Bob Gallion (April 22, 1924 in

Ashland, Kentucky Ashland is a home rule-class city in Boyd County, Kentucky, United States. The largest city in Boyd County, Ashland is located upon a southern bank of the Ohio River at the state border with Ohio and near West Virginia. The population was 21,6 ...

– August 20, 1999) was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer. Between 1958 and 1973, he recorded for various country labels, charting nine times on the

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sa ...

charts. His biggest hit was "Wall to Wall Love", which went to number 5 in 1962.

Biography

Bob Gallion was born April 22, 1924 in

. In the 1940s, he worked as a session guitar player before joining

Stoney Cooper Dale Troy Cooper (October 16, 1918 – March 22, 1977), known professionally as Stoney Cooper, was an American country star and member of the Grand Ole Opry. He played the fiddle and the guitar. Biography Cooper was the son of Kenny and Stella ...

and

Wilma Lee Cooper Wilma Lee Leary (February 7, 1921 – September 13, 2011), known professionally as Wilma Lee Cooper, was an American country music entertainer. She was a guitarist, banjo player and vocalist, and was given the title of “First Lady of Bluegrass ...

's band. Gallion recorded for

MGM Records MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...

in the 1950s, releasing the singles "That's What I Tell My Heart" and "You Take the Table and I'll Take the Chairs". In September 1959, he joined the promotion staff at

Acuff-Rose Music Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. was an American music publishing firm formed in 1942 by Roy Acuff and Fred Rose in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Acuff-Rose's honest behavior towards their writers set them apart from other music publishing firm ...

. Moving to

Hickory Records Hickory Records is an American record label founded in 1954 by Acuff-Rose Music, which operated the label up to 1979. Sony Music Publishing (then Sony/ATV) revived the label in 2007. Originally based in Nashville, and functioning as an independe ...

in 1960, he charted five more singles, including the top 10 hits "Loving You (Was Worth This Broken Heart" and "Wall to Wall Love". Gallion worked as a

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobil ...

for

WGUN WGUN (950 AM) is a radio station broadcasting an Urban Adult Contemporary format. Licensed to Valdosta, Georgia, United States, the station is currently owned by Magic 95 Entertainment. It is the oldest station in the city. Although the orig ...

Atlanta Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, then returned to recording in 1968 with the single "Pick a Little Happy Song" on

United Artists Records United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1959, ...

. He also toured with Pati Powell and performed at the WWVA Jamboree, and charted one last time with the duet "Love by Appointment". After this song, Gallion retired as a performer and worked at a booking agency. He is also credited with composing several successful songs, including "Sweethearts Again" and "Love Pains", recorded by the Osborne Brothers. Gallion died in 1999 at age 75, in

Williamstown, West Virginia Williamstown is a city in Wood County, West Virginia, United States, along the Ohio River. It is part of the Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna metropolitan area. The population was 2,997 at the 2020 census. The now closed Fenton Art Glass Company wa ...

. He was survived by his wife, June, who continued to run his booking agency.

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallion, Bob 1924 births 1999 deaths Musicians from Ashland, Kentucky American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters MGM Records artists United Artists Records artists Hickory Records artists People from Wood County, West Virginia 20th-century American singers Country musicians from Kentucky Singer-songwriters from Kentucky 20th-century American male singers Singer-songwriters from West Virginia