Don Gibson
Donald Eugene Gibson was born in Shelby, North Carolina on April 3, 1928 into a poor working class family. With a limited formal education, his career as a singer/songwriter began by performing in local clubs and on the radio.
Moving to Tennessee as a young man he joined the KNOX barn dance in Knoxville before recording his own composition, âOh Lonesome Meâ in Nashville. It would be a chart topping hit on both the country and pop Hit Parade in 1958. It was followed by another song Don wrote, a top ten country hit, âI Canât Stop Loving You,â that would later become a #1 world wide hit for Ray Charles. âBlue Blue Day,â âGive Myself A Partyâ and âLook Whoâs Blueâ were also hits in 1958.
With more than eighty country and pop hits to his credit, including âSweet Dreamsâ in 1960, âSea of Heartbreakâand âLonesome #1â in 1961 and his #1 âWoman, Sensuous Womanâ in 1972, Gibson also had success singing duets with Dottie West and Sue Thompson.
In 1973, he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and prior to his death at 75 years of age on November 17, 2003, Don Gibson was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001.
He was buried at the Sunset Cemetery in his hometown of Shelby, North Carolina.