Jeff says Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue to THE Crystal Gayle

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
It's the Eighties Show Podcast. I'mJeff Stevens. Hello Jeff, this is
Crystal Gayale. Well, hello there, how are you? I'm doing great?
Thank you for wanting to speak tome. Oh it's it's a complete
honor. I can't even believe Iget to speak with you. This is
so great. Thank you for callingme. Well, thank you all those
great songs. Don't it make mybrown eyes blue? Talking in your sleep?

(00:22):
You and I all kind of startingback in the late seventies and now
it's twenty twenty three. Does itfeel kind of like a blank? It
really does. It's like turn aroundand right time flies, right really flies.
So you know, you need totake in everything you can at the
moment. Talking to Crystal Gale hereand Crystal, I'm kind of wondering with

(00:44):
your amazing career, what would yousay to somebody like Taylor Swift, who's
obviously had an amazing decade or soand is kind of ruling the world right
now, what would you say toher? I mean, Taylor's Swift is
great. I mean she has itall and she's beautiful, she sings great,
and she writes. You know,it's all just in a wonderful package.

(01:06):
And that's why she is. Jillianis as great as she has been
doing. People love her, youknow, the when she started out.
All the children that were drawn toher are are grown now, so yeah,
right with her, and I thinkit's wonderful. I think, you
know, she's you know, Ibelieve that it's where parents feel fine to

(01:26):
send her kids to her concert becausethey feel like it's going to be a
you know, a great experience forthem and not out there. So you
know, it's you know, she'syou know something that Taylor is really one
in a million starting because this doesn'thappen to all the entertainers that sing and

(01:49):
are great and selling millions of songs. Yeah, so you know, it's
beyond that. Yeah, that isthat is very well, very well put.
And of course we're not talking aboutTaylor now, we're talking about Crystal
Gale. And again, I can'tbelieve that that I get to talk to
you. I remember I was inhigh school when when just you and I
came on the radio and I waslike, and I had loved both you

(02:13):
and Eddie's voices and then to hearthem together and that was such a big
hit for you guys, I can'teven I guess it's been forty one years
now. You just had this amazingstring, especially in the late seventies and
into the eighties like that, whereevery time we turn on the radio we
were hearing your voice and we stilldo. You know, I'm very lucky
to have had the success that I'vehad through the years of the number one

(02:37):
songs, and Nashville is full ofgreat writers, and I was so lucky
to be able to record the songs. Yeah, I mean, it's it's
incredible the writers. My very firstnumber one was I'll Get Over You,
and it was the first song everrecorded for the writer Richard Lee, and

(02:58):
then Richard went on to write,donn It make my Brown? I suppose
we've had a good time together?Yeah, no kidding, we all know
that one, that's for sure.When was it in your career, Crystal,
where you thought, Okay, somethinghas shifted here. You know,
You've gone from you know, maybeplaying you know, small venues and stuff,

(03:21):
and then okay, now your songson the radio. At which point
did you go, Okay, thisfeels different. When I first felt the
effect of having my songs on radioand I was recording I was working with
the guitar player. Maybe the bassplayer could come out, you know,
because I couldn't afford much, andI worked a lot of bars, a

(03:43):
lot of little venues, and inthe in the clubs that I would work,
you know, I was used toeverybody get up and dance and have
a good time as a show wasgoing on. When they started sitting down,
that scared me. That's funny,Well what is going on? That
was so used to, you know, a club where everybody's just carrying on,

(04:05):
and then they were listening. It'slike, whoa, what's happening?
What I do wrong? So thatwas the first where I realized something was
happening going from back, you know, when you felt okay, things are
things are starting to shift. Andyou know, now, like you said,
people are sitting down and they're listeningand your songs are all over the

(04:26):
radio. What is it like todo what you did so long ago?
How is it different now? Well? Definitely I am older, and you
and you take it a little.I mean definitely, when you start out,
everything is is going crazy. Youknow, you're here, you're there
now. You know, we goout and do concerts and I still love

(04:47):
to see the people that I havemade friends with through the years. Anywhere
I go, I know I'm goingto see people that I know. Yeah,
and what makes me feel good.And really it's you know, we're
the same old me, but it'sjust you know, we're probably in a

(05:08):
different mindset. Yeah, but youknow, still we have fun. And
you know, I could tell youhow to think and what to do and
what to could to vote for andall that stuff, but I won't.
You know, that's what people wantto entertainment. They don't want to be
told other things. They don't wantto be like a lot of people do,

(05:28):
right, But you know it's we'rethere for a good time and we
laugh and have good time. So, Crystal, with touring for so many
years, have you pretty much hadthe same band or do the musicians kind
of rotate through? People do rotatethrough. Some of the musicians through the
years that have been with me,they have turned into where they want to
just be studio musicians. Yeah,and it's great because I have had so

(05:55):
many a musicians on the road withme, and you know, to me,
what's more important is the person.And you can have the greatest player,
but if it's a bad apple,it's a bad apple because you don't
want that right to spoil everything.Yeah, so you know, I always

(06:15):
take personality as well. And inall the guys are great, What what
is the one song? And I'msure you have a bunch of them,
but what is maybe one or twoof the songs that the minute the band
starts playing the first note, everybodylike, op, that's it. Well,
definitely don't make my broad eyes blue? Right. That is Pig Robbins

(06:40):
who was the keyboard player panel playeron that song. They know his lick
and I mean he did it.He just you know, that song was
the first take in the studio.Really, I did try to re sing
it. I could. It didnot feel right. It was a performance
with the band. It just that'swhat went down to what we did.

(07:02):
We put strings on it after andthat was it. Is that right?
That is a one take? Yes, well, folks, that's an exclusive
for you right there, because Inever knew that about that song. And
by the way, I don't thinkthat one takes exist anymore. So that
is really impressive. Well, youknow, you go in and you have
these great musicians and it does feellike you are somewhere performing. I mean,

(07:27):
that's how I've always felt in thestudio, even though you know it's
baffles here and things there. Itjust you go in and that's how you're
performing. That is really cool.I'm I am really glad to know that.
That's uh. Now, when whenyou did the duet with Eddie Rabbit,
was that something where it was moreEddie's song and he came to you?

(07:48):
Was it your song and you wentto him? Or did did did
the record label put you guys together? No? Eddie called me, Okay,
Now, the song You and Iwas written by Frank Myers and that
was his first song that when hecame to Nashville and was writing. That
was his first song recorded. Wow, And Eddie called me, he said,
would you sing some harmony on mysong? And I said, I

(08:13):
said, tell me the song,Eddie. And when I heard it,
I said, Eddie, I cando a little bit more than harmony.
And it just fell together and itbecame one of the biggest duets of the
eighties, You and I from EddieRabbit and of course the Crystal Gale so
nice to speak with you, ahuge thrill for me. Thank you so
much, Crystal, Thank you somuch.