I've Cried (The Blue Right Out of My Eyes)

by Jason Birchmeier Although Crystal Gayle didn't make her album debut until 1975, with her self-titled United Artists release, she did record a handful of songs for MCA Records that were released as singles between 1970 and 1973. Among these early recordings was "I've Cried (The Blue Right Out of My Eyes)," a chart single in August 1970 that was her first ever. "Everybody Oughta Cry" (1972), "I Hope You're Havin' Better Luck Than Me" (1972), and "Show Me How" (1973) followed as singles but were progressively less successful. Years later these early recordings were compiled and released by MCA as the I've Cried the Blue Right Out of My Eyes album in 1978, around the height of Gayle's commercial breakthrough success, between the albums We Must Believe in Magic and When I Dream. These early recordings are noteworthy for a couple reasons, chiefly because they were produced by the legendary Owen Bradley and because a few of the songs were written by Gayle's famous older sister, Loretta Lynn. The easy listening country-pop style Gayle would later employ with longtime producer Allen Reynolds is noticeably absent here, showcasing instead the singer's initial resemblance to her much grittier sister. [This material was subsequently repackaged numerous times over, including the Crystal Gayle release by MCA in 1993.]