Early life

[edit] Childhood & teen years
Charlotte Denise McClain… Read Full Bio ↴Early life

[edit] Childhood & teen years
Charlotte Denise McClain was born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1956. Originally named Charlotte, "Charly" was given her masculine moniker by neighborhood friends in Memphis, and she also used it when she started playing hotel lounges. When Epic Records decided it sounded catchier than Charlotte, it became a permanent professional banner. [1] McClain's father had tuberculosis when she was eight, and, since she was under age for visitation rights at the hospital, she had to communicate with him through a tape recorder. [2]

[edit] Career discovery
McClain's use of the tape recorder with her father inspired her interest in singing. McClain soon began performing in public regularly. She began singing in the club circuit by the time she was seventeen. She then gained a recording contract with Epic Records by the time McClain was almost twenty years old. She began her musical career at age 12 with her brother in a band called "Charlotte & The Volunteers" for 6 years. Her first appearance was on TV in Jackson, Tennessee, local station WBBJ morning show. She was a regular on local Memphis show "Mid-South Jamboree" from 1973-1975. [3]

Signed to her first recording contract in 1976, McClain's distinct vocal sound provided an edge in recognizability — as did her appearance. [4]

[edit] Country music career

[edit] 1976 – 1980: Country beginnings
McClain debuted in late 1976 with her first single, "Lay Me Down", which peaked at #67 on the Billboard Country Chart. McClain's first singles between 1976 through 1977, mainly from her debut album Here's Charly McClain, did not chart very high on the Country charts at the time. McClain's second album, titled Let Me Be Your Baby, was released in 1978. She hit country's Top Ten for the first time in 1978 with "That's What You Do to Me," [5] followed by two other Top 25 hits from the album, "Let Me Be Your Baby" and "Take Me Back".

McClain had a series of Top 20 hits between 1978 and 1980, including "When Love Ain't Right", "You're a Part of Me", and "I Hate the Way I Love It", a duet with Johnny Rodriguez. Occasionally McClain's singles would enter the Top 10. She had two Top 10 hits during this time, "That's What You Do to Me" (1978), followed by "Men", which peaked at #7 in 1980. However, McClain still hadn't achieved breakthrough success.

McClain released two albums between 1979 and 1980, Alone too Long (1979) and Women Get Lonely (1980).

[edit] 1981 – 1989: Breakthrough
McClain hit the top spot one year later with "Who's Cheatin' Who." [6] This brought McClain breakthrough success for the 1980s. In 1981, McClain had three Top 10 hits off her Surround Me With Love, the title track, "Sleepin' With the Radio on", and "The Very Best is You". McClain's albums were also beginning to become more successful as well. Her Who's Cheatin' Who album peaked at #9 on the "Top Country Albums" chart, as did her 1981 album, Surround Me With Love.

She stayed in the upper reaches during 1982 with "Dancing Your Memory Away" and "Sentimental Ol' You," then hit number one again in 1983 with her Mickey Gilley duet "Paradise Tonight." [7] "Paradise Tonight" became McClain's second #1 hit in 1983. McClain's and Gilley's duet partnership became so successful, they released a duet album the following year, It Takes Believers, which spawned the Top 5 hit, "Candy Man", which peaked at #5 on the Billboard Country Chart, followed by "The Right Stuff", which became a Top 15 hit.

McClain also acted occasionally, appearing as a guest star on such shows as Hart to Hart and CHiPs. McClain's lonely life on the road was also chronicled in a 1981 HBO special titled "So You Want to Be a Star."

McClain released another big-selling album in 1985, Radio Heart, after having a series of minor solo hits in 1984. The title track off became a #1 Country hit in 1985, McClain's last #1 hit to date. The album also spawned two other Top 10 hits that year. McClain married former soap star Wayne Massey in 1984, and their own duet ("With Just One Look in Your Eyes") reached number five. [8] The third single off the album was also a duet with Massey, "You Are My Music, You Are My Song." The album, Radio Heart peaked at #15 on the "Top Country Albums" chart in 1985, and became on of McClain's best-known songs.

McClain's success began to subside after 1986, as Country-pop styled music was becoming unfavorable on Country radio. Her 1987 album brought only one Top 40 single, "Don't Touch Me There", which peaked at #20 on the Billboard Country Chart. The other singles did not become as successful. The album became McClain's last album with Epic, as she parted ways with them the following year. She continued to chart until her last recording came in 1989.[9] She recorded one studio album with Mercury Records before the end of the decade. She charted until the end of 1989. Her last charted single was "You Got the Job", which peaked at #65.

[edit] 1990 – present: Current music career status
McClain has not recorded another studio album since 1989's self-titled album with Mercury, and thus has dropped out of the public eye. Since 1989, several compilation albums of her music have been released, including 1999's Anthology, which was a compilation CD of McClain's biggest hits under Epic, beginning with her late '70s hits to her last '80s hits.

McClain has not toured in the past ten years or so. As of 2007 she is still married to Wayne Massey.

[edit] Discography
Main article: Charly McClain discography

[edit] References
^ Charly McClain biography at All Music Guide.com; retrieved March 30, 2008
^ Charly McClain biography at All Music Guide.com; retrieved March 30, 2008
^ Charly McClain biography at her official website (Geocities.com)
^ Charly McClain biography at All Music Guide
^ Charly McClain biography at All Music Guide
^ Charly McClain biography at AOL.com
^ Charly McClain biography at AOL.com; retrieved March 30, 2008
^ Charly McClain biography at AOL.com
^ Charly McClain biography at All Music Guide.com

[edit] External links
Charly McClain Official Website
CMT.com: Charly McClain
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charly_McClain"

Fly Into Love
Charly McClain Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Way down in Sad Town, in the valley of broken dreams
We're both prisoners of past loves and things that'll never be
Somethin' tells me if you held me, the clouds would disappear
We could leave our troubles all behind and nothin' could keep us here

We could soar like an eagle, touch the sky like a dove
We could fly to the top of the world, fly into love
Fly into love

Sunshine all the time is just beyond the hill
True love is waiting there and we can find it still
Your blue eyes are my blue skies, forever is in sight
Let's put our dreams together now and fly away tonight

We could soar like an eagle, touch the sky like a dove

We could fly to the top of the world, fly into love
Fly into love

Overall Meaning

In Charly McClain's song "Fly Into Love," the lyrics describe two people who are stuck in the "valley of broken dreams" known as Sad Town. The singer implies that both she and her lover have experienced past heartbreak and situations that cannot be rectified. However, the singer believes that love can conquer all and that she and her lover can soar like eagles into the sky and reach new heights together.

The lyrics conveys the message that true happiness and contentment exists in the future, beyond whatever struggles and hardships they may be facing currently. As long as they are together, they can overcome their past traumas and begin anew. The lyrics further exemplify this message by stating that they can "put our dreams together now and fly away tonight" to reach their desired lives.

In conclusion, Charly McClain's "Fly Into Love" paints a picture of hope and optimism in the face of past heartbreak, loss, and obstacles. By putting their trust in each other and venturing forward together, they can leave their troubles behind and achieve happiness beyond their wildest dreams.

Line by Line Meaning

Way down in Sad Town, in the valley of broken dreams
We find ourselves feeling hopeless and sad, surrounded by the shattered remains of our dreams.

We're both prisoners of past loves and things that'll never be
Our hearts are still trapped by the people we once loved, and by the dreams and desires that never came to fruition.

Somethin' tells me if you held me, the clouds would disappear
I sense that if we were together, we could escape this gloom and find happiness together.

We could leave our troubles all behind and nothin' could keep us here
Together, we could leave behind all our problems and nothing could hold us back from exploring our future together.

We could soar like an eagle, touch the sky like a dove
Investing our time and energy into each other could allow us to reach greater heights and attain new experiences.

We could fly to the top of the world, fly into love
Our mutual affection and commitment could allow us to soar to the top of the world, reaching new heights together.

Sunshine all the time is just beyond the hill
The happiness we crave is just in sight, waiting for us up ahead.

True love is waiting there and we can find it still
We have the ability to seek out and find real love, even after experiencing heartbreak and pain.

Your blue eyes are my blue skies, forever is in sight
Together, we can find joy and happiness, and create a future full of possibility and love.

Let's put our dreams together now and fly away tonight
We should unite our passions and desires in order to make a new life together, and take the first step toward our future tonight.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: LEWIS ANDERSON, MARK WRIGHT

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS