[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"
Let Me Be Your Baby
Charly McClain Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Kiss away the teardrops till the mornin' light
Help a lonely lady make it through the night
Let me be your baby, tell me it'll be all right
Rock me in the cradle of your lovin' arms
Wrap your love around me, keep me safe & warm
Tell a bedtime story & gently tuck me in
Be my lovin' daddy & sing a lullaby
Promise me you'll never make your baby cry
Help a lonely lady make it through the night
Let me be your baby, tell me it'll be all right
Let me be your baby, tell me it'll be all right
The lyrics of Charly McClain's song Let Me Be Your Baby speak to a woman's desire to find comfort and security in the arms of a man who will treat her like a child, offering her love and protection. The song begins with a plea to be held and comforted, with the promise of being kissed away the teardrops until the morning light. The woman is seeking refuge from her loneliness and is asking for her lover to make her feel safe.
She imagines herself as a baby in her lover's arms, being cradled and rocked to sleep, wanting to be wrapped in his love and kept warm. She longs for the security of a bedtime story and being tucked in, the way a loving parent would do to a child. The woman begs for her lover to be there for her, not to leave her alone and to sing her a lullaby so that she can fall asleep knowing that he will always be there for her.
Line by Line Meaning
Let me be your baby, hold me close tonight
I long to be nurtured and cared for, so please embrace me tightly and make me feel safe tonight.
Kiss away the teardrops till the mornin' light
My tears are a sign of my vulnerability, please help me feel better by kissing them away until morning comes.
Help a lonely lady make it through the night
I am feeling so alone and lost, please stay with me through the night and help me overcome my sorrow.
Let me be your baby, tell me it'll be all right
Deep down, I am seeking reassurance that everything will turn out okay, so please treat me like a child and comfort me.
Rock me in the cradle of your lovin' arms
I need to feel like I'm being cradled in someone's loving embrace, so please hold me close and rock me like a baby.
Wrap your love around me, keep me safe & warm
Love has the power to make me feel secure, so please shower me with affection and make me feel warm and protected.
Tell a bedtime story & gently tuck me in
I long to escape into a world of pure imagination, so please tell me a story before bed and ensure that I'm tucked in nice and snug.
Let me be your baby, don't let me be alone again
I've felt so lonely and vulnerable lately, and I don't want to experience that again. Please take care of me and never leave me alone.
Be my lovin' daddy & sing a lullaby
I am seeking the love and affection of a comforting father figure, so please serenade me with a soothing lullaby and ensure that I feel secure.
Promise me you'll never make your baby cry
I am counting on you to be my protector and provider of emotional support. Please promise me that you'll always do your best to prevent tears from falling down my face.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BOB MORRISON, JOHNNY MAC RAE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Windsong1a
I can put this song on repeat and listen to it ALL DAY LONG.....and NIGHT. My favorite Charly McClain song!
Linda Lippert
Beautiful song.
creston perry
Always loved this lovely lady's unique sound.
Buster Evans
This song takes me back to the good old days. Love those good country songs back in the days I'm getting old now but I can still listen to them thank you
scorpiousantares
first time I heard this song, I was a long hair rock-roll fan. still like my old rock, but she rocked my world in '78. Love it. Thanks Charly.
Charles Asbery
Ive loved this song ever since the first time I heard it thank you miss McLane and God bless you
J K
1970s to early 80s: the apex years of country music.
Daniel Burns
this song went to #13 on the country charts in 1978!!!
Kevin Wooten
Should have been at a top 5 but the competition was so much back then
R Phuche
back when singers could actually sing