Season 5: Episode 18 - Charlene Oliver Interview - I've Been To Paradise, But I've Never Been To Me

This season on my podcast, Baring It All with Call Me Adam, I am spotlighting My Entertainment Idols.Today I am catching up with Motown Singer & Songwriter Charlene Oliver, who you know as the songstress behind the #1 song, "I've Never Been To Me," written by Ron Miller & featured in one of my favorite movies, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.Charlene & I last spoke in 2020 and now I am thrilled to be speaking with Charlene once again! In this NEW interview, Charlene is Baring It All with Call Me Adam about:How she came to record the global hit song, I've Never Been To MeGetting out of her abusive marriageFinding tranquility amongst the chaos of the worldThe sweetness of candySo much more "I've Never Been To Me" is available to stream on all music platforms!Special Thanks:Adam White & Jeff OliverTheme Song by Bobby CroninPodcast Logo by Liam O'DonnellEdited by Adam RothenbergUnderscore Music by CutiqueConnect with Me:Website: www.callmeadam.comFacebook: @CallMeAdamNYCInstagram: @CallMeAdamNYCMore on Charlene Oliver:Charlene Oliver always knew she wanted to be a singer, from her childhood in Hollywood in the late 1950s, one of two sisters in a loving family of Italian/American origin. Charlene's first break came with the offer to join Petula Clark's backing singers at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. Before long, she was auditioning in front of legendary Motown boss Berry Gordy and to her joy, being signed, the first ever white female singer to be signed to the label.Her first song, "All That Love Went To Waste," came out in 1974, followed by two albums on the Motown label. Then writer Ron Miller persuaded Charlene to record his song, "I've Never Been To Me," in 1977, but the single only just scraped into the Top 100.By the early 1980s, Charlene's career seemed to be stalling and she had left the US to move to her second husband Jeff's home in Essex, England, where she found work in the local sweetshop.It was there that she heard, in 1982, that a Florida DJ had been pushing her song so much that it had been re-released, and was finally hitting the charts. Within a few weeks, the singer found herself back at the top, as the song hit #1 in country after country all over the world, and she left her Essex sweetshop to fly on the Concorde to perform internationally. The growing international success of the musical Priscilla, Queen of the Desert has confirmed her as a hugely popular singer amongst the gay community, and recently she released a new club version of her iconic song in association with Eye Witness.Charlene's story has it all: the stars, the fame, the struggle, the pain.

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