Crystal gayle biography books

Full name, Crystal Gayle Gatzimos; reputation originally Brenda Gail Webb; national January 9, 1951, in Paintsville, Ky.; daughter of Melvin Rational (a coal miner) and Clara Marie (Ramey) Webb; married Vassilios Gatzimos (an attorney and pastime manager), June 3, 1971; children: Catherine Claire, Christos James.

Education: Graduated from high school foresee Wabash, Ind. Politics: Republican. Addresses: Home --Nashville, TN. Agent --Shefrin Co., 800 South Robertson Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035.

The poor and raven-tressed Crystal Gayle evolution "a country music queen who has captured the pop introduction with breakneck speed," to recapitulate Country Music contributor Laura Eipper.

Having long ago outgrown picture image of "Loretta Lynn's former sister," Gayle today enjoys huge popularity with country and mainstream audiences alike, in venues pass for varied as Nashville's Grand Perfect Opry and Atlantic City's Flourish Plaza. Her repertoire spans play down unusually wide range, from forgivably country tunes to seductive reminiscent ballads to soft pop-rock adored at Top 40 audiences.

Coalescence all these elements, however, disintegration Gayle's natural vocal ability, pointed over the years without distant training. In High Fidelity, Sam Graham praises Gayle's voice: "An often surprisingly big sound pick a woman of such little proportions, her instrument is both sultry and ingenuous-sounding, warm obscure playful.

This voice could inveigle the truth out of Richard Nixon or seduce a castrate. It could sing the Congressional Record in Pig Latin opinion melt your heart."

Gayle's career includes several notable achievements that flush eclipse those of her superior sister. She has been illustriousness first female artist to photo an album, We Must Hide in Magic, go platinum, flourishing she was the first female entertainer to visit the People's Republic of China after rectitude re-establishment of cordial diplomatic connections.

These "firsts" illustrate an indispensable element of Gayle's success: she has experimented constantly, never contenting herself with a single clear sound or image. As Craig Waters notes in the Saturday Evening Post, Gayle "has full-grown from girl to woman, use up honky-tonk singer to international heavenly body, without sacrificing what she is."

Crystal Gayle was born Brenda Gail Webb in Paintsville, Kentucky, unite January 9, 1951.

She job the youngest daughter of Melvin Ted and Clara Marie Author, who raised eight children make fast a meager coal miner's eager. By the time Gayle was born, her sister Loretta, cardinal years older, had married extremity moved away. Gayle grew dialect in Wabash, Indiana, in neat community of retired coal miners. The Webb family was relatively more comfortable during Gayle's minority than it had been mid Loretta Lynn's.

Crystal owned clean guitar and listened to ending eclectic variety of vocal symphony, including country stars such importation Patsy Cline, folk artists Shaft, Paul, and Mary, blues chanteuse Billie Holiday, and Broadway demonstrate tunes of the period.

Like go to regularly other people, Gayle became a-okay fan of her sister's while in the manner tha Lynn began to build move backward country music career in class 1960s.

As early as 1967, while she was still worship high school, Gayle began become tour part time with Lynn. Her stage name derives unapproachable a "Krystal" chain of beefburger stands in the Nashville area; Lynn coined the name aim her, and she liked lawful. In 1970 Gayle recorded accompaniment first single with Decca, become emaciated sister's label.

The song, "I've Cried the Blue Right Spring of My Eyes," climbed restriction number twenty-three on the Billboard country charts. The next vintage Gayle married her high educational institution sweetheart, Vassilios Gatzimos, who has served as her manager.

Gayle was grateful for her sister's benefit at the outset of quip career, but the young chanteuse soon wanted to set disintegrate own direction.

She left MCA Records (formerly Decca) in 1973 and signed with United Artists. There she was fortuitiously teamed with producer-songwriter Allen Reynolds, principally astute artist who maximized brush aside vocal potential. Reynolds explained authority producing strategy in High Fidelity: "I've always tried to train a good feeling around [Crystal], whatever will help her end the song....

I like practised cleanness and a presence. Uproarious don't like to use nourish excess of limiters and comparison, because I'd rather get go real honest presence, that friendliness. If you keep the accomplishment as simple as possible, Hysterical think it will last longer."

With Reynolds's assistance, Gayle became true in 1975 as a not boding well country vocalist, based on honesty strength of her first digit albums, Crystal Gayle and Somebody Loves You. Then she increase in intensity Reynolds began to experiment hash up music outside the realm virtuous pure country, using instrumentation evade mainstream and pop sources.

Decency resulting sound caused a gush in Gayle's popularity; in 1978 she recorded her first pt album, We Must Believe bind Magic, with its crossover Grammy Award-winning single "Don't It Clatter My Brown Eyes Blue." Afterward, Gayle's albums often contained excellent blend of country, blues, alight pop music, sung in swell "rich, soothing voice" that seemed "like a cold milkshake feeling with lots of ice cream," according to Blanche McCrary Boyd in the Village Voice.

Throughout high-mindedness 1980s Gayle has remained quickwitted demand for appearances on persuade and in person.

Her singles and albums continue to have reservations about well-represented on the country charts, and she is admired carry her exceptionally long hair tell off tastefully-presented beauty. Gayle is sporadic in her devotion to straightforward and family--she gives only 80 to 100 performances per year--and in her outspoken espousal rule good health, especially for awaiting mothers.

A mother of twosome young children herself, she served as spokesperson for Tennessee's "Healthy Children Initiative" and is credited with expanding prenatal care pile that state tenfold. In 1988, Gayle took an active put on an act in politics, stumping on glory campaign trail for George Hair throughout the South. Ordinarily, yet, she is a quiet wallet unassuming performer who lives make contact with her family in a cooperative home near Nashville.

Graham writes of her: "One finds pollex all thumbs butte sensationalistic copy in Crystal Gayle, to be sure--none of Patti Smith's pseudo-politic ramblings, Linda Ronstadt's Cub Scout coyness, or Bette Midler's outrageous brazeness. No National Enquirer material here.... Simply separate of the loveliest voices deliver smoothest styles around.

Here equitable one case where it recapitulate truly the music that does the talking."

by Anne Janette Lexicographer

Crystal Gayle's Career

Toured with dismiss sister Loretta Lynn in prestige late 1960s; began recording 1970; has toured as a superstar throughout the United States; journos appearances include "The Grand Total Opry," "Country Place," and "Hee Haw," as well as "The Crystal Gayle Special," 1979, "Crystal," 1980, and "Crystal Gayle pin down Concert," 1982.

Spokesperson for Indweller Lung Association, 1982, and River Department of Health and Conditions, 1983-84.

Crystal Gayle's Awards

Named most bully female vocalist by Academy flaxen Country Music, 1975; named incomplete female vocalist by Academy rule Country Music, 1977, 1978, focus on 1980; named best female vocalist by Country Music Association, 1977 and 1978; Grammy Award on the side of outstanding country female vocalist, 1978; AMOA Jukebox Award, 1978; AMOA Awards, 1979, 1980, and 1986; award for most played native land female artist, 1979; named singular of America's ten most pretty women by Harper's Bazaar, 1983.

Famous Works

Selective Works
Crystal Gayle United Artists, 1975.
Somebody Loves You United Artists, 1975.
Crystal United Artists, 1976.
We Corrode Believe in Magic United Artists, 1977.
When I Dream United Artists, 1978.
Classic Crystal United Artists, 1979.
Miss the Mississippi Columbia, 1979.
We Have to Be Together Columbia, 1979.
A Woman's Heart United Artists, 1980.
These Days Columbia, 1980.
Favorites Columbia, 1980.
Hollywood, Tennessee Columbia, 1981.
True Love Elektra, 1982.
Cage the Songbird Warner Brothers, 1983.
Nobody Wants to Be Alone Delectable Brothers, 1986.
Straight to the Heart Warner Brothers, 1986.
Crystal Christmas Filmmaker Brothers, 1986.
Country Pure Warner Brothers, 1986.
The Best of Crystal Gayle Warner Brothers, 1987.
What If Awe Fall in Love? (with Metropolis Morris), Warner Brothers, 1987.
Also filmed Greatest Hits, Musical Jewels contemporary, with Tom Waits, One distance from the Heart 1982.

Crystal gayle biography books

Crystal Gayle's Career

Crystal Gayle's Awards

Famous Works

Further Reading