Opening with a jangly, organic, percussion-driven track and a wailing slide guitar, it isn’t immediately identifiable. But when their trademark vocal harmonies begin, it is instantly recognizable as Larry, Steve & Rudy – The Gatlin Brothers, one of the greatest country vocal bands in the history of the country format. Co-written by Larry Gatlin and Bill Gaither and produced by the three Gatlin brothers, “There’s a Hole in the Heart of America (That Only God Can Fill)” brings a timely message of hope that is like a healing balm for a troubled world. 

“There's a hole in the heart of this country
There's a whole lot of empty going on
There's a whole lot of fears, whole lot of tears
Somewhere along the way we lost our song
Let us stand on the rock of the ages
Let us shine like a city on a hill
There's a hole in the heart of America that only God can fill” 

The story of how the song was written and brought to life is as deep as the heartfelt message it conveys. Larry Gatlin recalls, “Bill Gaither asked me to go on some tour dates to Michigan and Ohio with the Gaither Vocal Band. On the night of second concert, Bill said, ‘I have an idea for this song.’ We kicked around the first two lines of the song and they went on stage to perform, and I continued to work on the song while they were on stage. Later that night after the show Bill and I finished the song we put a little demo together. Sometime later, Bill called and said he wanted to pitch it to renowned gospel group, The Nelons.” The group soon recorded it and created an accompanying lyric music which was released to streaming outlets just days before the group’s plane went down while enroute to the Gaither Homecoming Cruise to Alaska. Jason and Kelly Nelon Clark, their daughter Amber and son-in-law Nathan Kistler, their assistant Melodi Hodges, and the pilot Larry Haynie and his wife Melissa were all killed in the crash.
 
In August of 2024, The Nelons’ label, Daywind Records, released “Hole in the Heart” to radio, along with an official music video. Larry continues, “Ed Leonard, the label president, met me and told me that they would be releasing the single in about 10 days. I told him that the brothers had recorded it as well, but that we would hold ours and not release it at that time. The Nelons version came out and immediately went to #1 and stayed there for six weeks. Bill also played me the Gaither Vocal Band version as they had recorded it too. So, I changed ours up a bit to include a new verse and switched the other verses slightly. We are thrilled with this song and are very excited to share it with our fans.”
 
“I’m grateful to my dear friend Bill Gaither for inviting me to tag along in the writing of ‘There’s a Hole in the Heart of America (That Only God Can Fill),’” says Gatlin. “Every time the brothers and I sing this song we will think of the Nelons. Keep the faith, Larry.”

ABOUT LARRY, STEVE & RUDY – THE GATLIN BROTHERS
Larry, Steve & Rudy – The Gatlin Brothers are a Grammy Award-winning trio who have dazzled audiences for more than 65 years with a lifetime of noteworthy achievements in their storybook career, including a Grammy for Best Country Song (“Broken Lady”), three ACM awards for Single of the Year (“All The Gold In California”), Album of the Year (‘Straight Ahead’) and Male Vocalist of the Year for Larry Gatlin. They have also garnered five nominations for CMA Vocal Group of the Year, Single, Album and Male Vocalist of the Year, along with Dove, AMA, and People’s Choice Awards. The Brothers have accumulated seven # 1 Singles, 32 Top 40 Records, 22 Studio Albums and 5 BMI “Million-Air” Awards.
 
Larry ranks fourth in the country songwriting industry as a solo writer with the most self-penned top 40 Billboard hits, according to noted music historian and author, John Alexander. Songs from Larry’s massive song catalog have been recorded by a “Who’s Who” of entertainers, including Elvis Presley, Barbara Streisand, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Glen Campbell, Kris Kristofferson, Sir Tom Jones, Dottie West, Charlie Rich, Johnny Mathis, and dozens of others, securing his legacy as one of BMI’s top solo songwriters of all time.

For more information, visit https://gatlinbrothers.com/

 

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