Terri Gibbs (born June 15, 1954) is an American country music artist who is blind. Between 1980 and 1990, she recorded seven studio albums, including four for MCA Records and one for Warner Bros. Records. She also charted 13 singles on the Billboard country singles charts in that timespan, including her debut single “Somebody’s Knockin’”, which reached No. 8 on the country charts, No. 13 on the pop charts and No. 3 on the Adult Contemporary charts. She also entered the country top 20 with “Rich Man”, “Mis’ry River”, “Ashes to Ashes”, and “Anybody Else’s Heart but Mine”. (More from Wikipedia)
Terri Gibbs had a major crossover hit with her debut 1981 single, “Somebody’s Knockin’” which reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on the Adult Contemporary charts. Although not overtly Christian, her gospel roots show through clearly on this number – in the guise of a woman being tempted for “one heavenly night” with “the devil . . . in blue eyes and blue jeans”, she quips: "My fever's burning, so he ought to be right at home".
Born blind, Terri Gibbs began playing the piano when she was only three. After hearing her sing, Nashville legend Chet Atkins asked her for a demo tape, and she came to Nashville and then Miami while still in her teens, where she played keyboards for a band called Sound Dimension. Gibbs then played locally for several years as the Terri Gibbs Trio in and around her hometown of Augusta, GA.
Her demo tape eventually made its way to a producer and songwriter named Ed Penney, who signed her to a recording contract with MCA Records. “Somebody’s Knockin’” earned a Grammy nomination for Best Country Song, and the accompanying album, Somebody’s Knockin’ won the Academy of Country Music Award for Best New Country Artist and the inaugural Horizon Award (for an artist gaining new recognition) from the Country Music Association Awards. Terri Gibbs toured with George Jones and sang duets with him; she also performed at the Grand Ole Opry.
I have Terri Gibbs’ first album – rated 4 stars by Allmusic – and every song is rendered well in her understated but expressive voice. Her follow-up single “Rich Man” made the Country Top 20, as did two later singles. Her 1987 album, Turn Around was also nominated for a Grammy and generated three hit singles on the CCM charts.
(July 2014)
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