Every Friday around 11 a.m. Central, it’s time for Classic Americana on Radio Heartland. We pull a special track from the archives or from deep in the shelves to spotlight a particular artist or song.

This week’s Classic Americana pick is Charly McClain, a singer who enjoyed a string of hits in the 1980s thanks to her smooth, warm vocals that charmed radio listeners across the nation. 

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, as Charlotte McClain, she got the nickname “Charly” from her childhood friends. Charly McClain discovered her voice and her love of music early, and she started performing at age 12 as the singer in her older brother Mike’s band. By age 20, she was signed to a recording contract with Epic Records.

McClain scored her first Top 10 hit two years later, in 1978, with the song, “That’s What You Do To Me,” but it was in the early 1980s that McClain really became a fixture on country radio — a time when a lot of women vocalists, including Crystal Gayle, Janie Fricke, Shelly West, Barbara Mandrell, Rosanne Cash and others were also enjoying significant airplay and chart success. McClain’s big hit songs in 1981 included “Who’s Cheatin’ Who?” and “The Very Best Is You,” two decidedly country ballads, the latter of which is reminiscent of classic Patsy Cline. Another song, “Sleepin’ with the Radio On,” was also a country hit, but today could also likely qualify as Yacht Rock.

Later, McClain collaborated with singer Mickey Gilley on a duet called “Paradise Tonight.” It reached No. 1 in the U.S. Country charts in June 1983, yet it’s a pure pop-music confection, with punchy, Lindsay Buckingham-style guitars; syncopated hand claps; and a catchy electric keyboard line. Surprisingly, however, “Paradise Tonight” did not become a crossover hit.

In December of that same year, McClain released another album, The Woman in Me, and it includes the hit song, “Sentimental Ol’ You” — a song that showcases the warmth of McClain’s excellent voice floating above a country-blues arrangement. It’s our Classic Americana pick this week. (It’s also fun to note how many of McClain’s song titles include an apostrophe taking the place of a missing letter.)

McClain married her husband, former One Life to Live actor Wayne Massey, in 1984. Massey is also a musician, and he and McClain released some duets that became hits in the mid and late 1980s. By the early 1990s, McClain decided to step away from music. Now retired, she and Massey live in McClain’s hometown of Memphis.

External Links

Charly McClain – Discogs site