Gilley was known for her iconic Texas honkytonk and was the cousin of Jerry Lee Lewis. Together with another cousin, Jimmy Swaggart, Gilley and Lewis played in a trio when they first started with music.
Gilley recorded records from the late 50’s, but did not really break through until he opened the Gilleys bar in Pasadena, California. The bar was called the world’s largest honkytonk bar.
It became the starting point for the film “Urban Cowboy” in 1980, which had John Travolta and Debra Winger in the lead roles. Gilley played herself in the film.
Gilley made 17 songs that reached number one on Billboard’s country list, including “Room full of roses” and “Don’t the girls all get prettier at closing time?”. He continued to perform his songs until weeks before he died.
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