Herbert Paul Gilley (October 1, 1929 – June 16, 1957) was an American country music lyricist and promoter from Kentucky.

[7] He grew up a very tall boy, attending high school in nearby Ezel, where he wrote poetry – his friends said he was able to converse in rhyme.

He wrote an article on songwriting for the summer 1951 edition of the student publication, Inkpot, and was featured in the campus newspaper The Trail Blazer in April 1951 and February 1952.

[10][11] In 1949, Gilley began promoting bluegrass and country music acts, starting with a performance by the Stanley Brothers in Campton.

Gilley apparently sold them his song "A Fallen Star", which was later recorded by Jim Reeves, Conway Twitty, and Bill Monroe, though the lyrics were credited to James Joiner.

[7] Another of his composer partners was Frank Kratz, who helped with "Satan Can't Hold Me", recorded by Jim Reeves.

[4] Nickell had gathered material from a wide range of sources, including handwritten lyric sheets in the possession of the son of Gilley collaborator Carter Gibbs.