August 19, 1935 – December 31, 2009
Earl Gaines was born in Decatur, Alabama and sang in church before heading to Nashville as a teenager. There he hooked up with songwriter Ted Jarrett who brought him to Louis Brooks and His Hi-Toppers. He was the vocalist for “It’s Love Baby (24 Hours a Day)” in 1955. The band did not want to tour so Earl became part of the R&B Caravan of Stars and toured with Bo Diddly, Big Joe Turner and Etta James. He recorded several songs and a couple of albums over the next couple of decades, but never really hit it big. His best selling songs were “Best of Luck to You” and “Hymn Number 5”.
In 1975, he stopped music and drove a truck for a couple of decades and returned to recording in 1989. He recorded another couple of albums with moderate success and toured America and Europe until his death in 2009.
Earl Gaines • The Best Of Luck To You on Hanna-Barbera Records #HBR-481
