This season on my podcast, Baring It All with Call Me Adam, I am spotlighting My Entertainment Idols.
Today I am catching up with Motown Singer & Songwriter Charlene Oliver, who you know as the songstress behind the #1 song, "I've Never Been To Me," written by Ron Miller & featured in one of my favorite movies, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
Charlene & I last spoke in 2020 and now I am thrilled to be speaking with Charlene once again!
In this NEW interview, Charlene is Baring It All with Call Me Adam about:
- How she came to record the global hit song, I've Never Been To Me
- Getting out of her abusive marriage
- Finding tranquility amongst the chaos of the world
- The sweetness of candy
- So much more
"I've Never Been To Me" is available to stream on all music platforms!
Special Thanks:
- Adam White & Jeff Oliver
- Theme Song by Bobby Cronin
- Podcast Logo by Liam O'Donnell
- Edited by Adam Rothenberg
- Underscore Music by Cutique
Connect with Me:
Website: www.callmeadam.com
Facebook: @CallMeAdamNYC
Instagram: @CallMeAdamNYC
More on Charlene Oliver:
Charlene Oliver always knew she wanted to be a singer, from her childhood in Hollywood in the late 1950s, one of two sisters in a loving family of Italian/American origin.
Charlene's first break came with the offer to join Petula Clark's backing singers at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. Before long, she was auditioning in front of legendary Motown boss Berry Gordy and to her joy, being signed, the first ever white female singer to be signed to the label.
Her first song, "All That Love Went To Waste," came out in 1974, followed by two albums on the Motown label. Then writer Ron Miller persuaded Charlene to record his song, "I've Never Been To Me," in 1977, but the single only just scraped into the Top 100.
By the early 1980s, Charlene's career seemed to be stalling and she had left the US to move to her second husband Jeff's home in Essex, England, where she found work in the local sweetshop.
It was there that she heard, in 1982, that a Florida DJ had been pushing her song so much that it had been re-released, and was finally hitting the charts. Within a few weeks, the singer found herself back at the top, as the song hit #1 in country after country all over the world, and she left her Essex sweetshop to fly on the Concorde to perform internationally.
The growing international success of the musical Priscilla, Queen of the Desert has confirmed her as a hugely popular singer amongst the gay community, and recently she released a new club version of her iconic song in association with Eye Witness.
Charlene's story has it all: the stars, the fame, the struggle, the pain.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.