Mickey first gained national recognition in 1974 when he topped the national country charts with the song "Roomful of Roses." Since, he has been on a roll that tends to gain momentum as each year passes. To date, he has scored seventeen number one records, six of which, between 1980 and 1982, hit the top of the country charts consecutively: "Stand By Me" (from the motion picture soundtrack, Urban Cowboy) and "True Love Ways" in 1980, which also broke national chart records by holding simultaneous positions in the top five before attaining their individual number one slots; "That's All That Matters To Me" and "A Headache Tomorrow (Or A Heartache Tonight)" for 1981, and "You Don't "Lonely Nights" for 1982. In addition, his Band picked up a Grammy Award in 1981 for their "Orange Blossom Special."

Mickey has also been performing more and more throughout taking his live show to growing legions of fans, the showrooms of Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, Reno, and Atlantic City; while at the same time, gathering extensive television and cable exposure via such programs as "20/20," "The Grammy Awards Show," "The American Music Awards," "The Fall Guy," "Solid Gold," "The Dukes of Hazzard," "The Late Show With Joan Rivers," "Hollywood Squares," "The Tonight Show" and "Fantasy Island." Gilley's "Doo Wah Days" video was well received by the music video outlets nationally.

With each performance, Mickey delights audiences not only with his distinctive vocal talents, which enable him to work wonders with every kind of song from a hanky tank celebration like "Don't All The Girls Get Prettier At Closing Time," to a tender love ballad such as "Stand By Me," but also with his spine tingling dexterity on the piano.

No doubt, his music has been etched a little deeper in America's consciousness by way of his appearance in Urban Cowboy and on its subsequent soundtrack, but the fact is, years before Esquire Magazine, "The Today Show," and the Urban Cowboy crew (each of whom discovered the club in that respective order) ever set foot in Pasadena, Texas, Mickey and Gilley's Club were both thriving.

Mickey, along with partner/manager, Sherwood Cryer, founded Gilley's Club in 1970, and eventually expanded it into the 48,000 sq. ft. mega honky tank that it is today. "It's just a hanky tank, but it looks as big as the M G M Grand Hotel or St. Patrick's Cathedral," wrote Aaron Latham, whose Esquire article "The Ballad Of The Urban Cowboy," was later adapted to the screen as Urban Cowboy. "It has about 40 pool tables under one roof, and on a busy night, this capital of the urban cowboy culture has a population greater than most state capitals had during the heydays of the Old West."

Mickey's Texas roots go back nearly a decade and a half before Gilley's Club ever opened its doors. He spent some 10 years prior playing the Houston nitery, the Nesadel; working the Texas honky tonk circuit, and hoping for bigger things. For a while, he had his own television show in Houston that was shown twice weekly in different time slots, and later, he gained more exposure by way of television commercials he taped for Gilley's.

During these years, he often spent his own money for studio time, trying to convince someone that he had potential as a recording artist. In 1959, he recorded a regional hit, "Is It Wrong," and in 1964, another entitled "Lonely Wine." But neither record led to anything more than a few club bookings across the state. Then, in 1974, he released a song on his own Astro label entitled "Roomful of Roses." Though it was released as a B side, Houston air personalities began turning the record over and playing it. It soon was selling thousands of copies locally. "At that point, the club was real successful, and I didn't need a hit record," noted Mickey in a Country Music Magazine article (June 1980). "In fact, I didn't want to even record anymore!"

Nonetheless, with the help of a local record producer, Eddie Kilroy, Mickey tried to interest a major label in picking up "Roomful of Roses" for national distribution. The song was turned down by practically every Nashville record company before Kilroy returned to Houston with a contract with the newly formed country division of Playboy Records.

"Roomful of Roses" went number one nationally on Playboy, and with its success, Mickey had achieved what he'd been hoping for ever since he first wandered into the music business during his teenage years.

He grew up in Ferriday, Louisiana with his piano thumping cousins, Jerry Lee Lewis and the Reverend Jimmy Swaggert. At age 17, he headed for Houston where he landed a job as a "grease monkey." Soon after that, his cousin, Jerry Lee Lewis, had his first hit, "Crazy Arms," and Mickey went to see him in concert. This event altered Mickey's plans considerably.

"We'd played piano together a lot when we were kids growing up in Louisiana, so I was naturally anxious to see his show." Mickey recalls. "But when I took him to the airport afterwards, and he pulled out a big wad of hundred dollar bills, it made me decide right then I was in the wrong business."

Mickey soon began playing and singing in Houston nightclubs. Later, he journeyed to Memphis where he landed a contract with Dot Records, but only one single was recorded, "Call Me Shorty." He once even drove all the way to Philadelphia where he tried unsuccessfully to talk his way on to Dick Clark's "American Bandstand."

Later, he moved to New Orleans, then to Biloxi, mobile, or wherever else he could find work as a singer and piano player. Finally he settled for two years in Lake Charles, Louisiana where he played a lounge. "Right before I quit working in Lake Charles, I was at my lowest ebb." notes Mickey. "I was beginning to see how hard it really is to become a star, and I honestly believed it would be best for me to get out of the business."

With this decision, he returneci to Houston where he worked construction for six months. But eventually, he began playing again. Only this time, he found he was catching on locally. Instead of more disappointment, his music led to his stint at the Nesadel, then the subsequent opening of Gilley's, and on to the national popularity he enjoys today.

In his spare time Mickey enjoys tennis, golf and walking. Mickey is able to pursue all of these activities at his home which he built in Pasadena, Texas, near Gilley's Club. Mickey is also an airplane pilot. He flies his plane to many of his personal appearances.

Much of the credit for Mickey's success is due to his successful collaboration with producer Jim Ed Norman. "That's All ThatMatters To Me," "You Don't Know Me" and "Put Your Dreams Away" were classic albums that spawned several number one recordings. Jim Ed Norman has since gone on to head up the Nashville division of Warner Brothers. Mickey continues to record for Epic with Norro Wilson.

For several years Mickey has served as the host for the nationally televised Arthritis Telethon from Nashville. Through his efforts, the telethon has helped to raise millions of dollars for the Arthritis Foundation. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has recognized Mickey Gilley's good works and success in the music industry. They awarded him a star on the world famous Hollywood Walk of Fame.