Charlene Marilynn Oliver, better known mononymously as Charlene, is an American easy-listening and R&B singer best known for the song "I've Never Been to Me", which, initially being a commercial flop upon its original release in 1977, became a worldwide hit upon a re-release in 1982 and has remained an enduring adult contemporary music staple. Charlene is also a songwriter, record producer, and author.
Ronald Norman Miller was an American popular songwriter and record producer who wrote for Motown artists in the 1960s and 1970s and attained many Top 10 hits. Some of his songs, such as "For Once in My Life", have become pop standards.
"I've Never Been to Me" is a ballad, written and composed by Ron Miller and Kenneth Hirsch and made popular via a recording by American singer Charlene. Although its original release in 1977 barely registered on the Billboard Hot 100, its re-release in 1982 hit #3 in the US and earned her a gold certification in Australia, where it held the #1 spot for six weeks. In addition, the song topped the charts in Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom. It was also a top ten triumph in Norway, Belgium, New Zealand and the Netherlands and became Motown's first top ten hit by a white female solo singer.
Ross is the ninth studio album by American singer Diana Ross, released in September 1978 by Motown Records. The album served as a new album and a compilation, as it was a mixture of old and new songs. Side A consisting of four new tracks recorded in 1978, and Side B of material recorded by Ross between 1971 and 1975, but remixed and/or extended by Motown in-house producer Russ Terrana specifically for the Ross album. Ross peaked at number 49 on the US Pop Albums chart, and number 32 on Black Albums. The album failed to chart in the UK. Its final US sales figures stood at around 150,000 copies. The cover illustration was by Rickey Ricardo Gaskins. A different album also titled Ross was released on the RCA label in 1983.
An Evening with Diana Ross is a 1977 live double album released by American singer Diana Ross on the Motown label. It was recorded live at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles in December 1976 during the international tour of Ross' one-woman show, for which she was awarded a special Tony Award after the show's run at Broadway's Palace Theater, followed by an Emmy-nominated TV special of the same name. It marked the first time in history a solo female headlined a 90-minute TV special. The album reached #29 in the USA . The album showcased her live performances for the second time as a solo performer, following 1974's Live At Caesars Palace. It was the last live album Ross released until 1989's Greatest Hits Live.
Kenneth William Hirsch is an American pop songwriter, pianist and record producer, co-writer of the international 1982 hit "I've Never Been to Me" with Ron Miller. He is also co-writer of the hits "If I Could", "No One in the World" and "Two Less Lonely People in the World". He was born in New York City, attended the Juilliard School of Music and got a BA from Queens College with a major in music.
It Ain't Easy is a studio album by American country music artist Janie Fricke. It was released in September 1982 via Columbia Records and contained ten tracks. The disc was the seventh studio release of Fricke's career and reached the top 15 of the American country LP's chart. The album spawned three singles. Two of its singles "You Don't Know Love" and "He's a Heartache " reached the number one spot on the North American country songs charts.
"Charlene" is an R&B–soul song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Anthony Hamilton, released by So So Def Recordings and Arista Records on August 3, 2004 as the second and final single from Hamilton's second studio album, Comin' from Where I'm From (2003).
Ahead Rings Out is the debut album by British blues-rock band Blodwyn Pig, released in 1969. The band had been formed in 1969 by Mick Abrahams, the former guitarist of Jethro Tull, and sales of Ahead Rings Out rivalled those of Jethro Tull’s next album, Stand Up, reaching No. 9 on the British album chart.
The Name Is Love is an album by the American musician Bobby Vinton, released in 1977. It was his final for ABC Records. Unlike most of his albums, the majority of the material on this album was written or co-written by Vinton himself. Cover versions include "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" and "Only Love Can Break a Heart". The song "You Are Love" did not become a hit until six years later.
Portrait of Sinatra – Forty Songs from the Life of a Man is a 1977 compilation (Gatefold) album by American singer Frank Sinatra that consists of 40 songs that were recorded for Reprise Records. It spent a total of eighteen non-consecutive weeks in the UK Albums Chart, reaching number-one for two weeks on 2 April 1977. It became Sinatra's fourth album to top the British charts, his first since 1957's A Swingin' Affair! to claim pole position, and also his most recent chart-topping album in the UK.
B Sides and Rarities is a compilation album by the American pop singer Andy Williams that was released by Collectables Records on May 27, 2003. Although the collection starts with two 1947 recordings by Kay Thompson and The Williams Brothers, the rest of the material comes from his time at Columbia Records and includes covers of contemporary hits as well as lesser-known material from the songwriters of "Can't Get Used to Losing You", "Home Lovin' Man" and "Moon River".
Upside Down: The Collection is a compilation album by Diana Ross, released by Spectrum Music/Universal in the United Kingdom in 2012. This album is a budget collection containing songs that were released from 1970 through 1981 on Motown Records. In the UK, 17 of the 20 songs contained in this compilation reached the Top 40. In the U.S., 12 of these songs made it onto the Billboard Top 40 singles charts, and 6 of those 12 reached number 1.
Everything Must Change is the debut studio album by singer Randy Crawford released in 1976 on the Warner Bros. label.
The First 25 Years – The Silver Anniversary Album is a compilation album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released in 1981 by Columbia Records. The back cover of the album notes that there are four new tracks. A cover of the Commodores hit "Three Times a Lady" had been released on the UK version of his 1980 album Different Kinda Different, which was retitled All for You, but the Mathis rendition of the song makes its US debut here.
Ear Candy is the ninth studio album by Australian-American pop singer Helen Reddy, released on 25 April 1977 by Capitol Records. The album included a modern take on the doo-wop genre, a Cajun number that gave the Melbourne native her first and only appearance on Billboard magazine's Country chart, and a dark self-parody on which Reddy proclaims: "I don't take no shit from nobody". Unusually, half of the songs recorded for Ear Candy were co-written by Reddy herself, including the second single, "The Happy Girls", Reddy's first self-penned A-side single since "I am Woman". The album's first single, a remake of the 1964 Cilla Black hit "You're My World", gave Reddy a final Top 40 hit.
Live in London is the first live album by Australian-American pop singer Helen Reddy that was released in 1978 by Capitol Records and, as with her previous release, did not reach Billboard magazine's Top LP's & Tapes chart. On June 25, 2002, the album was released for the first time on compact disc.
I've Never Been to Me is a studio album by American singer Nancy Wilson, released by Capitol Records in June 1977. It was produced by Gene and Billy Page, who had previously worked with Wilson on All in Love Is Fair (1974) and Come Get to This (1975). Gene Page also served as arranger and conductor for most songs. Garry Sherman produced and arranged four songs. As with most of Wilson's albums from the 1970s, I've Never Been to Me features more of an R&B and soul music sound.
Love Lies is a studio album by American country music artist Janie Fricke. It was released in October 1983 via Columbia Records and contained ten tracks. The project was the eighth studio album of Fricke's music career and the second highest-charting album of her career. Three singles were spawned from the project: "Tell Me a Lie", "Let's Stop Talkin' About It" and "If the Fall Don't Get You". The first two singles from the disc reached number one on the North American country charts.
