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| Birth Name(s) : Brenda Gail Webb |
Date of Birth: N/A |
| Status:
Single
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Partner:
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| Profession:
Singer, Actress |
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Full Crystal Gayle Biography
Loretta Lynn, Eddie Rabbitt, Gary Morris, Lynn Anderson, Kenny Rogers, Dottie West, Barbara Mandrell, Lee Greenwood
She is the youngest daughter of Melvin Ted Webb and Clara Ramey. By the time Gayle was born, her elder sister Loretta Lynn, sixteen years older, had already married and moved away. She is also a distant cousin of singer Patty Loveless.
Her popularity in country music in the mid-70s and into the late-80s made her one of the most successful Country music artists of all time, and one of the leading female vocalists of her generation. She has racked up 17#1 Country hits (her sister Loretta has racked up 16 #1s on the Country charts) from 1977 to 1987, with songs like "You Never Miss a Real Good Thing", "Too Many Lovers", "Talking in Your Sleep", "You and I", and "The Sound of Goodbye". While these songs were major Country hits, they were also Top 10 and Top 20 Adult Contemporary hits, making Gayle a popular singer outside of the Country market.
Raised in a farming community in Indiana, she was exposed to various distinct genres of music, which contributed to her unique vocal sound. In high school, Gayle performed folk music, and sang background in her brother's band, as well as taking up the guitar. She graduated from high school in Wabash, Indiana.
After signing with United Artists, Gayle worked with producer Allen Reynolds who helped establish her Countrypolitan or Country Pop sound. In 1975, she achieved her first Top 10 Country hit, "Wrong Road Again" (#6). A self-titled album was also released. The next year, she achieved another Top 10 record, "Somebody Loves You" (#8), followed by her first #1, "I'll Get Over You", which was also her first Hot 100 entry (#71). Gayle scored two more Top 2 hits, "You Never Miss A Real Good Thing (Till He Says Goodbye)" (#1) and "I'll Do It All Over Again" (#2), in 1977.
In 1977 and 1978, she was awarded the CMA Awards' Female Vocalist of the Year. She toured worldwide including Britain with Kenny Rogers and China with Bob Hope where she became the first person to tape a performance on the Great Wall of China. She appeared in her own specials on CBS which led to her "Christmas In Sweden" special.
In 1985, she released her next album, Nobody Wants To Be Alone, which contained two Top 5 Country hits - the title track (#3) and "A Long And Lasting Love" (#5). Later that year, she teamed with Gary Morris to record a duet for the soundtrack to the Dallas television series. The song, "Makin' Up For Lost Time (The Dallas Lovers' Song)", reached #1 Country, but was Gayle's last AC chart appearance (#36).
Gayle's admitted her "heartbeat" is her family. She married her high school sweetheart, Bill Gatzimos, shortly after graduating high school. The couple have two children, Catherine and Cris, and one grandson, Elijah.
Gayle is known to be the female artist with the longest hair in the world, and her hair has been noted on CMT as one of the world's greatest fashion statements. Her website says she grew her hair to such incredible lengths because she had to have it boyishly short as a child. She has had at least "classic length" all through adulthood, but now keeps her hair to three inches off the floor (though because of its excellent condition, many people think it is indeed floor length, despite the fact that while on stage, she always wears high heels to lift it higher.) "If it's on the ground, I find I step on it on stage. When you've hair like this, you cannot plan anything other than washing your hair and doing your concert." While singing, she frequently stands with her back to the audience, who watch her luxurious hair sway back and forth. Gayle has confessed she sometimes has nightmares about waking up with all her hair cut off, and ever since a fan cut off a large chunk of her sister's hair, Gayle has been extra protective of her own hair among fans. She has also posed for pictures with other women with very long hair (also sometimes to the floor). Her daughter has much shorter hair, and Gayle has often remarked she's sad that so far her daughter has chosen not to follow in her footsteps (Crystal Gayle, née Brenda Webb, had short hair when she was living in the parental home).
A new Crystal Gayle in Concert DVD was taped in Nashville on June 9, 2005 released later that year. In 2006, she appeared on an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition when she stopped by to help with the making of a new house near Nashville.
Also in 2007, The 2nd Annual American Entertainment Magazine Reader's Choice Awards named Crystal Gayle 'Best Female Entertainer' as Gayle continues to tour the globe.
Gayle commented on the award: "I really appreciated being voted 'Best Female Entertainer,' and I'm pleased that my show is appreciated by talent buyers and promoters. I love performing, and we always have a great time with our audience and everyone we work with. I'm happy that my band, crew and staff are all professional, talented and nice; they help make touring easy and fun."
Ain't Gonna Worry
- A Re-release of the original single in 1970
- B Original version released on Crystal; single version later included on Classic Crystal
- C Later released on Gayle/Morris album What If We Fall In Love? |
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