In the late 1970s, Crystal Gayle was still being produced by Allen Reynolds, who had guided her career from her first big record, the #6 “Wrong Road Again” in 1975. Reynolds explained the reasoning behind the release of “Why Have You Left The One You Left Me For” He said: “You need to maintain an artist’s ‘surprise element’ and not try to clone the previous big hit.”
Well, “Why Have You Left The One You Left Me For” was indeed quite a departure from Crystal Gayle’s bluesy, ballad style that had been so successful for her. Thanks to such songs as “Talking In Your Sleep” and the mega-hit, “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue,” Crystal was being bombarded by composers offering songs that worked the same ballad territory. “Why Have You Left The One You Left Me For” was a tune that presented Gayle with tongue-twisting lyrics to wade through. It was a total change of pace from anything she had ever done.
