Some context: 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.
in what years was he a solo artist?
A: 1973,
Some context: Carr was born Joseph Francis Karr on October 23, 1879, at his parents' home in the Irish neighborhood on the East End of Columbus, Ohio. His father, Michael Karr, was a shoemaker who was born in Ireland in 1841 and immigrated to the United States in 1864. His mother Margaret Karr was born in New York to Irish immigrant parents. Carr had five older siblings, Bridget, James, John, Mary, and Michael, and a younger brother, Edward.
In the early 20th century, college football was the dominant version of the sport, and professional teams would sometimes pay college players to play for them, often under assumed names. The practice was considered questionable ethically, resulting in taint being associated with the professional game. In order to remove the taint, and to engender peaceful relations with the college game, Carr made it one of his first goals as league president to impose a strict ban the use of college football players. Indeed, at the same meeting at which Carr was elected president, the APFA adopted a rule prohibiting teams from using players who had not completed their college course.  Carr enforced the ban with vigor. During the 1921 APFA season, two or three college players from Notre Dame played for the Green Bay Acme Packers under assumed names. The incident resulted in the players losing their amateur status and being barred from further college football participation. In January 1922, Carr responded with the severest possible action, kicking the Packers out of the APFA. A few months later, a group headed by future Hall of Famer Curly Lambeau applied for and was granted the Green Bay franchise.  The 1925 Chicago Cardinals-Milwaukee Badgers scandal followed four years later. In December 1925, four high school students played for the Milwaukee Badgers in a game against the Chicago Cardinals. Carr responded by imposing stiff penalties. The Milwaukee club was fined $500 and given 90 days within which to "dispose of all its club assets at which time the management must retire from the league." The Cardinals were fined $1,000 for their prior knowledge of the violation, and Cardinal player Art Foltz was temporary banned from the league for live for having "induced the boys to play".  The issue arose again when Red Grange, star halfback of the University of Illinois football team, signed with the Chicago Bears. Grange played his final college game on November 21, signed with the Bears the next day, and appeared in his first professional game on November 26. Two weeks later, Ernie Nevers signed a professional football contract for $50,000. To help ease tensions and promote the professional game in the college circles, Carr established a rule prohibiting college players to sign with professional teams until after their class had graduated. These decisions gave the NFL credibility and much needed support from the colleges and universities from across the country.
Why did Carr want them banned?
A:
In order to remove the taint, and to engender peaceful relations with the college game,