Biography
Gerald Irby entered the world on 20 October 1917 in New Braunfels, Texas, and departed on 2 December 1983. Although raised in comfort by a prosperous grandmother, he often described his beginnings as marked by hardship with nothing more than a cheap guitar and a handful of songs. After relocating to Houston in 1933, he performed regularly in honky-tonks and, three years later, teamed with Ted Daffan to form a duo. Their partnership dissolved in 1938 when Daffan moved on to the Bar X Cowboys, prompting Irby to lead his own Serenaders for a short spell in Beaumont. Thanks to family resources, he launched Jerry’s Country Palace in 1940, only for the venue to shut its doors in June 1941; he then took the role of vocalist with the Bar X Cowboys, by which time Daffan had already departed to establish his Texans.
Still performing with the Cowboys in 1945, Irby cut solo sides for Gulf that brought regional attention through the song “Drivin’ Nails In My Coffin.” He also waxed material with the group, yet further solo sessions for Globe created friction that led him to exit and assemble his Texas Ranchers. Subsequent releases appeared on Mercury Records, Imperial Records, and 4 Star before he signed with MGM Records in 1948. That affiliation yielded success with “Roses Have Thorns,” while Bob Wills and Bill Boyd both placed his compositions on record. With renewed backing from his grandmother, he opened the Texas Corral Nite Club in 1948 and maintained a residency there into the early 1950s. Struggles with alcohol and mounting financial difficulties forced him to sell the establishment and attempt farming, an endeavor that faltered; by 1955 he had returned to Houston.
In December of that year his former partner Daffan captured Irby’s performance of “Tangled Mind” for the Daffan label. The track became a hit, prompting Irby to assemble a band and issue additional recordings that included “A Man Is A Slave.” Despite this resurgence he never fully regained earlier prosperity and stepped away from music during the 1960s to assist his wife in operating a beauty salon. Following their divorce he resumed performing around 1971 and even opened another club. After remarrying he embraced evangelism in 1973, producing albums of gospel music and adapting several of his earlier songs with new religious lyrics. He remarked at the time, “I’m still in the country music business; it just has a different message.” A popular Houston television program followed in 1977. Bear Family Records later compiled his Daffan label recordings on the 1995 double-CD set The Daffan Records, though few of his other sides remain commercially available.
Still performing with the Cowboys in 1945, Irby cut solo sides for Gulf that brought regional attention through the song “Drivin’ Nails In My Coffin.” He also waxed material with the group, yet further solo sessions for Globe created friction that led him to exit and assemble his Texas Ranchers. Subsequent releases appeared on Mercury Records, Imperial Records, and 4 Star before he signed with MGM Records in 1948. That affiliation yielded success with “Roses Have Thorns,” while Bob Wills and Bill Boyd both placed his compositions on record. With renewed backing from his grandmother, he opened the Texas Corral Nite Club in 1948 and maintained a residency there into the early 1950s. Struggles with alcohol and mounting financial difficulties forced him to sell the establishment and attempt farming, an endeavor that faltered; by 1955 he had returned to Houston.
In December of that year his former partner Daffan captured Irby’s performance of “Tangled Mind” for the Daffan label. The track became a hit, prompting Irby to assemble a band and issue additional recordings that included “A Man Is A Slave.” Despite this resurgence he never fully regained earlier prosperity and stepped away from music during the 1960s to assist his wife in operating a beauty salon. Following their divorce he resumed performing around 1971 and even opened another club. After remarrying he embraced evangelism in 1973, producing albums of gospel music and adapting several of his earlier songs with new religious lyrics. He remarked at the time, “I’m still in the country music business; it just has a different message.” A popular Houston television program followed in 1977. Bear Family Records later compiled his Daffan label recordings on the 1995 double-CD set The Daffan Records, though few of his other sides remain commercially available.
Albums
