Country singer Crystal Gayle returns to Iowa to perform at Riverside Casino

Whenever Crystal Gayle returns to Iowa she recalls one of her earliest gigs in the Hawkeye state. The country singer laughed when reminiscing about performing at a rodeo in tiny Sidney in southwest Iowa just as her initial hit, “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” was breaking in 1977.

“I’ll never forget the reaction I received from the audience when we played ‘Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue,’” Gayle said while calling from her Nashville home. “People seemed like they knew the song but I had no idea that it was being played on the radio at that time. I was like, ‘What’s going on here?’”

Ah, the days before the internet and social media. Back in the stone age of the ‘70s recording artists lived in a vacuum as they toured the country. “We didn’t know what was going on,” Gayle said. “We were just going from town to town and performing”

Gayle’s experience was not uncommon. What was uncommon for Loretta Lynn’s little sister was the incredible success that followed.

Gayle, 73, recorded a slew of hits after “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” topped the country music charts for four straight weeks. “Ready for the Times to Get Better,” “Talking in Your Sleep,” “Half the Way” and “You and I” are some of Gayle’s most popular tunes.

“I’ve been incredibly fortunate,” Gayle said. “I received some great advice throughout my career and I followed much of it.”

Some of the best guidance was from Gayle’s iconic sister. “She knew the business and she always told me to record differently than her and it made sense,” Gayle said. “I also had received great advice from Alan Reynolds, who was fantastic to work with.”

Reynolds, who is in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, produced a number of Gayle’s albums and was behind the board for “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue.”

“We recorded ‘Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue’ twice and it was a performance with the band,” Gayle said. “We didn’t have to play that one over and over to get it right. We got it right the first time we played it in the studio. It’s great having a song like that since it’s instantly identifiable once you hear that piano lick. I love that song and I just love singing.”

That’s been so for the Kentucky native, who grew up in Wabash, Indiana, since she was a child. “My mother said I could sing before I could walk,” Gayle said. “Music has always been in my soul. That’s so for my entire family. We used to play and sing out on the porch. It was just something that we loved. We didn’t have video games. It was just all about music. You entertained yourself.”

The Grammy Award winner who will perform Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, at Riverside Casino & Golf Resort, made a career out of it and became one of the most recognized country singers, partly due to her long black hair, which was nearly floor length. Gayle’s famous sister urged her back in the mid-70s to visit a beauty parlor and indulge in a popular style of the day. However, Gayle declined.

“I couldn’t afford a hairdresser back then,” Gayle said. “I just let my hair grow straight. Thanks to my Native American blood, my hair grows quickly. My long hair became my look.”

Her look helped her score gigs on television. One of her favorite TV experiences was a 1979 special with Bob Hope called “On the Road to China.” Gayle and Hope sang on the Great Wall of China. The special made Gayle the first artist to film a performance on the Great Wall of China.

“Going to China was an incredible experience,” Gayle said. “We were there for two weeks. I got to meet so many wonderful people and Bob Hope was so good to work with.”

Gayle enjoys reminiscing but she also lives in the moment. “I’m still out there doing what I love to do,” Gayle said. “I love to sing in front of an audience.”

When Gayle performs at Riverside her performance at the Sidney rodeo will pop into her head. “I think about it since it was such a good time,” Gayle said. “I remember my guitarist then was Chris Leuzinger, who is now Garth Brooks’ guitarist. I remember how much fun we all had with him. We called Chris, ‘Chris Bluezinger!’ Those were fun times in Iowa but it’s always a good time going back. The fans in Iowa are great. It’ll be fun when I go back there.”