Steve Gulley (September 20, 1962 – August 18, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Bluegrass has roots in African America ...

. He rose to prominence as a cast member at the

Renfro Valley Barn Dance ''Renfro Valley Barn Dance'' was an American country music stage and radio show originally carried by WLW-AM in Cincinnati, Ohio on Saturday nights. It debuted on October 9, 1937, from the Cincinnati Music Hall and moved to the Memorial Auditoriu ...

Renfro Valley, Kentucky Renfro Valley is a neighborhood located just off Interstate 75 at the junction of U.S. Route 25 and Kentucky Route 2793 north of Mount Vernon, the county seat of Rockcastle County, Kentucky, United States. The community has its own United St ...

where he performed bluegrass,

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

and

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...

from the early 1980's through 1994. After hearing Steve at Renfro Valley, bluegrass artist Doyle Lawson offered him a position as lead singer and guitarist in the band Quicksilver. He was with Quicksilver from 1994-1996, after which he went on to form and be a founding member and lead singer of award-winning bluegrass bands; Mountain Heart and Grasstowne. He was a multiple IBMA and SPBGMA award winner who was internationally known for his singing and songwriting in the bluegrass, traditional country and gospel genres. Steve later formed his own group named Steve Gulley & New Pinnacle, who released multiple bluegrass albums from 2015 through 2020 until his death. He was sought after to cowrite or lend his vocals on multiple bluegrass projects, especially his longtime friend bluegrass recording artist Dale Ann Bradley. He recorded two singer/songwriter albums with his longtime writing partner Tim Stafford of Blue Highway and was part of the Bluegrass Allstars band with award winning

dobro Dobro () is an American brand of resonator guitars owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally a gui ...

player,

Phil Leadbetter Phil Leadbetter (March 31, 1962 – October 14, 2021) was an American resonator guitar player. Life Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, Leadbetter began playing the resonator guitar at age 12. He was a 1980 graduate of Gibbs High School in Corryton ...

. Steve also sang harmony vocals on multiple tracks of the acclaimed "Sad Songs and Waltzes" album by

Keith Whitley Jackie Keith Whitley (July 1, 1954 – May 9, 1989) was an American country music and bluegrass singer and songwriter. During his career, he released only two albums, but charted 12 singles on the ''Billboard'' country charts, and seven more af ...

. Steve's wife Debbie and his father Don Gulley were also performers on the historical Renfro Valley Barn Dance and Jamboree. Steve's son Brad Gulley was the lead singer and guitarist for bluegrass group Cumberland River. Steve attributed his love of music came to his father Don, who was a well-known artist, musician, and radio broadcaster in their hometown of Cumberland Gap, Tennessee. Steve's most cherished accomplishments were performing on the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

and when he received an honorary

Doctor of Music The Doctor of Music degree (DMus, DM, MusD or occasionally MusDoc) is a doctorate awarded on the basis of a substantial portfolio of compositions, musical performances, and/or scholarly publications on music. In some institutions, the award is a ...

from

Lincoln Memorial University Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) is a private university in Harrogate, Tennessee and Knoxville, Tennessee. Its Harrogate main campus borders on Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. , it had 1,605 undergraduate and 4,200 graduate and profe ...

in Harrogate, Tennessee, only the fourth one given in that field in the school's history, and the first given to a bluegrass musician by the university since

Ralph Stanley Ralph Edmund Stanley (February 25, 1927 – June 23, 2016) was an American bluegrass artist, known for his distinctive singing and banjo playing. He began playing music in 1946, originally with his older brother Carter Stanley as part of The ...

received his in 1976.

References

External links

* 2020 deaths People from Claiborne County, Tennessee American male singer-songwriters 1962 births {{US-singer-songwriter-stub