Don Gibson biography
Date of birth : 1928-04-03
Date of death : 2003-11-17
Birthplace : Shelby, North Carolina
Nationality : American
Category : Arts and Entertainment
Last modified : 2011-02-03
Credited as : Country musician, songwriter, I Can't Stop Loving You
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Don Gibson composed such country standards as Oh, Lonesome Me and I Can't Stop Loving You. More than 150 artists have recorded the later classic, including Elvis Presley three times. Gibson's reap from the song even includes a gold record for the Ray Charles version.
Gibson knew he had something special the day he composed "I Can't Stop Loving You." He thought less of "Oh, Lonesome Me," written the same afternoon. "I thought it was nothing at all, so I sent it to Nashville and said, 'Give it to George Jones. I had no idea I'd ever cut it, but Chet Atkins and Wesley Rose said that was the one they wanted me to record. I said, 'I don't want to do that junk. I thought you'd given it to George.' Well they insisted, so I said, 'I'll do it if you let me put 'I Can't Stop Loving You' on the back. I think it's the best song.' They didn't want to. Then they said they would but weren't going to push it and they didn't."
Gibson also wrote such songs as "Blue Blue Day," "Legend in My Time," "Sweet Dreams," "Too Soon to Know," "Guess Away the Blues," "Country Green," "Who Cares" and scores of others. As a teenager, he worked at a variety of jobs, including one in the textile mills in his native North Carolina, "hopping curbs and even delivering baby diapers," he recalled. He worked to make enough money to finance his efforts to be an entertainer and songwriter.
He was still a youngster when he moved to Knoxville to perform on the WNOX Tennessee Barndance and Midday Merry-Go-Round. He soon organized his first band in the area. He then met Wesley Rose, president of Acuff-Rose Publishing in Nashville. Rose heard some of Gibson's songs and sought him out.
Gibson signed a songwriting contract with Rose and a recording contract with RCA. His first single was "Too Soon to Know," and the second, "Oh, Lonesome Me," won several major awards in the country music field in 1958. During this period, Gibson joined the Grand Ole Opry as a regular. He rejoined the Opry in 1975.
Gibson passed away in Nashville, Tenn. on Nov. 17, 2003.
