4. Crystal Gayle

Crystal got her musical inspiration very early in life, since she is one of the many younger siblings of the legendary Loretta Lynn. She began her singing career in the 1960’s as a background singer in Loretta’s band, and even got to replace her sister for one performance at the Grand Ole Opry when Loretta got sick. Once Crystal graduated high school in 1970, she was signed to Decca records, the label her sister was on. Crystal had some small success on the label by sounding very similar to Loretta, but not enough success to make a dent. Wanting to try something new, she signed a new contract and went off in a different musical direction. This decision allowed her to become one of the most successful country-pop crossover artists in history. In 1977, Crystal released what would become her signature song “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue”. It became a worldwide smash single, it won Crystal a Grammy award, it helped it’s album go platinum and was recognized as one of the top ten most played songs of the 20^th century. After success like that, Crystal continued to have hits until the late 1980’s. Once her radio career wrapped up, Crystal had been having hits for over a decade, she was nominated for 11 Grammy awards, and is one of the most successful female artists in the history of country music.