Leutrell Osborne Interview of Gary Revel

During a recent interview of Gary Revel by Leutrell Osborne, Sr., astonishing new facts have surfaced about the 1977 assassination investigation of Martin Luther King, Jr. The following text was taken from that interview.

Osborne: What was the setup in 1977?

Revel: In 1977, I was investigating the Martin Luther King Jr. assassination. I worked with and for attorneys Jack Kershaw, Mary Kershaw, and Mark Lane in a unique arrangement with and for the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA). At that time, I operated undercover.

Osborne: How did the song called They Slew the Dreamer develop out of investigating the King case?

Revel: After meeting James Earl Ray and hearing his story I learned enough to know that Ray did NOT shoot King. There were others involved in King's death so I began my own investigation. During that time, I wrote the song, They Slew the Dreamer, about Dr. King. I recorded the song in Nashville, Tennessee at the famed Acuff-Rose recording studios. Acuff-Rose was the top country music publisher in the world. They had hundreds of top ten pop and rock songs as well as Country. Some of my songs had been signed by their ASCAP branch, called Milene Music Inc. Included was the song They Slew the Dreamer.

Osborne: What happened after the song was recorded?

Revel: The record was released not long after it was recorded during the summer of 1977. It was released on Jack Kershaw's Rebel Records label as a single. Soon afterwards a negative story with a large picture of the record sleeve appeared on the front page of the local afternoon newspaper, The Nashville Banner. Under the record sleeve which prominently displayed my name and the name of the record was a picture of a T-Shirt with Ray's image and the words 'I Didn't Do It'. Included was an editorialized caption that read, 'James Earl Ray Promotion Gimmicks'.

Osborne: How was airplay and record sales affected by the news story?

Revel: After story came out, promotion of my record by Acuff-Rose came to an immediate halt. All the planned airplay promotion was pulled. My calls to radio stations promoting my song were not well received. The lack of interest was not only for that song but all other songs I released over the next several years. All Nashville recording artists who had indicated earlier of an interest in my songs suddenly reversed their interest. A songwriter needs others to record his songs as well as himself if he is to be successful. The folks at Acuff-Rose that worked with me included Roy Acuff, Wesley Rose, Johnny Erdelyan, and Roy Acuff Jr. They were disappointed in the Federal Government's interference in the music business but were helpless to remedy the situation.

Osborne: What is your opinion today of how this all came about?

Revel: I believe the editorialized front page story was a secret Federal Government operation active in my investigation of the King murder. These operations include other murders, or so-called accidental deaths of several people within a 6-month period. These people were closely associated with me or they were scheduled to testify before the HSCA.

Osborne: If so, why didn't they kill you too?

Revel: One of the things I learned early in this case was that knowing a little would get me killed but knowing more than others knew would keep me alive. That is why I worked fast to gain knowledge about this case. During the late 1960's and into the 1970's highly classified Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) intelligence files were inadvertently release and were accessible for limited research. The things that could be learned from those files provided me enough intelligence to avoid serious problems. I was lucky to have access to those files early in my investigation.

Osborne: With the knowledge out that you were investigating the case of Dr. King and with mysterious deaths occurring, were you concerned about your own safety?

Revel: As I worked undercover, there was no public knowledge that I was investigating the case of Dr. King. My cover was that I was a Nashville songwriter, a business associate and friend of Jack and Mary Kershaw. Writing and recording songs was a natural development due to my friendship with Jack. Most of the publicity was about the case. previously I had a couple of single record releases, Little Did We Know and Peanut Man prior to They Slew the Dreamer. Both of the previous songs were on Jack's Rebel label, as well, so it did not appear that I was involved other than as a songwriter and recording artist. Somebody, an editor or publisher or both at the Nashville Banner, effectively destroyed the commercial success of my music with that one front page story. After years of investigation, study, and research I can only conclude that it was the Federal Government behind it.

Osborne: What evidence do you have today that Federal Government types were operating in or around your investigation?

Revel: A friend and business associate, Robert Barr, a CPA from Nashville told me that FBI Special Agent Vern Gauby was investigating my interest in the King case. One of the methods Gauby used was to visit with Barr. During casual conversations, he would bring up my name and ask questions related to my investigation. Bob was a friend of Jack Kershaw and was one of very few people aware of my work.

The FBI office in Memphis only recently told me that Special Agent Joseph H. Trimbach oversaw the investigation related to my interest in the King case. Much later, I learned of the FBI Method of Operating (MO) related to evictions. After Gauby retired from the FBI he worked for the City of Nashville, Tennessee and reportedly used residential and business evictions to exercise control for political purposes. Within a few months after the demise of the commercial prospects for my song, I too, was evicted from my apartment. During the chaos of moving, files related to my investigation disappeared.

Osborne: Did you ever try again to get your song out?

Revel: In 1979 I released an album titled Revel on my own Star City Records Inc. label. The song, They Slew the Dreamer, was included on that album. Dave Cavanaugh of Capitol Records in Hollywood had a copy of the album. Cavanaugh asked me to come back to Hollywood where we could sign a deal giving Capitol the rights to release and distribute the album on one of their labels. In February of 1980 I moved myself with my family to Hollywood where I had lived from 1969-1972. There I delivered the stampers (metal plates used to manufacture records) for the album to Cavanaugh at Capitol Records. He told me he would quickly put the deal together. I did not hear back from him right away. Weeks passed before I started to enquire about our project. My calls were not returned. Eventually his secretary told me he had gotten sick shortly after our meeting. My deal was sidetracked but she would talk to Cavanaugh to check when it could be finished. Weeks turned into months then one day I called. I was told he was dead. When I asked if I could come to pick up my stampers I learned that they had been lost.

Osborne: There are reports that you are getting radio airplay on your songs. What has happened lately that seems to be changing for you and your music?

Revel: A few years back Sony bought the Acuff-Rose music company including the songs I had written in the 1970's. They Slew the Dreamer is one of those songs. Now most of the songs from the Star City Records Inc. are on a CD album called Deep Mountain Lake. I released that on my own label, Jongleur Music. All the songs are all published by Sony/ATV Milene Music based in Nashville, Tennessee, which is owned by Sony/ATV BMG now.

Osborne: Is your work on the King case and your work with your music motivated by your desire to sell records or is there something else going on?

Revel: I know of no songwriter or recording artist who would touch this subject matter by assuming it would help their music career. I wrote the song from a desire and an inspiration to share truth with others. The fact that the song is finally getting played on the radio is partially due to growing knowledge by the public of the King assassination case. The more the public learns about the truth the harder it is for the Federal Government to lie about it.

Osborne: It has been said that you are a former Naval Intelligence Officer and once Naval Intelligence always Naval Intelligence. Are you still working for the Federal Government yourself? Is this just window dressing for operations by the Feds?

Revel: If I were still working undercover I would simply lie and say, 'No, I don't work for the Federal Government." In fact, in a de facto way I am still working for them. They commissioned me in 1977 to find the King killers. Since then, I have not been fired, decommissioned, told the job was done, or any thing else. Neither have I been paid. The stark reality is that the King killers have not yet been found.

However, the lyrics in They Slew the Dreamer were written in 1977 but will ring true eternally. The Federal Government continues to say that "HE" slew the dreamer, referring to James Earl Ray. I made it clear in 1977 that I didn't believe that and that instead of "He", I wrote They Slew the Dreamer. This was not a welcome concept to my government then and is not today. That is why there continues to be real fear within our government and the business world concerning my recording. I can say that if I am still working for the Federal Government, it is in a bizarre and complicated kind of way. Should I do my job well enough, then individuals that are still alive could go to federal prison for conspiracy in the murder of Martin Luther King Jr.

Leutrell M. Osborne, Sr.

MLK-They Slew the Dreamer Presentation

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