| Charlene | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Charlene Marilynn D'Angelo |
| Born | June 1, 1950 |
| Origin | Hollywood, California |
| Genres | Country, pop, traditional pop |
| Occupations | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1974-present |
| Labels | Motown |
| Associated acts | Dionne Warwick, Marvin Gaye |
| Website | http://CharleneSongs.com |
Charlene Marilynn D'Angelo (born June 1, 1950, Hollywood, California) is an American R&B singer best known as Charlene. She is known for her 1982 popular song "I've Never Been to Me", and is considered a one-hit-wonder.
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She was christened by her mother under the name Charlene Marilynn D'Angelo, which was later shortened to Charlene for her record label. In 1973, Charlene signed with Motown under the name "Charlene Duncan", and released her first (and unsuccessful) single "All That Love Went to Waste" in January 1974. Three years later, she released a second album, It Ain't Easy Comin' Down, on Motown's Prodigal label. The release was credited to Charlene, although an album issued the same month had "Charlene Duncan" printed on the spine (and was, confusingly, titled Charlene).[1] Another 1977 album, Songs of Love, was a repackaging of her song "I've Never Been to Me", which omitted a spoken bridge. She first released the single in 1977, but it initially had little success, reaching #97 on the pop chart.
Charlene originally recorded "I've Never Been to Me" in 1976, and the single reached #97 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1977. When released again in 1982, the single reached #3 in the United States (US), and #1 by June 1982, in the UK Singles Chart.[2] The song has been her only Top 40 hit.
In 1982, Tampa, Florida disc jockey Scott Shannon, then at WRBQ, started playing the song at the behest of a girlfriend, by which time Charlene had lost her recording contract, moved to England and was working in a sweetshop in Ilford, London. Audience reaction was impressive, resulting in the song's second release with the original spoken bridge. The second release was a hit in England as well.
When the song was first released in the US in 1976, Charlene's legal name was Charlene Duncan from her marriage to record producer Larry Duncan; by the time the song was released in 1982, her name was Charlene Oliver by her subsequent marriage to Englishman Jeff Oliver. The single reached the top ten of the US pop and adult contemporary charts that year, and the concurrent release of her album I've Never Been to Me, was also relatively successful. The single was one of the year's biggest hits, and the video for the song was filmed at Blickling Hall, Norfolk, England and Charlene wore the wedding dress that she got married in.
"I've Never Been to Me" was featured as the opening song to the 1994 film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. The song is mimed onstage by two Sydney drag queens at the Imperial Hotel in Erskineville, Sydney, Australia. The latter performance includes a scene where a plastic "baby doll" (actually a rubber chicken) is hurled into the audience by one of the performing drag queens.
The following year, Charlene released another song, "Used to Be", a duet with Stevie Wonder that was penned by the writers of "I've Never Been to Me", which did not reach the pop top 40 chart and only reaching #46 on the pop charts. Both records were ranked the third and fourth worst records of all time by Jimmy Guterman and Owen O'Donnell in their 1991 book, The Worst Rock n Roll Records of All time. Not surprisingly, the Used to Be album, which accompanied its titular single, was not as successful as her previous album.
In 1984, Charlene released another album, Hit and Run Lover. Motown attempted to revamp her image in order to appeal to new audiences by highlighting her in a segment of the film The Last Dragon, which was under development by Motown's founder Berry Gordy. She and other Motown artists, including DeBarge and Vanity, were strategically placed in the film to appeal to the MTV craze of the time. Charlene's song "Fire" was used along with a music video depicting her as a goddess. Although the film managed to improve some of the other artists' notoriety, Charlene's appearance in the film did not catch on and she was dropped from the Motown label the following year.
Because of her one big hit, Charlene became known as a one-hit-wonder in music. She was featured on VH1's 100 Greatest One-hit Wonders show, hosted by William Shatner in 2002. Her ranking on the list was #75. In 2006, "I've Never Been to Me" was released as one of the songs on SingStar Anthems, one of the popular SingStars. Charlene has re-released the song in the form of a dance remix via download music.[3][4]
Pandora Radio features a "Charlene" channel that includes songs such as: "Johnny Doesn't Love Here Anymore", "If I Could See Myself", "Can't We Try", "Hey Mama" and more.
In 1985, the release of The Last Dragon tried to give a chance to artists that we becoming "forgotten." Along with artists such as Vanity , they mashed her in with a catchy pop song called "Fire." Although the other artists did get some fame from the movie, the attempt for Charlene didn't work. After this, as it is often said, she seemingly fell off the face of the earth.
Today, Charlene resides in California with her family and still records to this day under the name Charlene Oliver. Charlene launched an official web site in April 2011,[5] that includes several new songs released via download music. Songs released include "Broken Women", "California Dreamin (Dance)", "Emotional Scars", "I Wanna Be A Woman", "I Was You", "I've Never Been To Me (Dance)", "Oh Cecilia", "Sea of Tranquility", "Spirit of Woman", "Symphony For A Broken Piano", "There I'll Be", "(Why Can't) Time Stand Still", and "Used to Be (Featuring Stevie Wonder)." Her songs take on a "dance-club" sort of feeling.
| Year | Single | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | "It Ain't Easy Comin' Down" | Charlene |
| 1977 | "I've Never Been to Me" | Charlene |
| 1977 | "Freddie" | Songs of Love |
| 1982 | "I've Never Been to Me" | I've Never Been to Me |
| 1982 | "It Ain't Easy Comin' Down" (re-release) | I've Never Been to Me |
| 1983 | "Used to Be (Featuring Stevie Wonder)" | Used to Be |
| Album Name | Year Released | Record Company |
|---|---|---|
| Charlene | 1977 | Prodigal, Ariola, Eurodisc S.A. |
| Songs of Love | 1977 | Prodigal |
| Used to Be | 1982 | Motown |
| I've Never Been to Me | 1982 | Motown |
| Used to Be (Promo, LP, Album) | 1982 | Motown |
| Hit & Run Lover | 1984 | Motown |
| The Sky's the Limit | 1986 | Motown |
Full list of discography available at http://www.discogs.com/artist/Charlene