Randy Gurley is an American country singer who performed in the US and the UK. She had several hits on the US country charts from 1977 to 1979. She recorded for the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

and

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

labels. She is most likely remembered for her version of "

True Love Ways "True Love Ways" is a song written by Buddy Holly and Norman Petty. Buddy Holly's original was recorded with the Dick Jacobs Orchestra in October 1958, four months before the singer's death. It was first released on the posthumous album '' The B ...

Background

Randy Gurley was an artist who had the good fortune to be recognized within the music industry before she had a hit on the charts. ABC's actions with her were something of an exception to the trend that they were following by not signing acts that they felt could not develop into a substantial album selling artist. They would normally establish an artist with a single first. Jim Foglesong who was ABC's president in Nashville felt that Gurley had a unique talent that could go far. Making an exception with her, they released an album and a single almost at the same time. She was born circa 1963 in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem was one ...

, and grew up in Maine and California. She was singing from the age of sixteen. She apparently was on the verge of giving up singing. However, she borrowed money and headed to Dallas to stay with a friend and try to get her career going. It was there that she came into contact with a young public relations specialist called David Van Cronkhite. He is the man who was credited with discovering her. It was Cronkhite who took her to see veteran producer Owen Bradley and have him interested in producing her as an artist. He then took her to Tulsa where she met Jim Halsey to get him interested in handling her career. Gurley's hits include "

" in 1977 and " Don't Treat Me Like a Stranger" and " If I Ever", both in 1979. She was a ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' Country Album place Winner (New Female Vocalists section) in 1978 and a '' Country Music Magazine'' Bullet Award runner up the following year. She was on the ABC Nashville roster that also included Tom Bresh,

Roy Clark Roy Linwood Clark (April 15, 1933 – November 15, 2018) was an American singer, musician, and television presenter. He is best known for having hosted '' Hee Haw'', a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969 to 1997. Clark wa ...

John Conlee John Wayne Conlee (born August 11, 1946) is an American country music singer. Between 1978 and 2004, Conlee charted a total of 32 singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts, and recorded 11 studio albums. His singles include seven ...

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Barbara Mandrell Barbara Ann Mandrell (born December 25, 1948) is an American retired country music singer and musician. She is also credited as an actress and author. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was considered among country's most successful mus ...

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and Tommy Overstreet etc. She was also a touring support act for The Oak Ridge Boys. She had also hired Vickie Carrico as her backing singer. As of July 1977, Randy Gurley was being managed by DVC, Inc. headed by David Van Cronkhite.

Career

1977

Randy Gurley recorded the

Carol Bayer Sager Carole Bayer Sager (born Carol Bayer on March 8, 1944) is an American lyricist, singer, songwriter, and painter. Early life and career Carole Bayer was born in New York City, to Anita Nathan Bayer and Eli Bayer. Her family was Jewish. She gradu ...

/ David Wolfer song " Heartbreaker" which was produced by

Harold Bradley Harold Bradley may refer to: Others * Harold Bradley (guitarist) (1926–2019), American country and pop guitarist * Harold Bradley (pianist) (1906–1984), Canadian pianist * Harold Bradley (trade unionist) (1895–1979), British trade union leade ...

. Backed with "Louisville", it was released on

Dot A dot is usually a small, round spot. Dot, DoT or DOT may also refer to: Orthography * Full stop or "period", a sentence terminator * Dot (diacritic), a mark above or below a character (e.g. ȧ, ạ, İ, Ċ, ċ, etc.), usually to indicate sou ...

17728 in 1977. It was a recommended single in the Country section of the November 12 issue of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''. According to the December 9, 1977 issue of ''

Radio & Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...

'', her single was added to the playlist of KLAK in Denver, Colorado.

1978

On February 14, 1978, Randy Gurley was set to headline at her first major show at the Palomino club in

North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood and district in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, El Portal Theater, several art galleries, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Th ...

. Gurley's performance at the Palomino Club was reviewed by Patricia Thomas in the March 11, 1978 issue of ''Cash Box''. Thomas wrote that after the support acts, Gurley came bounding across the dance floor then on to the stage. She started off with the song "Southland" which was described as a rock stomping tribute to the southern neighbors. Thomas said that it was a well-chosen kick off for the set of songs which were written or performed by artists such as

the Eagles The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles, six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s in ...

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In 1971, Raitt released her Bonnie Raitt (album), self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed Americana (mu ...

and

JD Souther John David Souther (November 2, 1945 – September 17, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was "a principal architect of the Southern California sound and a major influence on a generation of songwriters". Souther wrote and ...

. It was the cover of Souther's "Faithless Love" which was singled out as a fine performance. Some songs from Gurley's forthcoming album were also performed. In addition to saying that Gurley's 5 feet 1 inch of unaffected personality and vocal style mix well, Gurley's clear voice as her outstanding feature and her cross-over potential was also noted.

''Let Me Be the One'' (album)

Gurley's debut album ''Let Me Be the One'' which was produced by Harold Bradley and Jim Foglesong was released in 1978 on ABC AB-1067. It was reviewed in the May 6 issue of ''

'' with the reviewer saying that it bursts with smooth professionalism. The consistency of the material was also noted. The picks were the title song which was referred to as a standout and JD Souther's "Faithless Love" and Steve Young's "Old Memories Mean Nothing to Me". The reviewer predicted a long line of her albums to follow. Three songs from the album were recommended by ''

The Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco, California, San Francisco-based radio industry Trade journal, trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by Radio p ...

'' in the publication's April 28 issue. They were "Only Diamonds Are Forever", "Faithless Love" and "Old Memories".

"Let Me Be the One" (single)

The single "Let Me Be the One" was released on ABC AB-12347. It was reviewed by ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' in the magazine's April 1 issue. It was one of the two Country Picks of the Week, the other being "Two More Bottles of Wine" by

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...

. The reviewer referred to Gurley's song as pleasant and easy-going and it would go well with the coming of the spring season. According to The Country Column in the April 15 issue of ''Cash Box'', the song had been chosen by

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...

for all of their aircraft's in-flight stereo music programming. ;Further activities During July, she was appearing at the Park Tahoe Hotel in Stateline, NV and was set to wrap up her month-long engagement on the 30th. The next day she was to commence her week-long engagement at the Caravan East, in

Albuquerque, NM Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County. Founded in 1706 as ' by Santa Fe de Nuevo México gover ...

"True Love Ways"

Gurley recorded the

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who was a central and pioneering figure of rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texa ...

and

Norman Petty Norman Petty (May 25, 1927 – August 15, 1984) was an American musician, record producer, publisher, and radio station owner. He is considered to be one of the founding fathers of early rock & roll. With Vi Ann Petty—his wife and vocalist—he ...

composition "

" which was released on

AB -12392 in 1978. It was one of the "Singles to Watch in the July 22 issue of ''Cash Box''. On the week of September 23, 1978, her song "True Love Ways" entered the ''Record World'' Country Singles Chart at no. 92. It peaked at no. 90 the following week. It also made it to no. 77 on the ''Billboard'' Country chart. ;Further activities in 1978 It was reported by ''Cash Box'' in the magazine's October 21 issue that Gurley and Roy Head had been in Plymouth, England headlining the first country show with ten to follow. It was for the Westward Television. They had recently returned to the United States. With

Bonnie Tyler Gaynor Sullivan (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer. Known for her distinctive husky voice, Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album '' The World Starts Tonight'' and its ...

at no. 1,

Stella Parton Stella Mae Parton (born May 4, 1949) is an American Country music, country singer and songwriter widely known for a series of country singles that charted during the mid-to-late-1970s, her biggest hit being "I Want to Hold You in My Dreams Tonig ...

at no. 2, Mary K. Miller at no. 3 and

Susie Allanson Susie Allanson (born March 17, 1952) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Susie was raised in Burbank and lived in Las Vegas from 1963 to 1971. Before beginning her singing career, she toured as part of ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' and ...

at no. 5, Gurley came no. 4 in the New Female Vocalists section of the 1978 ''Cash Box'' Country Album Winners Poll which was published the magazine's December 30 issue.

1979

"Don't Treat Me Like a Stranger"

It was reported by ''Cash Box'' in the June 30, 1979 issue that

Cliff Cochran Cliff Cochran is an American country singer and songwriter who had a number of hits on the US country charts in the period of the mid to late 1970s. His greatest success was "Love Me Like a Stranger" Background In 1974, his song "The Way I'm Need ...

, Randy Gurley and Mary K. Miller were three artists that had been signed to the

label. Her single "Don't Treat Me Like a Stranger" had been released on RCA JH-11611 earlier that month. It was written by

Dave Loggins David Allen Loggins (November 10, 1947 – July 10, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his 1974 hit single " Please Come to Boston" as well as his 1984 duet with Anne Murray, " Nobody Loves Me Like You ...

and produced by

Roy Dea Roy Dea was a record producer He produced mainly Country music, Country artists which resulted in a good amount of hits. In his early period, he did produce some r&b recordings. Background Roy Dea (second name pronounced Day) was born in Texas on ...

. It was one of the ''Billboard'' Top Picks in the Country section. On the week ending the song debuted in the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles chart at no. 98. It peaked at no. 97 the following week. ;Further activities It was reported by ''Record World'' in the October 13, 1979 issue that Gurley and fellow RCA newcomer

Steve Wariner Steven Noel Wariner (born December 25, 1954) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Initially a backing musician for Dottie West, he also worked with Bob Luman and Chet Atkins before beginning a solo career in the late ...

had recently performed at LA's Palamino Club. According to ''

'' Country Hotline columnist

Marie Ratliff ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

in the October 27 issue, Gurley's song " If I Ever" was getting good attention on radio stations, WWVA, KERE, KSOP, WWNC, WNYN, WBAM, and WSLC. It made its debut on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country chart for the week ending October 27, 1979. It spent three weeks in the chart, peaking at no. 92.

1980s

Gurley was mentioned in the Nashville Scene column of the July 4, 1981 issue of ''Billboard''. It said to the readers if they were wondering what happened to Randy Gurley and then mentioned that she was back in the studio the next month with Norbert Putman a well-known pop producer. There was no indication of what direction Gurley would take musically. It was mentioned in the paragraph that with her voice, no matter what direction, the finished product would be commercial.

Discography

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Randy Gurley - Discography, USA
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