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Our Top 10 Crystal Gayle Songs list looks at the songs of a successful crossover country pop artist who began her career in the 1970s. Many may not realize that Crystal Gayle is the younger sister of country music legend Loretta Lynn. Crystal Gayle started her career as a backup singer in Loretta Lynn’s band. However, Crystal Gayle’s talent was far too off the charts to remain a backup singer, so she began her career in the early 1970s, releasing singles. In 1975, she released her first studio album.
The soft rock, pop, and country music musical genres were often intermingled by many artists in the 1970s. Bands like the Eagles did very well crossing over on the charts. So did Crystal Gayle. She became one of the most successful crossover artists of the 1970s, hitting both the country and pop charts continuously. Throughout her career, Crystal Gayle’s has released sixty eight singles and twenty five studio albums. She has released so much material it’s hard to choose only ten songs, but that’s what we do here at classicrockhistory.com. We hope you enjoy this top 10 Crystal Gayle songs list, as many of these songs will most definitely bring back memories.
# 10 – The Sound Of Goodbye
We open our top 10 Crystal Gayle songs list with the fabulous song entitled “The Sound Of Goodbye.” The song was released on the album entitled Cage the Songbird. This title was taken from the famous Elton John Song. “The Sound Of Goodbye” was the first single released from the album. The album was released in 1984. The song was a massive hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Charts, peaking at number one. The song was also a hit on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary Charts, reaching number ten. “The Sound Of Goodbye” also proved to be a crossover hit as it made it onto the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number eighty-four.
# 9 – Take Me Home
One of the lost gems in classic rock history is the soundtrack album Tom Waits and Crystal Gayle collaborated on from the 1982 motion picture One From The Heart. The film itself is an epic forgotten movie directed by Francis Ford Coppola that at the time got terrible reviews. Still, in hindsight and for many of us who saw it when it was first released, it remains a beautiful, heartbreaking, brilliant picture. While there are so many mesmerizing songs on the album, we didn’t have room to choose that many, but we did pick two outstanding ones. The first one is the captivating duet between Tom Waits and Crystal Gayle entitled “Take Me Home.”
Read More – Top 10 Tom Waits Songs Of The 1970s
# 8 – Cage The Songbird
If the song title for this one sounds familiar, you must be an Elton John fan. “Cage The Songbird” is one of Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s most beautiful songs. It’s also one of their most underrated. The song was released on Elton John’s also very underrated album, Blue Moves, in 1977. Crystal Gale lends her stunning voice to this wonderful song, helping spread its beauty to a new audience that may have never heard it before.
# 7 – Baby What About You
In the number seven position on our top 10 Crystal Gayle songs list is the song entitled “Baby What About You.” The excellent dancing piano intro wraps around Crystal Gayle’s golden vocals at the song’s start, letting the listener know this one will be special. It almost sounds like this one was from the 60s like Ronnie Spector would have recorded it, but it was a brand new song in 83. The song was released on the album entitled True Love. The album was released in 1983. It was the third single released from the album.
The song was a monumental hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Charts, peaking at number one. It also hit the US Billboard Hot 100, reaching the 84th position. On the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts, it peaked at number nine. “Baby What About You” was composed by Josh Leo and Wendy Waldman.
# 6 – Too Many Lovers
This one grabs you instantly with its dark, minor chords at the start. Landing in the number six spot on our top 10 Crystal Gayle songs list, we present the song “Too Many Lovers.” The song was released on the album entitled These Days. The album was released in 1981. It was the third single released from the album. The song hit the US Billboard Hot Country Charts, peaking at number one. This twisting R&B meets rock meets country tune was composed by Sam Hogin, Ted Lindsay, and Mark True.
# 5 – I’ll Get Over You
At the halfway point on our top 10 Crystal Gayle songs list is the song” I’ll Get Over You.” This was Crystal Gayle’s first song to break onto the Billboard Hot 100, which peaked at number seventy one. However, on the country charts, the song was a much bigger hit as it hit number one. The song was issued on the album entitled Somebody Loves You. The album was released in 1977. The song was composed by Richard Leigh.
# 4 – Half the Way
You may have forgotten this song, but the second you hear it, you say, “Oh, I used to love that song.” That’s one of the reasons we do these lists. At the number four spot on our top 10 Crystal Gayle songs list, we present the song “Half the Way.” The song was released on the album entitled Miss the Mississippi. The album was released in 1979. It was the first single released from the album. The song hit the US Billboard Hot Country Charts, peaking at number two. The song also hit the US Billboard Hot 100, reaching number fifteen. The song was composed by Ralph Murphy and Bobby Wood. This was Crystal Gayle’s first single for Columbia Records.
# 3 – Talking in Your Sleep
Whistling and singing along on our top 10 Crystal Gayle songs list, we present the song “Talking in Your Sleep.” The song was released on the album entitled When I Dream. The album was released in 1978. It was the first single released from the album. The song was a massive hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Charts, peaking at number one. The song also hit the US Billboard Hot 100, reaching number eighteen. “Talking in Your Sleep” was composed by Roger Cook and Bobby Wood.
# 2 – If You Ever Change Your Mind
While we are getting close to the top spot on our top 10 Crystal Gayle songs list, we celebrate the song “If You Ever Change Your Mind.” The song was released on the album entitled These Days. The album was released in 1980. It was the first single released from the album. The song hit the US Billboard Adult Contemporary Charts, peaking at number eighteen. However, on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles Charts, once again Crystal Gayle had another number one single as the song peaked at number one.
# 1 – Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue
We close out our top 10 Crystal Gayle songs list with the track “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue.” This was just one of those sensational 1970s songs you never forget. For Crystal Gayle, it would become her signature song. The song was released on the album entitled We Must Believe in Magic. The album was released in 1977. It was the first single released from the album. The song was her biggest hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number two. The song was also a monumental hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Charts, reaching number one. The song also hit number one in Canada. The song hit number five in the United Kingdom.”Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” was written by Richard Leigh, who won a Grammy Award as the song composer.