Larry Wayne Gatlin (born May 2, 1948)^[1] is an American country and Southern gospel singer and songwriter. As part of a trio with his younger brothers Steve and Rudy, he achieved considerable success within the country music genre, performing on 33 top-40 singles (combining his solo recordings and those with his brothers). As their fame grew, the band became known as Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers. Larry Gatlin is known for his tenor voice and for the country songs he wrote and recorded in the 1970s and 1980s. Some of Gatlin's biggest hits include "Broken Lady", "All the Gold in California", "Houston (Means I'm One Day Closer to You)", "She Used to Be Somebody's Baby", and "Night time magic". During this time, country music trended heavily towards slick pop music arrangements in a style that came to be known as Countrypolitan. Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers came to prominence and enjoyed their greatest success during this period with hit singles that showcased the brothers' rich gospel-inflected harmonies and Larry's poetic lyrics. Gatlin was born in Seminole in Gaines County, Texas, United States, next to the New Mexico border. His father was an oilfield worker, and the family lived in several locations while he was a youth, including Abilene and Odessa. He was reared listening to country and Southern gospel music. His brothers, Steve and Rudy, and he have performed together since childhood; when they were younger, they often sang in their local church with their sister, LaDonna, joining them. They sometimes performed on local radio stations, and occasionally on television shows. They also recorded a gospel music album for the gospel label Sword and  hield. The brothers managed to beat Roy Orbison in a local talent contest.^[ In 1964, Gatlin was a quarterback at Odessa High School. After graduation in 1966, Gatlin was eligible to serve in the military during the Vietnam War; however, he did not, instead choosing to attend the University of Houston. As a wide receiver on the football team, he caught a touchdown pass in a 1968 game in which his team, the Cougars, scored 100 points. He later auditioned for and joined the Gospel music group The Imperials. The Imperials went on to perform in Las Vegas, Nevada, in January 1971 at Jimmy Dean's Las Vegas Revue. While walking through the showroom, he caught country singer Dottie West's attention, who thought he looked like Mickey Newbury.West soon met Gatlin and was impressed with his songwriting skills. She recorded two of Gatlin's compositions, "You're the Other Half of Me" and "Once You Were Mine".^[1] West also passed one of Gatlin's demonstration tapes around Nashville, Tennessee, and even arranged for him to relocate there, purchasing a plane ticket for him; a story he related on the November 12, 2009 episode of Larry's Country Diner on RFD-TV. West later recorded other compositions by Gatlin that would later become hits for him, including "Broken Lady", which was put on West's 1978 album, Dottie.