Don Gibson: The King of Country Soul / More Country Soul / Dottie & Don / Sings All Time Country Gold, Four Albums on 2CDs

• The four albums featured in this collection, recorded in 1968 and 1969, come from Don Gibson’s final days with RCA.
• All four albums appear on CD for the first time.

They reveal his skills as both a singer and songwriter. His distinctive vocal styling living up to the ‘Country Soul’ album titles alongside the “sad poet” nickname given to him as many of his songs were about loneliness and heartbreak.

The third album is a duet collection, always popular with Country fans. Here, Gibson was teamed with the fellow RCA recording artist, Dottie West.

‘All-Time Country Gold’ included new recordings of his originals ‘Oh, Lonesome Me’ and ‘I Can’t Stop Loving You’ alongside standards like ‘Half As Much’, ‘Tennessee Waltz’, ‘Four Walls’ and ‘Am I That Easy To Forget’.

It took Don Gibson almost 10 years to achieve “overnight success” as a major recording artist.‘I Can’t Stop Loving You’ and ‘Oh, Lonesome Me’ catapulted him from Country success to the far greater realms of International pop stardom. Both songs were written one afternoon when the very despondent Gibson was living in a Knoxville trailer park.

Born Donald Eugene Gibson into a poor share-cropping family in Shelby, North Carolina on 3rd April 1928. He died on 17th November 2003. His success was recognised by induction into the Nashville Songwriters’ Hall of Fame in 1973 and 18 years later, into both the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame and Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame, the last being Country Music’s highest honour.

TRACK LISTING

DISC ONE

THE KING OF COUNTRY SOUL

1  ASHES OF LOVE

2  FADED LOVE

3  THEY’LL NEVER TAKE HER LOVE FROM ME

4  HEADIN’ DOWN THE WRONG HIGHWAY

5  MAIDEN’S PRAYER

6  A THING CALLED SADNESS

7  WHAT NOW MY LOVE

8  YOU’VE STILL GOT A PLACE IN MY HEART

9  EVERLOVIN’ NEVER CHANGING MIND

10  GOOD MORNING DEAR

11  I JUST SAID GOODBYE TO MY DREAMS

12  WHAT LOCKS THE DOOR

MORE COUNTRY SOUL

13  LOW AND LONELY

14  SOMEDAY YOU’LL CALL MY NAME

15  FUNNY, FAMILIAR, FORGOTTEN FEELINGS

16  IT’S A LONG, LONG WAY TO GEORGIA

17  HALF A MAN

18  SOME DAY (YOU’LL WANT ME TO WANT YOU)

19  FORGET ME

20  SHE’S LOOKING GOOD

21  I WALK ALONE

22  YOU CAN’T PICK A ROSE IN DECEMBER

23  DON’T ROB ANOTHER MAN’S CASTLE

24  I’M SO LONESOME I COULD CRY

DISC TWO

DOTTIE & DON

1  TIL I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE

2  RINGS OF GOLD

3  HOW’S THE WORLD TREATING YOU

4  FINAL EXAMINATION

5  I LOVE YOU BECAUSE

6  SWEET DREAMS

7  LET’S WAIT A LITTLE LONGER

8  SET ME FREE

9  SWEET MEMORIES

10  I’LL NEVER STAND IN YOUR WAY

11  LOVIN’ SEASON

12  WHEN I STOP DREAMING

SINGS ALL-TIME COUNTRY GOLD

13  HALF AS MUCH

14  TENNESSEE WALTZ

15  BONAPARTE’S RETREAT

16  ALMOST PERSUADED

17  A LITTLE BITTY TEAR

18  FOUR WALLS

19  GOOD DEAL, LUCILLE

20  I CAN’T STOP LOVING YOU

21  ONE HAS MY NAME (THE OTHER HAS MY HEART)

22  OH, LONESOME ME

23  HERE COMES MY BABY BACK AGAIN

24  AM I THAT EASY TO FORGET