About
The Gatlin Brothers didn't officially form until 1979, when Larry began crediting them as a supporting band on his solo singles, but the three brothers -- Larry, Steve, and Rudy -- had been performing together since childhood, when they sang in church and on several local Texas television shows. While they were still in their teens, they recorded a religious album for the independent Sword & Shield label. Following high school graduation, Larry, who was the eldest of the brothers, headed off to the University of Houston, where he briefly joined the gospel group the Imperials. Larry performed with the Imperials in Las Vegas, where he met Dottie West, who was impressed enough by his songwriting talents to record two of his songs, "You're the Other Half of Me" and "Once You Were Mine," and pay for him to move to Nashville. Once he arrived in Nashville, he found that West had been circulating his demo tapes, which led to Kris Kristofferson playing Larry's demo for Monument Records executive Fred Foster. Impressed by the tape, Foster offered Gatlin a contract in 1972. By that time, Larry had already invited his brothers to Nashville to form a backing group, and they wound up singing on his debut album, The Pilgrim, which featured his first country hit, "Sweet Becky Walker."
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