Artist:The Easy Riders featuring Terry Gilkyson
Song:Marianne
Album:Folk Songs You'll Like
Terry Gilkyson had a long career as a songwriter and was a big part of the 60s folk music boom. But the 1957 single Marianne was his only hit as a recording artist with his trio The Easy Riders. He was born June 17, 1916 in the Philadelphia suburb of Phoenixville, PA. After serving in the US Air Force during WWII, Gilkyson moved with his wife to Los Angeles to become a folksinger. He recorded three albums for Decca. His first single The Cry of the Wild Goose wasn't a hit. But Frankie Laine topped the charts with it. And that got Gilkyson into writing songs for films. He was lead singer on The Weavers #1 hit On Top of Old Smokey. Then Gilkyson formed The Easy Riders with Frank Miller and Richard Dehr. They recorded three albums for Columbia produced by Mitch Miller. Marianne was the first single in 1957 and it reached #4 on the hit parade. Dehr sang lead. Also their song Memories Are Made of This was a big hit for Dean Martin. Some of their songs would become popular as part of the 60s folk music boom. But that hadn't started yet when The Long Riders were around. After leaving Columbia and recording two albums for Kapp, Gilkyson left to work for Walt Disney. It looks like Miller and Dehr left the music business. You can get all The Long Riders recordings on this 2CD comp from the reissue label Jasmine. Gilkyson worked for Disney through the 60s. He was nominated for an Oscar for The Bare Necessities from the 1967 film Jungle Book. It doesn't look like he was active after he left Disney. I'm sure he was making good money from songwriting royalties. And Gilkyson's songs as part of the folk music boom is his legacy. He died on Oct. 15, 1999 at age 83. His daughter Eliza Gilkyson is a singer songwriter. His on Tony Gilkyson is a studio guitarist and producer. And his daughter Nancy Gilkyson is an executive at Warner Music. Here's a video for Marianne by The Long Riders featuring Terry Gilkyson.
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