| Crystal
Gayle,
one of the most popular and widely
recognized female country singers of her
era, supported her trademark, nearly
floor-length hair with a supple voice, a
flair for ballads, and a
crossover-friendly country-pop style
that netted her mainstream hits. Gayle
was born Brenda Gail Webb in
Paintsville, KY, in 1951; her older
sister was future superstar Loretta
Lynn, though Lynn had already left home
by the time Brenda was born. The family
moved to Wabash, IN, when Brenda was
four, and she started singing along with
country and pop songs on the radio at a
young age. Inspired in part by Lynn's
success, Brenda learned guitar and
started performing folk songs in high
school, also singing backing vocals in
her brother's band. Lynn encouraged her
younger sister, and started bringing her
out on tour for a few weeks each summer.
Lynn's label, Decca, signed the young
singer as soon as she was done with high
school, but suggested a name change so
as to avoid confusion with labelmate
Brenda Lee. Lynn suggested the name
Crystal, inspired by the Krystal
hamburger chain, and Brenda adopted her
middle name to come up with Crystal
Gayle.
Gayle's debut single was 1970's "I've
Cried (The Blues Right Out of My Eyes)";
done in a style very similar to Lynn's,
it reached the country Top 40. Far from
encouraging Gayle to develop her own
style, Decca pushed for more "little
Loretta" records, and Lynn actually
wrote some of her early singles.
Unfortunately, this approach failed to
establish Gayle in her own right, even
with regular appearances on Jim Ed
Brown's television show The Country
Place. Frustrated, she parted ways with
Decca and signed with United Artists in
1974, where she was teamed with producer
Allen Reynolds. Reynolds offered Gayle
the creative freedom she wanted, and she
began to experiment with her style and
phrasing en route to her own distinctive
approach. Her first-ever album, titled
simply Crystal Gayle, was released in
1974, and the following year she landed
her first Top Ten country hit, "Wrong
Road Again." In 1976, "I'll Get Over
You" became the first of her 17 number
one country singles. Reynolds, feeling
that Gayle was poised for a larger
breakthrough, encouraged her to record
the jazz-flavored pop ballad "Don't It
Make My Brown Eyes Blue," which he felt
sure had crossover potential. He was
right -- not only did the song hit
number one on the country charts in
1977, it also climbed to number two on
the pop side, garnered substantial
international airplay, and won Gayle a
Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal.
Plus, the accompanying album, We Must
Believe in Magic, became the first by a
female country artist ever to go
platinum.
Now a bona fide star, Gayle followed
her breakthrough success with a string
of hits that lasted for approximately
the next decade. Before the '70s closed,
she scored several more number one
country hits: "You Never Miss a Real
Good Thing (Till He Says Goodbye)"
(1977), "Ready for the Times to Get
Better" (1978), "Talking in Your Sleep"
(1978; also a pop Top 20 hit), and "Why
Have You Left the One You Left Me For"
(1979); plus, 1979's "Half the Way," her
first single for new label Columbia, was
a number two country hit and also
reached the pop Top 20. She kept on
scoring as the '80s dawned; 1980 brought
two chart-toppers in "If You Ever Change
Your Mind" and "It's Like We Never Said
Goodbye," 1981 another in "Too Many
Lovers," and 1982 her first number one
duet, "You and I," which was recorded
with Eddie Rabbitt and became her second
Top Ten pop hit (it also inaugurated her
tenure with Elektra/Warner). Gayle hit
number one three times in 1983 ("Baby,
What About You," Rodney Crowell's "Till
I Gain Control Again," "Our Love Is on
the Faultline") and twice more in 1984
("The Sound of Goodbye," "Turning
Away"), and began to cross over to the
adult contemporary charts with
regularity as well.
Gayle's last country number ones came
in 1986 with "Cry" and the smooth Gary
Morris duet "Makin' Up for Lost Time,"
after which she -- rather abruptly --
all but disappeared from the charts. She
did continue to record, reuniting with
Allen Reynolds for the 1990 Capitol set
Ain't Gonna Worry, and cutting specialty
projects for smaller labels thereafter.
She recorded two gospel albums during
the '90s, Someday (1995) and He Is
Beautiful, and in 1999 completed a
tribute project, Crystal Gayle Sings the
Heart & Soul of Hoagy Carmichael. In the
meantime, she ran a shop in Nashville
devoted to fine jewelry and (naturally)
crystal. Gayle opened the new millennium
with 2000's In My Arms, an album of
children's songs. |
