About May
A native of Chesnee, South Carolina, May Gossett was born and raised in a rural community. She lived in the country with her father, mother, and two brothers. May inherited her musical ability and love for music from her great grandmother, who played the piano for the local church. Additionally, her mother was the pianist at church and could play the guitar by ear. Her first taste of enjoying music was in the church and at home in the form of country music, which her mother would play while preparing family meals. She recalls listening to classic country music such as Loretta Lynn, Hank Williams, Conway Twitty, Glen Campbell, Buck Owens, Jerry Reed, Charlie Pride and Roy Clark, just to name a few. She also enjoyed listening to her older brothers’ music such as Three Dog Night and Grand Funk Railroad.
One of her most prized possessions as a child was a toy piano with a bench that she remembers spending every waking moment playing with. It became apparent early on that her love of music would continue when May also received a toy guitar and could not put it down. She loved to play and sing, often entertaining family and their friends. She began piano lessons at age 8 and says, “I did not appreciate the technical aspects of music, I just wanted to play”. At age 10 she borrowed her sister in law’s coronet to teach herself to play before she was of age to join the school beginner band at age 12. Once she joined this band her parents bought her a brand new trumpet, which she played throughout high school. She also enjoyed participating in the Chesnee High School Marching Band and it was during her senior year she explains, “I became obsessed with the electric guitar. I would practice from the time I walked in the door from school, only breaking for dinner, and would fall asleep with it at night. Then, I would practice more before school the next morning”. Her favorite genre was the rhythm and blues of the sixties like Fontella Brass’s “Rescue Me” and Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman”.
Following high school graduation, she was offered a job with a traveling rock n roll band as a guitarist. The band began as a working weekend band and later evolved to a full time traveling band. She played full time on the road with three different working bands for a total of 5 years. May later decided to attend the University of South Carolina Upstate (USCS) and was awarded a music scholarship to play guitar and trumpet in the USCS Pep Band.
May has been a member of several working “weekend bands” throughout her adult life and was previously the guitarist for “The Remnants”, a classic rock band based out of Franklin, N.C. As a successful business owner she always makes time to enjoy her first love…. music and loves to perform. she lives in, S.C., has completed her first solo album (I’m only Human) with Red Arrow Studios in Westminster, S.C. Also, she has now completed and released multiple singles alongside an upcoming album with Diamond Studios in Toccoa GA.
May currently performs with the Peanut Butter Whiskey Band, an all female bluesey rock band, as the lead guitarist and vocalist. Click the facebook button below to follow May Gossett and stay up to date on all of the upcoming shows!
