Word: gilley
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...rooms Gilley was playing, they were packed with mostly rambunctious cowpokes. Reckoning that the bar denizens wouldn't fight nearly as much if they could compete another way, Cryer rolled mechanical bulls into the establishment--in spite of Gilley's objections. The rest is movie history. Gilley burst onto the national stage with Urban Cowboy, a love story about an urban cowpoke and the girl who rides a mechanical bull better than he does. Set in Gilley's, the film featured the singer on the sound track and in the movie alongside stars John Travolta and Debra Winger...
...late 1980s, Gilley fell out of fashion; his last no. 1 single was in 1983. By 1989, his partnership with Cryer had disintegrated as the two battled over Cryer's decision not to gussy up the club. (Gilley won a $17 million lawsuit, though he saw only a small piece of that, including the club, which he gave to Pasadena to cover back property taxes.) Faced with a stalling career, at 53 Gilley decided to be one of the first country artists to open a theater in Branson. Once again, his entrepreneurial instincts proved dead on: Branson became a country...
These days Gilley claims he is semiretired, but it's hard to tell. Each week from March to December, he plays five shows of old and new music in Branson. The tourists change like the seasons, with middle-aged fans in the spring, families in the summer and seniors in motor homes in the fall. When Gilley is not there, he's on the road with his 11-member band. "The energy that made him want to play and perform and entertain still exists," says Jim Ed Norman, president of Warner Bros. Records Nashville and a producer of several Gilley...
...Gilley, home means relaxation. Were you to visit his spread, you would probably see him mowing the 20 manicured acres that surround his 10,000-sq.-ft. house with one of his three riding tractors--or you could possibly find him striding around his walking track. "I'm trying to get down to my original weight of 8 lbs., 3 oz.," jokes the country musician, who weighs 177 lbs.--2 lbs. above his actual goal. He walks at least 1 1/2 miles daily, and he tries to play golf "every day that ends with...
...much as he enjoys home life and exercise, he's a compulsive entertainer who is pulled to the stage. This year he is sprinkling his show with four songs from Invitation Only, playing morning shows in October for early birds and even talking about opening another restaurant. Of course, Gilley claims he will retire--he just wants 10 more years. To those who know him, though, that's a conservative figure. "My guess is that one night while playing piano, he'll go to meet his maker," says Norman. "As long as one person will come to hear him sing...