 One of the most popular and widely recognized female country singers of her
era,
Crystal Gayle 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
the occasional mainstream hit.
Crystal 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 Gayle, inspired by the Krystal hamburger chain, and
Brenda adopted her middle name to come up with
Crystal Gayle.
Crystal 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
Crystal 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
Crystal 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
Crystal 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
Crystal 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
Crystal 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,
Crystal 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).
Crystal 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.
Crystal 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.
Crystal Gayle opened the new millennium with 2000's In My Arms, an album of
children's songs. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
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