He may have also written "I Overlooked an Orchid", which was a number-one country hit in 1974 for Mickey Gilley (no relation). Other songs that have been attributed to Gilley include "If Teardrops Were Pennies", "Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes", and "Crazy Arms".

Gilley's contributions to songwriting are not widely known; he is not listed in the Oxford New Encyclopedia of Country Music published by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, nor in Barry McCloud's Definitive Country encyclopedia. However, his hometown declared a Paul Gilley Day in 2012, and Morgan County, Kentucky, local historian W. Lynn Nickell wrote and published a biography, Paul Gilley: The Ghost Writer in the Sky.

Early life Gilley was born on a farm in the small town of Maytown, Kentucky, on October 1, 1929, the only child of father McClellan "Clell" Gilley (1889–1963) and mother Nora Alice Gilley (née Phipps, 1890–1958). He grew up a very tall boy, attending high school in nearby Ezel, where he wrote poetry – his friends said he was able to converse in rhyme. Gilley played basketball in high school. He was listed under "Honorable Mention" on the All-State Basketball Squad in 1944. Gilley entered Morehead State College in the fall of 1950 on a basketball scholarship, but he left after the spring semester of 1952. He wrote an article on songwriting for the summer 1951 edition of the student publication, Inkpot, and was featured in the campus newspaper The Trail Blazer in April 1951 and February 1952.

Promoter In 1949, Gilley began promoting bluegrass and country music acts, starting with a performance by the Stanley Brothers in Campton. Gilley apparently sold them his song "A Fallen Star", which was later recorded by Jim Reeves, Conway Twitty, and Bill Monroe, though the lyrics were credited to James Joiner. In 1956 he promoted Beverly Bresson.

Songwriter Gilley wrote song lyrics in high school. In his first year of college, he wrote an essay titled "Getting a Song Published", warning against the "song shark", who asks for payment from the songwriter. In the Morehead Inkpot, Gilley was credited as the writer of "Cold, Cold Heart", jokingly said to have been inspired by a basketball referee.

Death Gilley drowned while swimming in a neighbor's pond on June 16, 1957. He was 27 years old. His protective mother was shattered by the death, and she burned his papers, destroying much of the evidence of his songwriting career.

Legacy Maytown, Kentucky, declared Paul Gilley Day on June 9, 2012, to honor the songwriter. At the same time, a new biography of Gilley was announced, self-published by historian W. Lynn Nickell as Paul Gilley: The Ghost Writer in the Sky. Carl Smith denies that Carl Story was involved. The song was recorded first by Johnnie & Jack in 1950, then in 1974 by Mickey Gilley to become a number-one hit on the country charts. (Mickey Gilley is not related to Paul Gilley.) Paul reportedly played the song first for his college friends in 1949 or early 1950. but Nickell writes that Gilley sold the song to Carl Smith. Ray Price reached number four with his country version, then Skeets McDonald released a western swing version. Perry Como enjoyed the biggest hit with the song in late 1952, gaining crossover sales to reach number one on Billboards pop chart. Other notable versions include recordings by Keely Smith in 1959 and k. d. lang in 1988. Gilley has been named as the writer of the lyrics. The song was recorded by Ray Price in Nashville on March 1, 1956, with a 4/4 shuffle beat. The single became Price's first number-one hit on the Billboard country chart, and established his unique sound. Price later said he got the song from a Tampa disc jockey named Bob Martin, in the form of an obscure record with a man–woman duet on the Pep label. After the song became a hit for Price, a California producer named Claude Caviness contacted Price to tell him that the woman singing was his wife, Marilyn Kaye, and that he owned Pep and held the rights to the song. Caviness and Price joined forces in 1959 to publish music under Caviness' reworked Pamper label, with artist manager James Harrell "Hal" Smith as the third owner. Among the many other cover versions of "Crazy Arms" are ones by Patsy Cline in 1964, Willie Nelson in 1970, and Linda Ronstadt in 1972. Gilley is said to have sold the song lyrics to Mooney, who wrote songs for Pep. "Satan Can't Hold Me", co-written with Frank Kratz and Orville Stevens, was recorded by Jim Reeves for the 1959 RCA Victor album Songs to Warm the Heart. "Your Eyes", co-written with Billy Hale and Carter Gibbs. Recorded by Billy Jack Hale in Nashville on April 19, 1957. Original release as Decca Records catalog 9-30447.