Huntley Project Lions Club member Roger Bender, Left, driving the tractor with Dan Krum, middle, and Lyle Hill, right, preparing for this weekend’s Homesteader Days were at work Tuesday night placing 44 portable outhouses around Homesteader Park, where events begin Friday with an outdoor concert featuring the Gatlin Brothers, Craig Morgan and Bucky Beaver Ground Grippers. (Jonathan McNiven photo)
HOMESTEADER PARK — The gold in California may be in a bank in the middle of Beverly Hills, but the gold in the Gatlin Brothers’ music has been 60 years in the making.
Larry Gatlin and his brothers Steve and Rudy started performing in local churches in their hometown of Abilene, Texas in 1955 when they were 6, 4 and 2 years old.
Sixty years later, they are winding down a career on the road to focus on their families and other interests, although they will continue to perform.
The veteran musicians will take the stage Friday at 7 p.m. for Homesteader Days as part of their 60th Anniversary Tour.
They play Thursday in Regina, Canada before rolling through Huntley. Next week, they play the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee.
On the band’s website, Larry Gatlin says of their 60th Anniversary Tour, “We’re not calling it a farewell or a final tour. We’re calling it the 60th Anniversary Celebration. By no means are we retiring, but after this tour, we are going to slow down a little bit. The promoters are going to have to want us about three times more than they want us right now.”
As Larry says on the website, “There are other priorities in life. I have two granddaughters. Brother Steve has seven grandchildren and Rudy has two kids. We still love the fans and the road and we still love to sing but we want to spend more quality time with our families.”
Larry Gatlin began his adult career as performer and singer after attending University of Houston and majoring in English. His songs were performed by artists including Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Barbra Streisand and even Elvis Presley.
He recorded two solo albums and won Grammy in 1976. All three brothers were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry and signed a record deal with Columbia Records.
Their hits include “All the Gold in California,” which was single of the year in 1979, the same year Larry Gatlin won the Academy of County Music’s top male vocalist award. “Straight Ahead,” the album that contained the single, was named Album of the year.
The band toured extensively in the 1970s and 1980s before performing an “Adios Tour” in 1992 and taking a pause from touring before later resuming concert performances.
Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers are touring internationally this summer, with concert dates in the United States, Canada and Switzerland, and have released a new album, “Larry and the Gatlin Brothers 60th Anniversary Celebration.” Larry Gatlin joked that it could also be called, “The Gospel According to Gatlin.”
