10 Years of Hits

I cannot recall the last time I heard a Mickey Gilley tune on the radio. It would appear that his brand of country music is no longer in favor with todays country music crowd. And that is a shame. Mickey Gilley produced some of the best country music in the decade between 1974 and 1984. And "Ten Years of Hits", which was originally released back in 1984, remains the best anthology of the work of this marvelous artist.
There can be no doubt that Mickey Gilley was a dominant figure in country music during that period. In all, Gilley produced nearly 50 charted singles and accrued an impressive total of 17 #1 records on the Billboard Top Country Singles chart. He certainly had his fair share of success with original tunes like "Lonely Nights", "Tears of The Lonely" and his all-time biggest seller "She's Pulling Me Back Again" from the golden year 1977. But for the most part Mickey Gilley's bread and butter was his stunning covers of other peoples hits. His first #1 record was...Read more

Mickey, a cousin of Jerry Lee Lewis, was a formidable performer in his own with a long string of country hits to his credit in the seventies and eighties including seventeen number ones, most of them included here. Mickey was also the owner of the nightclub used as the setting for Urban cowboy, a movie that became a major influence on country music. Mickey's pop country style is typical of the brilliant soundtrack, which I reviewed long ago.

Many of Mickey's big hits were covers of old pop songs (Stand by me, True love ways) and country songs (I overlooked an orchid, Window up above, City lights) from the fifties and sixties. He had a few good original songs too, most notably Don't all the girls get prettier at closing time, A headache tomorrow or a heartache tonight and She's pulling me back again.

No single CD compilation can include all hits but this contains most of those that really matter. The most obvious omission is Paradise tonight, his chart-topping...Read more

Always liked Mickey Gilley, but after seeing his show in Branson, Mo I can't say enough about what a great show he puts on. My husband and I plan to return to Branson to see him again. Wish he would include Sweet Caroline on one of his albums after seeing him perform on stage singing this song, I would love to have the recording and I know many of his fans would as well.