History

Remembering country music legend Vern Gosdin

80 years ago today, Vern Gosdin was born in Woodland, Alabama. He would be known for his nickname “The Voice” as he had a distinguishable vocals when he sang.  You believed the sorrow that he sang and the lonesome soul.

Vern Gosdin grew up singing in church and would sing on the Birmingham station WVOK with his brothers.  He formed the Gosdin Brothers with his brother Rex.  They would hit the charts in the 60s before retiring in the 1970s.  His first top 10 hit would be “Yesterday’s Gone” with the harmony vocals of Emmylou Harris.

Gosdin would make a comeback with hit songs, “Dream of Me,” “Today My World Slipped Away,” “If You’re Gonna Do Me Wrong (Do It Right),” and “Way Down Deep.”

At the age of 50 years old in 1984, Vern Gosdin would gain his first number one hit with “I Can Tell By the Way You Dance (You’re Gonna Love Me Tonight).”  He gained more successful tunes with “Do You Believe Me Now,” and “Set ‘Em Up Joe.”

In 1989, Vern Gosdin and Max D. Barnes won Song of the Year from the CMA for “Chiseled in Stone.”

The Voice was silenced on April 28, 2009, at the age of 74, due to a stroke.  However, his music and legacy lives on among fans of traditional country music.

I do believe Vern Gosdin has earned his spot into the Country Music Hall of Fame.  I hope that one day that he will be featured among other legendary artists in the field of country music.