Biography
Born James David Gateley on 1 May 1931 in Springfield, Missouri, the fiddler passed away on 17 March 1985. He first took up the instrument and joined a local group for a broadcast on KGBX Springfield in 1951. A period followed with the Red River Rustlers in Jamestown, North Dakota, after which he joined Dusty Owen’s Rodeo Boys for appearances on the Wheeling Jamboree broadcast over WWVA in Wheeling, West Virginia. Gateley moved back to Springfield in 1954 and spent the next nine years performing on both radio and television alongside Red Foley for the programs Ozark Jubilee and Jubilee USA.
Beginning in 1963 he forged an extended partnership with Bill Anderson that encompassed fiddle playing, vocal contributions, frontman duties and multiple appearances on Anderson’s own releases. Through this connection he became a fixture at the Grand Ole Opry, often teaming with Harold Morrison for a double act. Although his earliest solo sides appeared on the Cullman label in 1959 and he later cut material for Starday, Decca Records, Columbia Records, Chart, Sapphire, B.T. and Constoga, none of these efforts produced a chart entry. Songwriting, however, brought him success when others recorded his compositions: Webb Pierce reached number 5 in 1962 with “Alla My Love,” while Sonny James climbed to number 9 the following year with “The Minute You’re Gone.” Gateley also shared credit with Anderson on “Bright Lights And Country Music,” which peaked at number 11 in 1965.
He appeared on screen in the films The Road To Nashville and Las Vegas Hillbillies. Serving as a deacon at his Madison, Tennessee church, Gateley turned increasingly toward gospel repertoire during the 1970s. An album of sacred material emerged in the early 1980s, and a second collection, My Kind Of Country, was issued by the same congregation after his death.
Beginning in 1963 he forged an extended partnership with Bill Anderson that encompassed fiddle playing, vocal contributions, frontman duties and multiple appearances on Anderson’s own releases. Through this connection he became a fixture at the Grand Ole Opry, often teaming with Harold Morrison for a double act. Although his earliest solo sides appeared on the Cullman label in 1959 and he later cut material for Starday, Decca Records, Columbia Records, Chart, Sapphire, B.T. and Constoga, none of these efforts produced a chart entry. Songwriting, however, brought him success when others recorded his compositions: Webb Pierce reached number 5 in 1962 with “Alla My Love,” while Sonny James climbed to number 9 the following year with “The Minute You’re Gone.” Gateley also shared credit with Anderson on “Bright Lights And Country Music,” which peaked at number 11 in 1965.
He appeared on screen in the films The Road To Nashville and Las Vegas Hillbillies. Serving as a deacon at his Madison, Tennessee church, Gateley turned increasingly toward gospel repertoire during the 1970s. An album of sacred material emerged in the early 1980s, and a second collection, My Kind Of Country, was issued by the same congregation after his death.
Albums
