Photo: Dayrow1974, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Our Top 10 Crystal Gayle Songs list looks at the songs of a very successful crossover country pop artist who began her career in the 1970s. Many people may not realize that Crystal Gayle is the younger sister of country music legend Loretta Lynn. The fact is Crystal Gayle began 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 own career in the early 1970s releasing singles. In 1975, she released her first studio album. The musical genres of soft rock, pop and country music 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 would become one of the most successful crossover artists of the 1970s hitting both the country charts and the pop charts on a continuous basis. Throughout her career, Crystal Gayle’s has released sixty eight singles and twenty five studio albums. Sh ahs released so much material it’s hard to choose only 10 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 up 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. A title that 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 huge hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Charts peaking at number one. The song also was a hit on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary Charts reaching all the way up to 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 that both 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 bad reviews, but 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 mesmerising songs on the album, we didn’t have room to choose that many, but we did pick two that are outstanding. The first one up is the captivating duet between Tom Waits and Crystal Gayle entitled “Take Me Home.”
# 8 – Old Boyfriends
In the number eight spot on our top 10 Crystal Gayle songs list we present the song entitled “Old Boyfriends.” This was the second song we picked from the “One From The Heart,” soundtrack. Crystal Gayle’s performance on this song is stunning. The song was written by Tom Waits.
# 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 great dancing piano intro wraps around the golden vocals chords of Crystal Gayle at the songs start letting the listener know this one is going to be special. It almost sounds like this one was from the 60s, like it would have been recorded by Ronnie Spector, 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. The song also was a hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 reaching the 84th position. On the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts the song 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 was a hit on 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 where it peaked at number seventy one. However, on the country charts the song proved to be 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
This is one of those songs that you may have forgotten 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 was a hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Charts peaking at number two. The song also was a hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 reaching all the way up to 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 entitled “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 huge hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Charts peaking at number one. The song also was a hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 reaching all the way up to 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 was a hit on 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 ever on the US Billboard Hot 100 peaking at number two. The song also was a monumental hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Charts reaching all the way up to number one. The song also hit number one in Canada. In the United Kingdom the song hit number five.”Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue,” was written by Richard Leigh who won a Grammy Award as the composer of the song.
Top 10 Crystal Gayle Songs article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2021
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