Crystal Gayle playing South Point

Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood are pop stars. "Country" is just a format on the radio to find them. But in 1977, it was a longer reach across the dial for Crystal Gayle and "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue."

People called the 61-year-old singer "countrypolitan" or "crossover" back when she vaulted from what was then a closed, aging circle in Nashville to television, Las Vegas showrooms, and even to the Tom Waits-penned soundtrack of the Vegas-themed cult movie "One from the Heart."

As the sister of Loretta Lynn, Gayle was a legacy pledge to the Nashville fraternity. But talking to the Las Vegas Review-Journal years ago, the sultry-voiced singer foresaw the changes that came to define Nashville today.

"It reminds me of the way it's always been in pop, where you have all these new artists and it's always crankin' 'em in, crankin' 'em out. But the ones that are real good will stick.

"I can work the road and do all different things without a (hit) record," noted the singer with epic-length hair. "I was very fortunate to develop a career that was a career, not (one) record."

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.