Her final 2019 album, “You Don’t Know Me: Classic Country,” includes renditions of “Hello Walls” and “Walkin’ After Midnight” as well as a 1969 demo sung with Loretta Lynn of “I Cried (The Blue’s Out of My Eyes) “)
Besides her blue eyes, the one constant in Gayle’s career is her stunning, floor-length hair.
“I wash it in the shower, let it dry, and if I don’t perform, it will [worn] Gayle, 73, explained that her hair is now shorter, somewhere between her knees and ankles. “I’m lucky to have healthy hair. I always attribute it to my American Indian, Cherokee blood. All the girls in our family, they could have floor-length hair if they wanted to, but I was the only one crazy enough to do it. It’s a lot of maintenance.” “Once you get into the rhythm of it, it’s OK.”
Her poetry has its own history. Like the time in middle school when she gave herself curly hair and “messed it up.” So she went to the hairdresser who cut the hair very short, much to Gayle’s mother’s dismay. “My hair looks like Midge, Barbie’s friend,” she said, referring to the famous dolls.
When she started her career, Gayle was encouraged to have “big hair”, but she couldn’t afford a hairdresser to travel with her. “I could wash it, let it dry, and go on stage. So it became a long process.”
Her hair presents challenges. For example, you wear it when you clean. But sometimes, you get headaches from wearing it. So I left it. But she’s not complaining.
