Paul Gilley

Paul Gilley
Background information
Birth nameHerbert Paul Gilley
Born(1929-10-01)October 1, 1929
Maytown, Kentucky, US
DiedJune 16, 1957(1957-06-16) (aged 27)
Morgan County, Kentucky, US
GenresCountry
Occupation(s)Lyricist, music promoter
Years active1949–1957

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).[1][2][3] 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".[4]

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.[5] 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.[4][6]

  1. ^ "Songwriter Paul Gilley". Kentucky Life. Kentucky Educational Television (KET). July 29, 2013. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  2. ^ Staff (June 6, 2012). "E.Ky. writer penned two of Hank Sr.'s biggest hits". The Mountain Eagle. Whitesburg, Kentucky.
  3. ^ Chet Flippo (1997). Your Cheatin' Heart: A Biography of Hank Williams (revised ed.). Plexo. pp. 7, 130, 150. ISBN 9780859652322.
  4. ^ a b "New biography on Morgan Co. songwriter Paul Gilley". Appalachian Attitude. WMMT 88.7 Mountain Community Radio. July 2, 2012. Archived from the original on 2021-12-04. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  5. ^ Grant Alden (August 26, 2013). "Paul Gilley and why maybe you should have heard of him". No Depression: The Journal of Roots Music. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
  6. ^ Staff (March 1, 2012). "Paul Gilley Day set June 9" (PDF). Licking Valley Courier. Vol. 101, no. 20. p. 1.