After Dinner Speakers: Crystal Gayle, Bob Mills, Ian Angell

Born Brenda Gail Webb in Paintsville, Ky., in 1951, country star Crystal Gayle was one of the more popular country singers of the 1970s, mostly due to her association with superstar Loretta Lynn, her older sister. Raised in a middle class household in Wabash, IN., at age 16 Gayle began touring with Lynn, and in 1970 signed to Decca Records thanks to Lynn's connections there. Gayle's Top 40 debut single, "I've Cried the Blue Right Out of My Eyes," was a cover of one of Lynn's hits. After moving to United Artists, Gayle returned in 1975 with her first full- length album, Crystal Gayle, which spawned the Top 10 hit "Wrong Road Again." The following year Gayle reached No. 1 with the crossover hits "I'll Get Over You" and "You Never Miss a Real Good Thing (Till He Says Goodbye)." Gayle fully crossed over into mainstream pop with the 1977 ballad "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue," a No. 1 country and No. 2 pop hit, causing its album We Must Believe in Magic to go platinum. Now a major star in her own right, Gayle scored more Top 10 hits and gold albums in the late '70s and early '80s, singing No. 1 hits such as "Ready for the Times to Get Better," "Why Have You Left the One You Left Me For," and "Talking in Your Sleep." In the early '90s Gayle slowed her recording schedule to concentrate on touring -- she remains a popular concert draw to this day.