Country Love
Song: To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before
Artist: Julio Iglesias & Willie Nelson
Album: Half Nelson (1982)
Genre: Easy Listening
This is why I am a blogger! It’s a beautiful thing when you have a good enough memory that you can share a piece of history with others. You better continue to visit my blog, because I can assure you, you will not “discover” half the stuff I blog about on YouTube! Just because it may be uploaded, doesn’t mean it will show up on anyone’s playlist, or radio playlist. Let me tell you, these two men… Again, unless your family is cultural enough to still play this kind of music, if you’re younger than 20-25 years of age, I doubt you have any idea of their music.
Julio Iglesias Was Sexy As F**k!
I’m not gonna lie, I thought Julio Iglesias was sexy as hell when he was young. Even in the picture about he still looked good around the age of 42 (which indirectly added to the success of the song (I think)). The duet with country singer Willie Nelson proved to be the most successful move in Julio’s career. “To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before,” hit #5 on the Top 100 Chart, and hit #1 on the Country Charts. Now, this isn’t to say Julio didn’t have any other #1 hits, they’re just in the Latin categories, whereas the Top 100 is more broad.
You know, it was interesting because, this song in particular seemed to have transcend not only across music cultures, but age as well. I mean, I’ve seen str8 women go bananas when they heard this song come on the radio! Then again, Julio had a kind of voice where, he could have been singing about taking a dump in the toilet, and still sound sexy as hell. ? Such a shame father time was not kind to Julio. I absolutely can’t believe it’s the same person now. Today, he looks so much like Mickey Rourke now. I wonder if Julio had plastic surgery too?
Believe it or not kids (and some grown ups), Mrs. Olivia Newton-John is most definitely a legend in every sense of the word! She is perhaps one of the few artists I’ve put in to my ultimate favorites category of the seventies and eighties. I think she’s just one of those artists that we don’t realize just how much she has contributed to the entertainment industry until we really look back and reflect. My goodness! Let’s see, she’s an actress, songwriter, business woman, and oh yeah, did you know she was also a model in her younger years?
Olivia Is Most Remembered For The Movie, Grease!
I am confident in saying that of all the phenomenal things that Olivia has done throughout her career, she is instantly remembered for her work in the 1978 movie Grease! She co-starred John Travolta, and they both did an incredible job! Olivia not only acted in the movie, she was also a huge part of the soundtrack as well. Both the movie and the soundtrack were successful hits. “Grease,” performed by Frankie Valli, & “You’re The One That I Want,” performed by Travolta and Olivia were #1 on the charts. “Summer Nights” also performed by Travolta and Olivia hit #5, and Olivia’s “Hopelessly Devoted To You,” reached #3 on the charts! In Australia, the album hit 14x Platinum, and in America 8x Platinum. Back then, those figures were eye popping.
I could be wrong, but I think the project Grease really made a difference in her career! Music was going through a major shift (and that included the world of country music), and I just don’t think she would have been as successful if she didn’t participate in the movie. Listening to Olivia’s music was kind of like listening to an Australian country version of Karen Carpenter. ? Don’t beat me up for that, I loved Karen’s music too.
Beyond The Grease Soundtrack!
Ok, I need to make my readers aware of just how badass Olivia was back in the day! Out of 38 songs that actually registered on the Billboard Charts, she has managed to get 5 number ones, and 15 top tens. That’s an incredible achievement, not only as a woman, but as a mostly country artist. Also keep in mind, she accomplished this just when disco was on its why out, and both rock and pop was slowly dominating the 80s.
Some of my favorites dear to my heart are “Physical (1981),” “I Honestly Love You (1974),” “Have You Ever Been Mellow (1975),” and another badass song “Magic (1980).” I soooo love the beat to “Magic.” And you know, “Suddenly (1981),” was a nice song too, but unfortunately it only reached #20 on the Top 100 Charts (which is not bad technically). If I’m not mistaken “Suddenly” was on the original Xanadu (1980) soundtrack. Olivia didn’t have all that much of a vocal range (in my opinion), but she managed to crank out some huge memorable hits in my lifetime.
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I’m pretty sure that for most of my readers, the name Crystal Gayle goes right over your heads. In terms of country music, Crystal Gayle was one of the hottest performers in the mid 70s. Her first single released in 1977 called “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue,” became a massive hit for Crystal. It shot up to #1 on the Country Charts, and #2 on the Top 100 Charts, and #1 in Canada! What this song was like what “Stormy Weather” did for Lena Horne. Crystal Gayle became a household name after her first single.
Her Long Hair Became Her Trademark!
Crystal was young, beautiful, reserved, and her class showed in her album covers. However, even with her (then) massive hit song, it appeared that people remembered her even more for her extremely long hair. It wasn’t before long that her hair became her trademark. I think this was a smart move, as very few female country singers kept their hair as long as Crystal. In fact, I dare to say that the majority of them back in the day wore a lot of wigs. Some of those being Dolly Parton, and let’s not forget about Loretta Lynn.
Her Music Transcends Age & Genre
You know, when I was a kid, I never thought of her music as “country music.” I simply saw them as beautiful ballads. I guess that’s when you know a song transcends over music categories and age groups. This is something I don’t think we’ll ever hear again in the streaming age; unless we are searching for classic music.
Duet With Eddie Rabbitt
She has also made some beautiful & romantic duets; one of which is my favorite called “You and I,” with Eddie Rabbitt. The song was released in 1983, and hit #7 on the Top 100 Charts. I think when I heard this song, was the first time I started to hear the country in her music. If you love Crystal’s music, I recommend another beautiful short ballad called “Talking In Your Sleep.” It was released in 1978 and reached #18 on the Top 100 Chart.