Gus Hardin (born Carolyn Ann Blankenship; April 9, 1945 – February 17, 1996) was a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer. She recorded for

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

between 1983 and 1986, releasing two albums and one extended play. In addition to these, she had a hit single with the Earl Thomas Conley duet "

All Tangled Up in Love "All Tangled Up in Love" is a song recorded by American country music artists Gus Hardin and Earl Thomas Conley. It was released in October 1984 as the first single from Hardin's album ''Wall of Tears''. The song peaked at number 8 on the ''Billb ...

Career

Carolyn Ann Blankenship was born in 1945 in

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. Her rise to country music popularity began in 1983 with her first single for

, the top 10 hit "After The Last Goodbye." Other hits, such as "Fallen Angel," "I Pass," "Lovin' You Hurts" and "If I Didn't Love You" soon followed, as well as "All Tangled Up in Love," a duet with Earl Thomas Conley. She recorded and released "One of the Boys" and "Mama Knows" by songwriter Kevin Weyl, and "Tornado" by Kevin Weyl and Steve Robertson which is featured in the sound track of the Kevin Pollak film ''

Deterrence Deterrence may refer to: * Deterrence theory, a theory of war, especially regarding nuclear weapons * Deterrence (penology), a theory of justice * Deterrence (psychology) Deterrence in relation to criminal offending is the idea or penology, t ...

''. Hardin married keyboard player Steve Hardin, who was a member of the group Point Blank, and after their divorce kept his last name.

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American Country music, country singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him his immense popularity, particularly in the United States, ...

' sister, Betsy Smittle, was one of Gus's band members and did background vocals on Gus's album ''I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can''.

Death

On February 17, 1996, Hardin died in a car accident on State Highway 20 west of

Salina, Oklahoma Salina ( ) is a town in Mayes County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,085 at the 2020 census, down from 1,396 in 2010. History For thousands of years indigenous peoples had lived along the rivers in this area, with varying culture ...

near her home in the Lake Hudson area. A laboratory report listed her blood alcohol level at 0.28 percent.Singer's blood alcohol level was 0.28 percent
TulsaWorld.com (April 12, 1996). Retrieved on July 14, 2021. Memorial services were held in Oklahoma and

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. Gus Hardin is survived by daughter Toni Jones and granddaughter Chelsea Johnson, both of Sapulpa, Oklahoma.

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Singles

Music videos

References

External links

* 1945 births 1996 deaths Musicians from Tulsa, Oklahoma American women country singers Country musicians from Oklahoma RCA Records artists Road incident deaths in Oklahoma Singer-songwriters from Oklahoma 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singer-songwriters {{US-country-singer-stub