Well Your Nobody Called Today...And She Hung Up When I Asked Her name

As a kid, Sylvia was one of the first singers that I stumbled upon myself and instantly liked.
My mother and her music tastes definetely influenced my types of likings, but she didn't particularly care for Sylvia at the time.


Sylvia

Sylvia had released a few records that were played on the radio at that time. "Drifter", "Tumbleweed", "Matador" but she reallly hit the big time when she released the single "Nobody". She arrived on the country music scene at a time when it was in one of it's occassional state of flux. Country music had become more pop oriented and had strayed away from the core of it's roots/origions.

Her album "Just Sylvia" was one of the first 8 tracks that I owned. My God....8 tracks...now that's a symbol of my being "older". Sylvia won the Academy Of Country Music Award Best Female Vocalist in 1983 for the song "Nobody". At the time it was every womans anthem to straying spouses. I wasn't even old enough to really understand what the message of the song was about....I just knew I liked it. It was fun to sing. Very catchy.

I even joined the Sylvia Fan Club. I watched every special she would appear on. She even appeared on *SOLID GOLD. My grandmother relunctantly allowed me to watch it...though she swore the *SOLID GOLD DANCERS were destined for hell because of their dance moves and out fits.

Now, I really can't say that Sylvia has inspired my writing in anyway. What I can say is that her method of singing has. She took the songs and made them her own and afterwards you can't imagine anyone else singing them.

When I was in my younger 20's, my friends and I used to enjoy going to this Kareoke Bar in downtown Norfolk called "Bee Bee's". It was right down near the O.D.U College Campus so our reasoning was it would be full of hot straight guys. We were right.
The first night we went into the place, it was an atmosphere full of fun believe it or not. We all began looking over the song book and I saw they had Sylvia's "Nobody". None of my friends had remembered it from growing up. So, the said for me to sing it. So, I wrote the song down on a piece of paper and turned it in to the guy. My name was called and up I went to the microphone. The music started and I began singing.

In front of me were a couple of straight jocks in football jerseys and they were sitting there watching this guy(me) sing the song "Nobody" like Sylvia and they were a bit confused about what they were seeing I guess LOL. One of the guys said to the guy working the Kareoke "Turn the voice down..we can't hear him!!!"
They were instantly silenced when the guy replied....." The vocal's turned all the way down......there is no voice singing BUT his, That is HIS voice." They were a bit shocked/disconcerted. But the best part was when after the bar closed and I hooked up with one of the jersey wearing jocks. I wonder if it was me he liked,the acid we were dropping or just another gay guy who had the same idea about venturing into a club near a college campus.

Anyway, Sylvia dropped out of the lime light after being dropped by her record label, RCA, in 1987. She has since began recording again, this time under her full name, Sylvia Hutton, and has released a few Cd's on her own record label RED PONY. You can find them HERE.

I still listen to Sylvia.....and I still wonder what ever happened to that football jersey jock I did the nasty with........Both are such great memories.