Larry Gatlin enjoys youthful sound

Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

Country singer Larry Gatlin has lived that worn music cliché: "I've worked with the best, I've played with the best". The 'best' includes legends like Elvis Presley and Dottie West.

But he never tried reggae. Until now.

The 63-year-old Texan teams with dancehall singer Romain Virgo on California, one of 12 tracks on Reggae's Gone Country, an album to be released jointly in the United States on Wednesday by VP Records and Warner Music Nashville.

Gatlin is expected to be in Negril on Tuesday for the album's official launch at the Breezes Grand Negril Resort and Spa.

California is a fresh take on All The Gold in California, a massive hit for the Gatlin Brothers (which also includes his siblings Steve and Rudy) in 1979. Though he has visited Jamaica twice, Gatlin admits his knowledge of reggae is limited.

"Everybody knows about Jimmy Cliff and the Marley family but I'm not really familiar with the music," he said from his Nashville, Tennessee home.

"To find out that a young reggae singer from Jamaica would like the music of an old grandpa from Texas is amazing," he added.

Sole country act

Gatlin is the only country act who sings on Reggae's Gone Country, which features top Jamaican performers covering country classics like Patsy Cline's Crazy, Marty Robbins' El Paso and The Gambler by Kenny Rogers.

Etana covered Crazy, which was written by Willie Nelson, while Sanchez was brought in for El Paso and Busy Signal put his spin on The Gambler.

Gatlin got into the project through country singer John Rich who co-produced Reggae's Gone Country with saxophonist Dean Fraser.

The album was conceived two years ago by Rich and VP senior executive Cristy Barber, his close friend.

Most of the recording took place in Kingston at the Tuff Gong and Grafton studios with Sly and Robbie, guitarist Dwight Pinkney and bassist Glen Browne playing on most of the tracks.

Early this year, Virgo went to Nashville where he hob-knobbed with Rich and Gatlin, jamming with the latter at the Legend's Corner club. Gatlin has good words for Virgo, who has fast made a name for himself with songs like Mi Caan Sleep and Love Doctor.

"He's a wonderful young man, a good kid," he said.

Larry Gatlin has known a lot of wonderful artistes in his time. He was among a talented batch of acts who sprung up in country music during the late 1960s, getting his start writing songs for stars like West and Elvis.

He won a Grammy Award in 1977 for Best Country Song with Broken Lady, but his greatest success has come with his younger brothers with whom he scored All The Gold in California 32 years ago.

Gatlin says he first visited Jamaica in 1976 as a guest of country legend Johnny Cash, who owned a home in Montego Bay.

At the time, reggae was taking off internationally with Bob Marley, but Jamaicans still had an obsession with what was then known as country and western music from the American south.

Robbins was a major force here through his Gunfighter Ballads album which spawned standards like El Paso, Big Iron and Cool Water.

Skeeter Davis, Jim Reeves and later Rogers have long been Jamaican favourites.

Gatlin and his brothers keep busy, doing over 100 shows annually.

He keeps in tune with contemporary country music by listening to the pop flavour of Taylor Swift and more traditional acts like Sugarland and Bomshell.

It has been some time since Gatlin had a hit song. He says he enjoyed working with Virgo and hopes he and Virgo can duplicate the success of country star Kenny Chesney and The Wailers, who had a hit together four years ago with the song, Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven.

"Country radio won't play a 63-year-old grandpa, they play for 13- to 22-year-old girls. With Romain's help, I can get back on radio," he said, laughing.