A couple of weeks back, I was chatting with a fellow classic country music enthusiast, and the subject of early 1980s female artists came up. In those pre-Reba McEntire years, the likes of Barbara Mandrell, Crystal Gayle, Dolly Parton and the still-youthful Tanya Tucker dominated the female side of country music.
There was also a handful of second-tier artists who had a few hits and then disappeared into obscurity. Charley McClain and Gail Davies immediately come to mind. But perhaps the most memorable of these female voices back in the day was that of an artist who billed herself as simply “Sylvia.” My friend even confessed to being a member of the Sylvia Fan Club.
Sylvia Jane Hutton was born in 1956 and grew up in Kokomo, Indiana. She was a country music fan to the core and recalls singing in front of the mirror for years, practicing for the day there would be thousands of people looking back. All she ever wanted to do was perform, and shortly after high school graduation she moved to Nashville and took a job with Pi-Gem Records on Music Row.
Sylvia found herself in the middle of the recording business. Her boss, Tom Collins, produced records for the likes of Ronnie Milsap and Barbara Mandrell. Unfortunately, Sylvia’s job was a bit outside of country music per se, but she still saw the chance to work for Pi-Gem as a blessing. According to Sylvia’s website, she spent her time at Pi-Gem answering phones, running errands, making coffee, singing demo songs and hanging out with people in the business. “What a magical thing that I happened to get a job working there!” Sylvia says.
After working at Pi-Gem for four-and-a-half years, Sylvia auditioned for a spot in the pop trio Dave and Sugar. She didn’t get the job — but an RCA executive who heard the audition quickly signed her to a recording contract.
Sylvia’s first two singles, “You Don’t Miss a Thing” and “It Don’t Hurt to Dream,” broke into the Top 40. But in those days, the music business didn’t hang on to a marginal artist for long. Sylvia needed a hit with her third single.
She got that hit with the release of the No. 1 song “Drifter.” She followed that hit with “Tumbleweed,” “The Matador” and “Heart on the Mend,” all reaching the Top 10 on the charts. In 1979 and 1980, Sylvia was nominated for both the Country Music Association’s and Academy of Country Music Awards’ top new female artist.
By 1982, Sylvia was a bona fide country music star, but she lacked that “signature song” that’s carried many artists to long-term careers. That all changed when she released the album “Just Sylvia.” Collaborating with songwriters Kye Fleming and Dennis Morgan, in June of 1982 Sylvia released the second song from the album, “Nobody.”
“Nobody,” a wife’s perspective on her husband’s suspected love affair, became a worldwide hit. It shot to No. 1 on the U.S. and Canadian country charts and hit No. 2 in New Zealand. It even became a crossover hit, reaching No. 15 on the U.S. Billboard Charts.
“Nobody” garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. It received the song of the year award from BMI for the most radio airplay of any song in the U.S. Likewise, it earned Sylvia the award for Billboard’s top country female artist. Finally, “Nobody” allowed Sylvia to take home the coveted female vocalist of the year award from the Academy of Country Music.
The success of “Nobody” carried Sylvia for several years, and through 1985 she charted six more Top 10 hits including “Snapshot,” “Like Nothing Ever Happened” and “Cry Just a Little Bit.” But she never reached the No. 1 slot again, and her award nominations dried up. After 1985, she released only four more singles, none of which garnered attention. During the height of her career, Sylvia had 11 Top 10 singles and sold over 4 million records.
In the mid-80s, Sylvia’s contract with RCA may have been over — but her career was not. She focused on songwriting through the rest of the 1980s, and in 1988-1989, she regularly guest-hosted the popular country music cable television show “Crook & Chase.” She also hosted her own show, “Holiday Gourmet.”
In 1996, Sylvia developed an independent label, “Red Pony Records.” While her album “The Real Story” was essentially ignored by country music, it did not go unnoticed in other circles. A People magazine review stated, “Sylvia always sang with more intensity and resonance than most country singers … and she can still sing a story song better than almost anyone around” Red Pony Records went onto to produce four more Sylvia albums over the years, including her first Christmas album.
Sylvia credits much of her success to the connections she made while sweeping floors at Pi-Gem Records. She came to know many of the songwriters. “They knew me. They knew my voice,” she says. “I had a team of people who wanted to see me make it and have success.”
During her career, Sylvia noticed that many of her fans were young people (such as my card-carrying Sylvia Fan Club member friend). Her affection for her young fans inspired her to conceive a project appropriate for both kids and adults. During her RCA years, she worked to develop the project, but it never came to fruition.
But she didn’t give up. Thirty years later, the dream came true when she released the album “Nature’s Child.” She calls this album the most important work she has ever done.
Despite her commercial success, Sylvia has never given up on developing her craft. She states on her website, that she has taken voice lessons for over 30 years. “People think the gift is that you are able to sing,” she explains. “But for me, the true gift is the deep desire to want to communicate through music, and that’s something that needs to be honed and practiced.”
Sylvia may not have had a long country music career, but it was one of the more successful female efforts of the early 1980s. Until next time, turn your dial until you come across some of Sylvia and her female peers’ music from the period. It’ll take you back.
Photo courtesy of Sylviamusic.com
Since retiring from a career as an outdoor recreation professional from the State of Arkansas, Kris Rutherford has worked as a freelance writer and, with his wife, owns and publishes a small Northeast Texas newspaper, The Roxton Progress. Kris has worked as a ghostwriter and editor and has authored seven books of his own. He became interested in the trucking industry as a child in the 1970s when his family traveled the interstates twice a year between their home in Maine and their native Texas. He has been a classic country music enthusiast since the age of nine when he developed a special interest in trucking songs.
