Larry Wayne Gatlin (born May 2, 1948) is an American country and Southern gospel singer and songwriter. As part of a trio with his younger brothers Steve and Rudy, he achieved considerable success within the country music genre, performing on thirty-three Top 40 singles (combining his solo recordings and those with his brothers). As their fame grew, the band became known as Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers. Larry Gatlin is known for his rich falsetto singing style and for the unique pop-inflected songs he wrote and recorded in the 1970s and 1980s.

With West's help, Gatlin found work in Nashville as a background singer for Kris Kristofferson. In 1973, Gatlin landed a solo recording contract with Monument Records.  In 1973, Gatlin released his first album, The Pilgrim. Two singles were released from the album: "Sweet Becky Walker" and "Bitter They Are, Harder They Fall", though both failed to chart. The latter was recorded by Elvis Presley in 1976 (who had also recorded Gatlin's "Help Me" in 1973). In 1974 came the release of a new album, Rain/Rainbow, and a new song "Delta Dirt". The album and single proved more successful. "Delta Dirt" was a Top 20 Country hit, peaking at No. 14. The song was also Gatlin's only entry on the Pop charts, when it reached No. 84. In 1975, Gatlin had his first major hit with his composition "Broken Lady", which reached No. 5 on the Hot Country Songs chart in 1976. Gatlin won a Grammy Award for the song in 1977 for Best Country Song. A new album, High Time, was released in 1976. Gatlin is also credited on guitar on Willie Nelson's 1976 album The Troublemaker.  Brothers Steve and Rudy made their first appearance on Larry's 1976 album Larry Gatlin with Family & Friends. They were featured on some of Gatlin's other hits he had during the late 1970s, notably "I Don't Wanna Cry", "Love Is Just a Game", and "Statues Without Hearts". In 1978, Gatlin scored his first number one hit with "I Just Wish You Were Someone I Love." Gatlin continued his success as a solo artist up until 1978, when he released his last solo album, Oh Brother, which featured the top 10 hits "I've Done Enough Dyin' Today" and "Night Time Magic", the latter of which also made an entry into the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. Both songs spotlighted Gatlin's soaring falsetto that became a trademark of his vocal style.  In 1977, Gatlin joined entrepreneur Larry Schmittou and other country music stars, such as Conway Twitty, Jerry Reed, Cal Smith, and Richard Sterban, as investors in the Nashville Sounds, a minor league baseball team of the Double-A Southern League that began play in 1978.

Using a quote from the above article, answer the following question: in what years was he a solo artist?
1973,