Country music legend Crystal Gayle will perform three nights, starting Sept. 26, at the Egyptian Theatre. The multi-award-winning singer is known for the hits “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue,” “Talking In Your Sleep” and “Half the Way.” Credit: Photo by Dennis CarneyCrystal Gayle, who will perform three nights starting Sept. 26 at the Egyptian Theatre, is one of country music’s pioneers. She is the first female country artist to boast a platinum album with her 1976 release, “We Must Believe in Magic,” which sold more than 1 million copies, and she has roped in a long line of wins, nominations and recognitions that include Grammys, American Music Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards and the Cherokee Medal of Honor, to name a few.“All of these are wonderful awards, but I’ve always felt when I was up for (one) that all five names along with mine were just as deserving,” she said.But Gayle, known for the hits “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue,” “Talking In Your Sleep” and “Half the Way,” didn’t get into the music business back in the mid 1970s to win awards.“I grew up singing,” she said. “My mother said I could sing before I could walk, and music was in our background.”Gayle was born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, where she heard her first musical note.“A lot of people would sit on their front porches and play the guitar, banjo, or whatever, and sing,” she said. “And you could hear all of that the next Hollow over.” When she was 4, her family moved to Wabash, Indiana.“Wabash was a wonderful place, and what we used to sing on the front porch went into the living room,” she said.Gayle, whose older sister is Loretta Lynn, didn’t become a professional singer because she wanted to become famous.“At the time I started out it wasn’t about, ‘I’m going to be a big star and go to Nashville,’” she said. “It was because I love singing. I would sing everywhere and anywhere I could.”The big time, however, came to Gayle in June 1977 through “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue,” written by Richard Leigh, who had penned one of her earlier hits, “I’ll Get Over You.”“Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue,” the lead single from her album “We Must Believe in Magic,” marked Gayle’s third No. 1 country hit, and it was her highest crossover hit that peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard’s Hot 100.“Those songs don’t come around very often, and I’m glad I got a hold of one,” she said. “Songs like this go beyond the singer, and even children like it. I’ve heard some kids sing ‘Donuts Make My Brown Eyes Blue,’ which I just love.”The song, which became Gayle’s signature, opened the doors of other musical projects that include recording songs on three Grammy-winning children’s albums — “Sesame Country,” “In Harmony 2” and “Songs from the Neighborhood: The Music of Mr. Rogers” — and, later, her gospel albums.“When you’ve been in the business and have had (that type of recognition), you do want to stretch and do the side projects that maybe the record company wouldn’t let you do in the beginning,” she said.In addition to these music projects, producers and directors invited Gayle to appear on TV shows such as the “Dean Martin Christmas in California,” “Bob Hope On the Road the China” and SCTV.“At the time I was making it in the business, we had these wonderful and special variety shows, and I was just very lucky to be offered to be on so many of these specials,” she said. “I also had two specials of my own on CBS, and they were fun, too.”In recent years, variety shows have become too few and far in between, even though there is an abundance of programs to watch through streaming services, Gayle said.“I think entertainment variety shows have turned into award shows, which I think we have way too many,” she said with a laugh. “But that is what I think has taken over so artists can go out and show their faces.”While Gayle enjoys appearing on TV, she always goes back to singing, and she is honored that her songs have struck a chord with her fans.“I think the best thing about that are the letters I have received over the years from people,” she said. “They tell me that my music has helped them through a time in their lives that wasn’t a great time for them. And I think that’s better than any award out there.”Those letters also instill a sense of responsibility in Gayle to honor her fans.“When you go into the studio with a song that you really like, the only way to sing it is the only way I can,” she said. “There’s really no way of knowing if it will touch someone, because it could be just the sound of my voice or it may be the lyrics. So, you have to look at everything that goes into it.”To do that, Gayle makes sure she records and performs the songs that resonate with her, which is something she was taught by her first producer, Allen Reynolds.“He wanted my opinion on every song we were considering recording,” she said. “He said, ‘You have to like it because you’re going to be the one who’s going to be singing it.’ And he was right. Producers can put their wonderful magic around a song, but if you don’t really care for the song, you’re going to miss your own magic.”Taking that lesson to heart, Gayle recorded her latest record, “You Don’t Know Me: Classic Country” in 2019. It’s a cover album that features songs written by groundbreaking country artists such as Gordon Lightfoot, Hank Williams, Willie Nelson and Buck Owens and that were originally recorded by the likes of Marty Robbins, Faron Young, Jack Greene and George Jones.“That album is definitely a biography musically of what I grew up listening to and singing,” she said. “When I started out on the road, I got to work with those entertainers, the singers of some of those songs like Jack Greene and Faron Young. One of the songs, ‘Ribbon of Darkness’ by Marty Robbins, was the first song I ever sang at the Grand Ole Opry.”Gayle’s son Christos Gatzimos produced, engineered and mixed the album, which features appearances by her sisters Loretta Lynn and Peggy Sue Wright, as well as drummer Harry Stinson and jazz violinist Billy Contreras.“I went into the studio with Chris, and I was really pleased with his production,” she said. “I could see myself as a child listening to these songs when we recorded them, so this was a special project I wanted to do.”Gayle may perform one or two of the songs from “You Don’t Know Me” and promised that she’ll perform other well-known hits during her Egyptian Theatre run.“We do a little bit of everything,” she said. “We do songs I hope everybody remembers, and the most important part is having fun.”Crystal GayleWhen: 8 p.m., Sept. 26-28 Where: Egyptian Theatre, 328 Main St. Cost: $49-$79 Phone: 855-745-SHOW Web: parkcityshows.comThe post Crystal Gayle sings for the love of singing appeared first on Park Record.