Country music songbird Crystal Gayle is best known for her long floor-length hair and smooth voice. The most popular song of her career is without a doubt the classic hit “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue.” Crystal Gayle’s real name is Brenda Gail Webb. There was already a singer named Brenda Lee and Decca Records didn’t want to have confusion with two Brendas. After seeing a sign for Krystal hamburgers, her famous sister Loretta Lynn suggested the name Crystal. If you’ve paid attention to the lyrics of Loretta Lynn’s “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” you know that Crystal Gayle and her numerous siblings grew up impoverished in the Appalachian Mountains. Crystal was the only child to be born in a hospital. Her parents eventually moved the family to Indiana to live in a retired miner’s colony.

“Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” was originally written for another recording artist. 

Composer Richard Leigh originally intended to have Dame Shirley Bassey record the song. Crystal convinced him to let her sing it and it’s certainly one of the best bargains she’s ever made.