Country music legend Mickey Gilley grew up in Mississippi and for many years performed in the shadow of his famous cousin, rock and roller Jerry Lee Lewis. Gilley and Lewis grew up on opposite sides of the Mississippi River and as children played together regularly, along with another cousin, future evangelist Jimmy Swaggert.
Gilley began recording in the late ’50s, but had his first big success in the 1970s with a string of country hits through the early ’70s. Around the same time, Gilley opened his first nightclub. Gilley’s Club would later be known as “the world’s biggest honky tonk.” The club and its mechanical bull would be featured prominently in the 1980 movie Urban Cowboy.
Mickey Gilley was eclipsed in the ’80s by more pop-oriented country artists. Country crossover had displaced classic country in Nashville and Gilley decided to reinvent himself in a more contemporary style. Aided by the success of Urban Cowboy, Gilley’s version of “Stand By Me” from the movie was a hit on the country and pop charts.
Gilley was able to leverage the success of the movie and the notoriety of the club through the mid-1980s with a string of country and pop singles on the charts. The club burned down in 1990 and Gilley’s last number one country hit came in 1983 with a total count of 17 number ones.
Gilley learned to play piano from his cousin Jerry Lee Lewis but is no longer able to play. A serious accident left Gilley paralyzed from the neck down in 2009. A year of intense therapy allowed Gilley to walk again and return to the stage but it was not complete enough to recover his piano skills.
