Larry Gatlin’s baby sister gets back to gospel-country roots, Elvis Presley, and Roy Orbison

LaDonna Gatlin, baby sister of Best Country Song Grammy winner Larry Gatlin [1976’s “Broken Lady”], chews the fat on her parents’ unconditional love, West Texas, meeting Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison, why she left the Gatlins, would she consider reuniting, and much more in an engrossing interview. Aw shucks, did I just sing that? Gatlin returns to her first love — gospel music — as she takes audience requests at the Berrien County Chamber of Commerce Banquet in Nashville, Georgia, on January 28, 2014. Photography by Wenda Gaile Bailey / Berrien.SmugMug.com

Stepping out of your older brother’s shadow can be a grueling quagmire, particularly if your sibling is revered country singer-songwriter Larry Gatlin. But LaDonna Gatlin has beaten the odds, establishing herself as a sought-after motivational speaker, author, and singer. The charming Southern lady revisits her experiences as the youngest member of the Gatlin Quartet, a group that preceded her elder brother’s climb to the higher echelon of the country music aristocracy, in an anecdote-filled interview below.

During a well-received, albeit brief engagement at the Berrien County Chamber of Commerce annual awards banquet in Nashville, Georgia, the singer capably delivered renditions of such pop and jazz standards as “Moon River,” “Young at Heart,” and Ray Stevens’ “Everything Is Beautiful” to the accompaniment of an instrumental CD. It was a missed opportunity when none of her brother’s 28 Top 20 country hits were attempted, although LaDonna fleetingly crooned the title of the Grammy-winning single “Broken Lady” which she originally sang on in 1975.

LaDonna found her sweet spot when she abandoned the artificial accompaniment, finding her way to a beckoning piano just below the stage. LaDonna’s piano proficiency was on fine display as she took gospel requests from the…