Lorelie L. (artgal36) reviewed All the Gold in California: And Other People, Places, & Things on + 471 more book reviews
Larry Gatlin, wild man plus. The Man, His Music, and the Faith that saved his life. The book is hand autographed by him inside on the first blank page.
His father's ancestors invented the Gatling gun. There were poets on his mother's side.
Out of this marriage of machine guns and poetry came Larry Gatlin, a hard-driving, risk-taking perfectionist with an appetite for self-destruction and a gift for writing songs that touched the heart of America.
As lead singer of The Gatlin Brothers, he rode high ona wave of success that included chart-topping singles, sold-out concerts, and music industry awards.
"I was a hero," he says, "because hard-working, God-fearing, honest-to-goodness, dyed-in-the-wool country music fans said I was, and I loved it. My problem was, I loved it too much."
With his phenomenal success came controversy. He was brash and outspoken, dogged by the press and continually at odds with the music industry. He would disappear for days, bingeing on cocaine and alcohol. By the mid-90's, the reckless lifestyle finally caught up with him.
"I went from hero to zero in a matter of minutes, it seems," he recalls.
Returning to his faith, he found freedom, not only from drugs and alcohol addiction, but also from the demons that drove him to determine his worth by the weight of his success.
This is his inspiring story, told as only this ole boy from Texas can tell it, rich with reminiscences, humor, insight and honesty. A great book.
His father's ancestors invented the Gatling gun. There were poets on his mother's side.
Out of this marriage of machine guns and poetry came Larry Gatlin, a hard-driving, risk-taking perfectionist with an appetite for self-destruction and a gift for writing songs that touched the heart of America.
As lead singer of The Gatlin Brothers, he rode high ona wave of success that included chart-topping singles, sold-out concerts, and music industry awards.
"I was a hero," he says, "because hard-working, God-fearing, honest-to-goodness, dyed-in-the-wool country music fans said I was, and I loved it. My problem was, I loved it too much."
With his phenomenal success came controversy. He was brash and outspoken, dogged by the press and continually at odds with the music industry. He would disappear for days, bingeing on cocaine and alcohol. By the mid-90's, the reckless lifestyle finally caught up with him.
"I went from hero to zero in a matter of minutes, it seems," he recalls.
Returning to his faith, he found freedom, not only from drugs and alcohol addiction, but also from the demons that drove him to determine his worth by the weight of his success.
This is his inspiring story, told as only this ole boy from Texas can tell it, rich with reminiscences, humor, insight and honesty. A great book.
