Larry Gatlin (center) and the Gatlin Brothers, photo courtesy of Absolute Publicity.

In the early 1990s, Larry Gatlin got fed up with Nashville and moved back to Texas. He’d lived in Music City for almost 20 years, and during that time, he’d had a nice string of hits tinged with the harmonies of his brothers Steve and Rudy. But as the public moved on to other sounds, the hits stopped coming. Larry felt unwanted in Tennessee and split.

Now he’s dividing his time between the Lone Star State and Nashville, and beginning Thursday, he’ll be a frequent host for the Grand Ole Opry’s Thursday night Opry Country Classics shows at the historic Ryman Auditorium. It’s an appropriate association. The Gatlins have been Opry members since Christmas Day 1976, and Larry came up in the midst of some classic country sounds, befriended by such country icons as Dottie West and Johnny Cash.

Bringing the whole thing full circle, Larry hosted the first Classics show a year ago, and he was greeted back with open arms by one rather prominent guest.

“Our spotlight artist that night was Loretta [Lynn],” Larry recalls. “After the show, she came over to me and I hugged her and told her how wonderful it was to see her. She said, ‘I heard a rumor that you were movin’ back to town.’ I said, ‘Well, yes m’am, I’m gonna come back part-time. I have an apartment here.’ She said, ‘I was so mad at you when you went away. Come back. We need you.’ Well, that was sweet. That was wonderful to think that this icon, this legend of our business, thinks that country music could use the Gatlin boys and my songs and our music.”

Since then, the Gatlins have released their first album in 17 years, Pilgrimage, which links to Larry’s first days in Nashville: His debut album was titled The Pilgrim, and it included liner notes written by the Man In Black.

Thursday’s kick-off for this year’s Opry Country Classics series spotlights the music of the Statler Brothers. Also appearing: Dailey & Vincent, the Statlers’ Jimmy Fortune, Eric Heatherly, Jan Howard, Charlie Louvin, Wilson Fairchild and the Opry Square Dancers. The two-hour show starts at 7 p.m. CT. It can also be heard on the web at www.wsmonline.com.

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