Cristy Lane
Encyclopedia
Eleanor Johnston, known by her professional name as Cristy Lane (born January 8, 1940) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 and gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....

 singer, best known for a number of major country hits in the late 70s and the early 1980s, including her cover version of the song, "One Day at a Time
One Day at a Time (song)
"One Day at a Time" is a popular Country and Western-style Christian song written by Marijohn Wilkin and Kris Kristofferson. It has been recorded by over 200 artists and has reached No.1 in several territories.- Marilyn Sellars version :...

".

Lane's career began to take shape in the mid-70s, after beginning to record for her husband's record label. Her first singles, "Trying to Forget About You" and "Sweet Deceiver", were released in 1977 followed by her first major hit, "Let Me Down Easy", by the end of the year. After having a series of Top 10 and 20 country hits, she signed with United Artists Records
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.-History:...

, and had her biggest hit with "One Day at a Time", a Gospel song, that peaked at #1 on the Country charts.

Early life

Cristy Lane was born Eleanor Johnston January 8, 1940 in Peoria, Illinois
Peoria, Illinois
Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...

. She was one of twelve children, and was raised in an economically depressed section of East Peoria
East Peoria, Illinois
East Peoria is a city in Tazewell County, Illinois, United States. The population was 23,402 at the 2010 census. East Peoria is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area, located across the Illinois River from downtown Peoria. It is home to many Caterpillar Inc. facilities...

.
Raised in near poverty, she developed a shy personality and often spoke with a lisp
Lisp
A lisp is a speech impediment, historically also known as sigmatism. Stereotypically, people with a lisp are unable to pronounce sibilants , and replace them with interdentals , though there are actually several kinds of lisp...

. Before she turned 20, Lane married Lee Stoller, a former U.S. Marine who was also raised in poverty. Within five years, the couple had three children.
Because he enjoyed her singing, Stoller encouraged Lane to sing publicly. Able to shed her shyness, Lane began performing in night clubs and landed a spot on the WLS
WLS (AM)
WLS is a Chicago clear-channel AM station on 890 kHz. It uses C-QUAM AM stereo and transmits with 50,000 watts from transmitter and towers on the south edge of Tinley Park, Illinois....

 National Barn Dance
National Barn Dance
National Barn Dance, broadcast by WLS-AM in Chicago, Illinois starting in 1924, was one of the first American country music radio programs and a direct precursor of the Grand Ole Opry...

in 1968.
After Lane began to perform regularly, Stoller took charge of Lane's career, serving as her manager and publicist. Lane decided to take the stage name of "Cristy Lane", naming herself after her favorite disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...

 Chris Lane.

Early music career: 1966 – 1974

After taking up singing Lane recorded her first single, "Janie Took My Place", in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

 on the K-Ark label.
These early attempts for Lane to gain success failed, as radio failed to ignite her career and the pressures of the music business were beginning to stress her, as well as urging pressures from Stoller.
After having no success, in 1969 Stoller tried to negotiate for Lane to appear with the United Service Organization, for a tour of Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

 to perform for the troops, but the bid failed. However, Stoller was able to arrange for Lane to perform independently for a fee of $500 per-performance for 90 days. The dangers of performing in a war zone put Lane in jeopardy on more than one occasion. After suffering from exhaustion, she became physically and mentally ill. She had attempted suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

 twice by 1970, and the tour left the couple financially distressed.

The couple moved back to East Peoria soon after and invested in two night clubs, which featured Lane as the main attraction. To further Lane's musical interests, they sold the night clubs and moved to Nashville in 1972. After gaining negative reactions from many major label record executives Stoller decided to form his own record label, LS Records
LS Records
LS Records is an American record label. It was founded by Lee Stoller in 1972.LS Records was best-known for bringing Stoller's wife, Cristy Lane to fame in the late 70s. LS released Lane's first singles in 1976, and her first charting singles, "Trying to Forget About You" and "Sweet Deceiver" in...

. Lane began recording for the label in 1976, releasing her first pair of singles, "Midnight Blue" and "By the Way", neither of which were listed on any of the country music charts.

Breakthrough success: 1977 – 1986

After Stoller continuously promoted Lane's singles, the songs "Tryin' to Forget About You" and "Sweet Deceiver" charted in 1977.
Her next single, titled "Let Me Down Easy", was chosen as the background music for a national news story on a balloon festival. Although the exposure was limited, it brought enough notoriety for the song to peak in the Top 10 on the Billboard Country Chart, reaching #7. Its follow-ups, "Shake Me I Rattle" and "Penny Arcade", were Top 20 and Top 10 hits respectively. That year, LS released her debut album, Cristy Lane Is the Name, which included all three of the hit singles.
In 1979, Lane signed with United Artists Records
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.-History:...

 and performed at the Academy of Country Music Awards, singing her most recent single, "I Just Can't Stay Married to You", and won the award for "Top New Female Vocalist" that same night. The national exposure from the performance hepled gain her an increase of radio airplay, and an increase in record sales, bringing the song to #5 on the Billboard Country Chart
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...

.
She released her third studio album in 1979, Simple Little Words, after signing a contract with the major label, United Artists Records
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.-History:...

. Its title track reached the Top 10, and the album's two additional singles, "Come to My Love" and "Slippin' up, Slippin' Around", peaked in the Top 20 that year.

The next year, United Artists balked at releasing her next single, "One Day at a Time
One Day at a Time (song)
"One Day at a Time" is a popular Country and Western-style Christian song written by Marijohn Wilkin and Kris Kristofferson. It has been recorded by over 200 artists and has reached No.1 in several territories.- Marilyn Sellars version :...

", written by Kris Kristofferson
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...

 and Marijohn Wilkin
Marijohn Wilkin
Marijohn Wilkin , née Melson, was an American songwriter, famous in the country music genre for writing a number of hits. Wilkin won numerous awards over the years and was referred to as "The Den Mother of Music Row," as chronicled in her 1978 biography from Word Books--Lord, Let Me Leave a Song...

, which was previously a country hit by Marilyn Sellars
Marilyn Sellars
Marilyn Sellars is an American country music and gospel singer who had several hits during the mid 1970s on Mega Records, most notably the original version of "One Day At A Time" in 1974.-Early career:...

. Before Lane's release of the song, Lena Martell
Lena Martell
Lena Martell is a Scottish singer, who had a number one UK single with "One Day at a Time" in 1979....

 had a #1 hit in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 with her version. Stoller predicted the song would have a successful impact on the charts, and decided that Lane's version would be released in early 1980. "One Day at a Time" became Lane's biggest hit, peaking at #1 on the Billboard Country Chart.
The single's follow-up, "Sweet Sexy Eyes", made the country Top 10 the same year, becoming her final entry in the Top 10.
She had a Top 20 hit in 1981 with a cover of ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...

's "I Have a Dream
I Have a Dream (ABBA song)
"I Have a Dream" is a song by Swedish pop group ABBA. The song was written by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus and was taken from the group's 1979 album, Voulez-Vous. Anni-Frid Lyngstad sang the lead vocals. It was released as a single in December 1979 with a live version of "Take a Chance on Me"...

", followed by a Top 25 hit with "Love to Love You" from the same album. While serving 8 months of a 3 year prison sentence on bribery charges, Stoller collaborated with Pete Chaney to write Lane's biography. The book was published and self-promoted on television.
The biography, also titled One Day at a Time, was sold in large amounts after being promoted.
Stoller promoted more of Lane's music and material on television in the mid-80s, releasing new compilation albums along with the book, and her revenues greatly increased, as high as ten to one.
Lane's material was soon promoted constantly on television and eventually sold on the world wide web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...

 in the 1990s, helping her record sales increase worldwide.

Later career: 1987 – present

In the late 1980s, Lane opened her own theater in Branson, Missouri
Branson, Missouri
Branson is a city in Taney County in the U.S. state of Missouri. It was named after Reuben Branson, postmaster and operator of a general store in the area in the 1880s....

, called "The Cristy Lane Theatre", which helped revive her career. In 1989, she also performed at the Hershey Park Amphitheatre in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, and also recorded a version of "Lean on Me
Lean on Me (song)
"Lean on Me" is a song written and released by Bill Withers in 1972.It was his first and only number one on both the soul singles and the Billboard Hot 100. It is ranked number 205 on the Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Numerous cover versions have been recorded, and it is one of...

" with Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

, Terri Gibbs
Terri Gibbs
Teresa Fay "Terri" Gibbs is an American country music artist who was born blind. Between 1980 and 1990, she recorded seven studio albums, including four for MCA Records and one for Warner Bros. Records...

, and Tom T. Hall
Tom T. Hall
Thomas "Tom T." Hall is an American country music singer-songwriter. He has written 11 #1 hit songs, with 26 more that reached the Top 10, including the pop crossover hit "I Love", which reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100...

 for Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...

's Farm Aid Benefit.
Lane rented out her theater in Branson into the 1990s, continuing to also perform local concerts around the Branson area. However, in 1995, she was injured after falling from the top of the stage where she was performing, temporarily halting her music career. She then sold her theater, and later began performing again. In the early 90s, she released many compilation albums, including 20 Greatest Hits. Although it did not contain many of Lane's hits it did garner positive reviews.
Throughout the 90s, she continued releasing more compilation albums, including releases such as Greatest Hits off the LS label, which did include many of Lane's biggest hits, as well as covers of other songs including Christian and Country music songs. The Greatest Hits album was given a positive review.
In August 2003, she was honored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars
Veterans of Foreign Wars
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is a congressionally chartered war veterans organization in the United States. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, VFW currently has 1.5 million members belonging to 7,644 posts, and is the largest American organization of combat...

 in San Antonio, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

for her recognition to the military, and was inducted into their hall of fame.

External links

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