Don Gibson Memorial, Shelby
The memorial to Don Gibson is an imposing fourteen and one-half feet tall tropical green marker of stone and bronze. It is comprised of 39 pieces, 12 of bronze. The memorial is three feet thick and weighs 52,000 pounds. The stone was cut and shipped from India and assembled on site. It stands on a foundation of steel rebar and 12 yards of concrete.
A single stone panel stands on a double base with two stone columns to each side carrying a large lintel. Bronze panels with the inscriptions are on each side of the center panel, base and lintel. The bronze panel on the front holds a relief image of Gibson with an inscription below that describes his writing and singing style. The bronze piece attached to the front base holds a picture of Gibson and his wife Bobbi, their wedding date, interconnected wedding rings and a Masonic symbol. The center panel rear inscription list Gibson’s most famous songs along with others who had recorded them. The rear base inscription contains the words to the song “I Can’t Stop Loving You.”
Images:
Rear view |
Far-off view |
Front inscription |
Plaque on the front bottom |
Rear inscription on the bottom |
Top rear inscription |
Lintel, both sides: GIBSON
Front: A SHELBY NATIVE, DON GIBSON ROSE FROM POVERTY TO BECOME ONE OF / AMERICA’S GREATEST SONGWRITERS LIKE HIS EARLY HERO STEPHEN FOSTER / DON WROTE SIMPLE AND FROM THE HEART, PENNING AT LEAST FOUR OF THE / BIGGEST SONGS IN COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY: “I CAN’T STOP LOVING YOU,” / “OH LONESOME ME,” “SWEET DREAMS,” AND “(I’D BE) A LEGEND IN MY TIME.” / BECAUSE MANY OF HIS LYRICS WERE ABOUT HEARTBREAK, LONESOME / TIMES AND LOST LOVE SOME CRITICS CALLED HIM THE “THE POET OF SADNESS.” / THOUSANDS OF ARTISTS ADAPTED DON’S SONGS – FROM ROCK TO FOLK, / BLUES TO FULL ORCHESTRAL TREATMENTS. / AS A SINGER, DON WAS SOULFUL AND COMMANDING, BUT ALSO / HAUNTINGLY FRAGILE AND ROMANTIC. HE COULD WRENCH THE LAST DROP / OF EMOTION FROM A SONG. / NO GREATER STYLIST EVER GRACED THE HALLS OF COUNTRY MUSIC. / THE “SAD POET” WAS ONE OF A KIND, AN AMERICAN ORIGINAL. A TRUE / LEGEND IN HIS TIME. / J. DEPRIEST
Front bottom: JUNE 4, 1967
Top rear: DON GIBSON / SONGWRITER, SINGER, MUSICIAN / INDUCTED INTO THE COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME - 2001/ NASHVILLE SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAME – 1973 / MUSIC HALL OF FAME, IRELAND – 1984
GIBSON’S MOST FAMOUS SONGS AND THE ARTISTS WHO RECORDED THEM / SWEET DREAMS / PATSY CLINE (1963), LORETTA LYNN, FARRON YOUNG (1956), / ROY ORBISON (1967), EMMYLOU HARRIS (1976), DON GIBSON (1956, 1961), / REBA MCINTIRE (1979), ‘HELLCASTERS,’ ‘EURYTHMICS,’ ROY BUCHANAN, / AND MIGHTY SAM MCLAIN
ON LONESOME ME / DON GIBSON (1958), JOHNNY CASH (1961), NEIL YOUNG, / KENTUCKY HEADHUNTERS (1990)
I CAN’T STOP LOVING YOU / KITTY WELLS (1958), DON GIBSON (1958), RAY CHARLES (1962), / ELVIS PRESLEY, CONWAY TWITTY (1972), SAMMI SMITH (1977), / MARY K. MILLER (1979), COUNT BASSIE, ELLA FITZGERALD AND / VAN MORRISON AND THE CHIEFTAINS (1991) /
BLUE, BLUE DAY / DON GIBSON (1958), WILBURN BROTHERS (1961), TRACY NELSON
I’LL BE A LEGEND IN MY TIME / RONNIE MILSAP (1975)
TO SOON TO KNOW / DON GIBSON (1957), ROY ORBISON (1967)
GUESS AWAY THE BLUES / DON GIBSON (1971)
WHO CARES FOR ME / DON GIBSON (1959)
DON’T TELL ME YOUR TROUBLES / (1959)
GIVE MYSELF A PARTY / DON GIBSON (1958), ROY ORBISON (1967), JEANNIE C. RILEY (1973)
JUST ONE TIME / DON GIBSON (1960), CONNIE SMITH (1971), / TOMPALL AND THE GLASER BROTHERS (1981)
LONESOME NUMBER ONE / DON GIBSON (1962), ROY ORBISON (1967)
WASTED WORDS / RAY PRICE (1956)
Bottom rear: I CAN’ STOP LOVING YOU / THOSE HAPPY HOURS THAT WE ONCE KNEW, THOUGH LONG AGO STILL MAKE ME BLUE. / THEY SAY THAT TIMES HEALS A BROKEN HEART, BUT MINE HAS STOOD STILL SINCE WE’VE BEEN APART. / I CAN’T STOP LOVING YOU, IT’S USELESS TO SAY, SO I’LL JUST LIVE MY LIFE IN DREAMS OF YESTERDAY / I CAN’T STOP LOVING YOU, THERE’S NO USE TO TRY, PRETEND THERE’S SOMEONE NEW, I CAN’T LIVE A LIE. / I CAN’T STOP WANTING YOU, THE WAY THAT I DO, THERE’S ONLY BEEN ONE LOVE FOR ME, / THAT ONE LOVE IS YOU.
Sunset Cemetery
Circa September 2004
Don Gibson-Shelby, NC,” Waymarking.com, (accessed May 31, 2023) Link
“Don Gibson,” Findagrave.com, (accessed May 22, 2023) Link
“Don Gibson,” The Historical Marker Database, HMdb.org, (accessed May 31, 2023) Link
“I Can’t Stop Loving You,” YouTube.com, (accessed May 31, 2023) Link
“Remembering Don Gibson,” Shelby Daily Star (Shelby, NC), March 3, 2017, www.shelbystar.com, (accessed May 31, 2023) Link
“Riverhill Monuments: Don Gibson Memorial,” riverhillmonuments.com, (accessed May 22, 2023) Link
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Stone, bronze
Bobbi Gibson, wife of Don Gibson
Although Gibson quit school after the second grade his interest and involvement in music led him to Nashville in 1957. He and others helped create the “Nashville Sound” in country music that remains influential to this day. One of his songs, “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” was a major hit in 1962 performed by Ray Charles. This one song has been recorded by more than 700 artists. Gibson died in November 2003. The former “State” Movie Theater was refurbished and renamed the “The Don Gibson Theater” in 2009. It now functions as a music and entertainment venue.
The memorial is located in section 16 of Sunset Cemetery in Shelby. The cemetery address is 412 W. Sumter Street.
The memorial is in a newer section of the 40 acre cemetery that is separated from the older sections by a creek and line of trees.
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