Charlene Duncan
| Charlene | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Charlene Marilynn D'Angelo |
| Born | June 1, 1950 |
| Origin | Hollywood, California |
| Genres | Country, pop, traditional pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1973–present |
| Labels | Motown |
| Associated acts | Dionne Warwick, Marvin Gaye |
| Website | http://CharleneSongs.com |
Charlene Marilynn D'Angelo Duncan Oliver (born June 1, 1950, Hollywood, California) is an American easy-listening and R&B singer more commonly called Charlene. She is known mainly for her 1982 popular song "I've Never Been to Me."
She was born as 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."
Under that moniker, Charlene released two unsuccessful singles: "Relove/Give It One More Try" (M 1262) in July 1973; and in January 1974 a cover of "All That Love Went to Waste" (M 1285) from the film A Touch of Class.
Charlene sought to find her niche at Motown - doing demos for other artists, writing her own songs and working with different producers and writers - before finally being paired up with Ron Miller (songwriter).
She released a self-titled debut album on Motown's Prodigal label (P6 10015S1) in November 1976. The album had "Charlene Duncan" printed on the spine (and was, confusingly, titled Charlene).
The original release of the Charlene single, "It Ain't Easy Comin' Down," went to #97 in March 1977 (and #23 on the AC).
In May 1977, six months after the release of Charlene, Songs of Love (Prodigal, P610018S1) came out.
She is depicted smiling wistfully behind a row of flowers in the Songs of Love cover illustration by Patrick Nagel.
Songs of Love was a repackaged version of the Charlene LP; however, one song was different: "Freddie," a tribute to Freddie Prinze, who had died that year, replaced the tune "Shake a Hand."
"Freddie" was released as a single and made it to #96 in the Hot 100 in May 1977 (and #40 on the AC).
A third single released from the Charlene/Songs of Love collection would have an unexpected chart odyssey. The original version of "I've Never Been to Me" on the Charlene LP was recorded with a controversial spoken section. On Songs of Love, her song "I've Never Been to Me", omitted the spoken bridge. Motown released the single from Songs of Love (without the speech) in 1977, but it had little success, reaching #97 on the pop chart in September of that year. When the song was revived in 1982, the take being played on the radio was the rendition with the monologue (from the Charlene LP), so this was the version that Motown re-issued.
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