In the interlude of the song, she clearly states the meaning of what's she's singing about. 'Paradise' is just a place your mind drifts off to in a fantasy world- to escape your dreaded reality, but the real paradise should be appreciating what most people deem underrated, simple things in their life. I hope that she finds her paradise- her true self after all these decades 💕
it's true you know. All your life you're dreaming the big dreams, searching for that excitement and adventure and glory.... it's all a lie. And when you lose everything, your dreams utterly crushed, only then you'll see the truth of things, only then you'll know what's truly important. And hopefully it's not too late by then.
A beautiful song and a beautiful lady. So much inner beauty. Thank you for sharing the story of this song, and how it was destined to be yours. So sorry to hear about the pain you suffered. I'm all choked up ... tears in my eyes. All the best to you.
The feelings, love and pain in this song is touching! It has the truth to touch everyones "Moment in times" of their lives! This song is a gift from God. The voice, lyrics and music! WOW! Charlene Marilynn Oliver, better known mononymously as Charlene, is an American easy-listening and R&B singer best known for the song "I've Never Been to Me", which, initially being a commercial flop upon its original release in 1977, became a worldwide hit upon a re-release in 1982 and has remained an enduring adult contemporary music staple. Charlene is also a songwriter, record producer and author.
I’ve loved this song forever it’s one of my faves ,it’s just so moving ,I didn’t realise how beautiful she is and her voice is absolutely incredible,I’m in love with her .
These Story Behind the Song series are BRILLIANT! Thank you for doing these! Pop culture History .... also brings back memories of these songs. Lovely to get an update on Charlene.
Her testimony really relates to mine from abortion, domestic violence,to human trafficking 🛡️😭😭😭l cry soooo deeply every time hear this song it is God inspired and their is an annoiting on it ,it will free sooo many listening to it and bring healing God is going to you this lady's testimony powerfully 👑💎💎💎🛡️💖l felt Gods presence flow from this song rivers of living waters🔥🔥🔥🔑👑💎
Wow what an sad and an uplifting story rolled up in one. I feel sad for the abuse she suffered at the hands of the cowardly former husband she had, but thank God she was able to survive and move forward in her life. Her song 4-sure has spoken into so many women hearts. What a magical ride that song brought her. Although I grew up in the 70’s and was into a lot music this my first time ever hearing of her and this great song.
I would like to see this song make it back on the charts. While this song is a sad song, it also has a great message that so many people really need to hear. The older a person gets the better they hear the message in this song. This will always be a #1 hit in my book.
I'm here in 2024 because my neighbor just pulled up to park his car, and this classic was playing....it immediately took me back to the 80's, the best musical time of my life.
I was listening to the QMorning Zoo in Tampa when Scott Shannon introduced Charlene's song! My mother heard it and asked me to find her a copy. I was in college in '82, and drove from Tampa to St. Petersburg to a used record store and bought the "Charlene" album that included the song. I love that it was used in "Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" as the film's first song.
I found a second-hand LP of her named: ''Hit and Run Lover'', I didn't know ANY of the songs but bought it just because I liked ''Never been to me''. The album was an amazing 80's pop gem, she is a wonderful singer.
This song resonates with me so much. I spent my life looking for love in all the wrong places, with the wrong people and survived domestic violence. Never been to me 🙏
Being single, content,happy. Thats me. Iv been to me.I was there in a lonely marriage for 38 years. Now single 6. Happiness is within the single mind,body and soul.My love tank is full from my children. Need nothing from anyone else.
Love this song so much!!! The melody is so catchy, that i find myself humming it many days walking thru the shops! The lyrics are also very poignant the older i get and look back at my life!
I don't know if Charlene knew about it but this song was a big hit in the Philippines when it first came out in 1977. It remains a karaoke favorite to this day.
I remember, in my younger years, when I was working as a waiter in a restaurant. a Couple were having a romantic tete-a-tete and this song came up. The man was softly repeating the words to the lady and she just melted. I learned that day the power of words...
That song held me during my teen years and ended up being so truthful for me. I always had a stubborn streak and figured I would experience much heartache along the way, much as you did. It was the only song for years that spoke to a woman's ability to search for happiness and herself. Thank you for sharing your story with us. I'm so glad you got away from your abuser. Keep seeking. I have come to the notion that nothing in my life was wasted on God. He had a plan for me from the start. I hope you find the happiness you sang about wanting to find. Sincerely, Patti
I was sad to hear at the end that she's still never "been to me". I'm glad to hear she was honest about it, though. She's a real person, and I like that.
She been in paradise the wealt the rich the power everywhere..but the true paradise is love that she cannot find..true love finds in her lovingly husband and her beautiful child.
i bought the song not long ago on digital. was flipping through some songs on Amazon heard it and said, "I remember that song!!" It was so different, sad, and beautiful.
Gosh. For years it was just a song that stuck in my head, but now that I know the story behind the singer.....it will be engraved in my brain. Charlene, sooo sorry you had to undergo all this pain, I never knew this. Look at your beautiful daughter: you still guess who you are? Look into her eyes, and you WILL know.
What a sad song it reminds me of a woman with a sad life trying to get out and have a life of her own that's why she dreams about things like this, Paradise,,
Very beautiful story of Charlene's troubled first marriage . Although the lyrics reflect someone regretting not settling down , it seems i can relate to putting my eggs in one basket whilst living lives that weren't working.
@@oskie66skye I think I get it - maybe she was dreaming of that kind of life: a loving husband, a baby and a stable life, where the one she had was so turbulent, nothing like a loving marriage “should” be, as the one she describes.
Such a beautiful song that I’ve loved to listen to for many years. Such a lovely voice. I’m so sorry that she had to endure the evil that the weak fool she married bestowed upon her. Hopefully she does find herself. Thank you Charlene 👍.
You are with you all the time XOX you can't find yourself because you are you, when you stop rejecting what is already you, looking for a better version.. then you will be to you xox
Marilyn Anthony it was of a time. But of a fish out of water. That’s why it appealed to certain people. Wordy, rhyming scheme, vivid images.. tragic and regretful and a cautionary tale. Compared to Let’s get Physical...
I put this song in my humanities subject then after i discussed the meaning of this song other ladies in the class cried. Maybe they can relate . Thank you charlene for this song.
Instead of re-releasing that silly disco uptempo version, she should've done that piano version that she does at the end of this video... so much better, and even adds more flair to her vocals, and a much more mature version...
I remember this song hitting me hard. I was away from home in college. Rebound from a heart break.It hit most women who listened in some way. Charlenes voice was pure gold. So lovely to hear Charlene all these years later. I saw that rebound ghost last week. How age affects the human body but doesn't really affect the memory. I can still see a young man in my mind. However reality is.Iv been to me.Not going back.❤❤
One of my guilty pleasures. When Stevie Wonder helped her with her follow-up single, "Used To Be", I was hoping it would be a success as well. Good song, but sadly it was probably a bit too controversial for radio back then. Too bad because she has a wonderful voice that has a touch of vulnerability and honesty.
I first heard that song on the movie "Pricilla Queen of the Desert" and fell in love with it. I'd never seen an interview with Charlene before either. What a beautiful person.
"Physical" went on to be the #1 song of the 80's. LOL! I absolutely love Charlene's song though. The second time around (1982), it spent 3 weeks at #3.
One of my aunt really hated this song, because this song was practically about her whole life, and the first time she listened to this song, it really broke her, everything the song tried to tell people, it was too late for her for most of those things. She tried to be the fun aunt though, so even though she's still 'alone' in her mid 60s now, she's not really alone since all of us nieces and nephews loved her, and she loved us back-- as long as we don't mention this song, that is.
It always adds to something, song/movie/etc., if you learn the story behind it. Two songs that come to mind are Stevie Nicks song, "Has anyone ever written anything for you", and "Suzanne" by Leonard Cohen(I prefer the Neil Diamond version). There is also the story by Jerry Jeff Walker about how he came to write the song, "Mr. Bojangles". The man he wrote about was someone who claimed to be Bojangles, but the real Bojangles had died many years before the incident described in the song took place in the jail. Bobby Cole's version is my favorite version of that song. Thanks for posting this video.
Charlene i love this song 😍 . Growing up with this kind of music made my childhood awesome im crying right now 😭😭.. I want you to know i love you so much ❤️❤️❤️ hope you doing well .
I agree I love that song and rendition, it’s the best!!! Thank you. But can you tell me if it’s just a fantasy for a woman that in a terrible situation and is just a fantasy
Thank you Charlene for sharing your story with us! I was saddened to hear you are "still searching", yet I know why... Jesus Christ is the only one who can complete us. Once you find Him you will search no more. May His grace and peace shine upon you!
Essa música fez parte de trilha sonora de uma novela brasileira ....foi a música que eu mais amei a que a mais ouvi eu e o resto do Brasil ....linda música e ela tbm é linda...
This is one of my all time favourite songs so sad though that itx about everything that was wrong in her life and if your still searching for your me it can only be found within you
Charlene is a beautiful lady and has a great voice. I like her better as a brunette. Just saying. 😍I've no use for men like her husband who treat women that way. They aren't worth the bullet.
This was my song, it helped me through a bad relationship and troubled time in my life. It stayed with me even when I moved on and when I was in my late 20’s I was told the news that the one thing I longed for through my whole life was impossible and that was to have a child. That almost destroyed me so this song had even more significant meaning then and still does today and I’m 58🦋🙏🇦🇺
In the interlude of the song, she clearly states the meaning of what's she's singing about. 'Paradise' is just a place your mind drifts off to in a fantasy world- to escape your dreaded reality, but the real paradise should be appreciating what most people deem underrated, simple things in their life. I hope that she finds her paradise- her true self after all these decades 💕
it's true you know. All your life you're dreaming the big dreams, searching for that excitement and adventure and glory.... it's all a lie. And when you lose everything, your dreams utterly crushed, only then you'll see the truth of things, only then you'll know what's truly important.
And hopefully it's not too late by then.
That song speaks not just to women, but to all isolated, discouraged, and saddened souls....
Absolutely. ❤😘
This is one of the most beautiful songs ever written~!
I'm 59 years old and to this day this song makes me extremely emotional every time I hear it which is often.
th-cam.com/video/WjA5X_2mzP4/w-d-xo.htmlsi=HYYVubZfcg4MEede
56 same
A beautiful song and a beautiful lady. So much inner beauty. Thank you for sharing the story of this song, and how it was destined to be yours. So sorry to hear about the pain you suffered. I'm all choked up ... tears in my eyes. All the best to you.
The feelings, love and pain in this song is touching! It has the truth to touch everyones "Moment in times" of their lives! This song is a gift from God. The voice, lyrics and music! WOW! Charlene Marilynn Oliver, better known mononymously as Charlene, is an American easy-listening and R&B singer best known for the song "I've Never Been to Me", which, initially being a commercial flop upon its original release in 1977, became a worldwide hit upon a re-release in 1982 and has remained an enduring adult contemporary music staple. Charlene is also a songwriter, record producer and author.
Hey Lady, 76 years old now this song helped me in life and love old man now from Ireland
Also from Ireland. ☘
This song is one of the big memories of my teenage years
I’ve loved this song forever it’s one of my faves ,it’s just so moving ,I didn’t realise how beautiful she is and her voice is absolutely incredible,I’m in love with her .
These Story Behind the Song series are BRILLIANT! Thank you for doing these! Pop culture History .... also brings back memories of these songs. Lovely to get an update on Charlene.
2021 and this is still one of my favorite songs! Loved it as soon as it came on the radio back in the day
Her testimony really relates to mine from abortion, domestic violence,to human trafficking 🛡️😭😭😭l cry soooo deeply every time hear this song it is God inspired and their is an annoiting on it ,it will free sooo many listening to it and bring healing God is going to you this lady's testimony powerfully 👑💎💎💎🛡️💖l felt Gods presence flow from this song rivers of living waters🔥🔥🔥🔑👑💎
This is an absolutely amazing song and Charlene’s voice is incredible! Why isn’t she recording???
Wow what an sad and an uplifting story rolled up in one. I feel sad for the abuse she suffered at the hands of the cowardly former husband she had, but thank God she was able to survive and move forward in her life. Her song 4-sure has spoken into so many women hearts. What a magical ride that song brought her. Although I grew up in the 70’s and was into a lot music this my first time ever hearing of her and this great song.
The sone was originally released in 1977 but didn't go anywhere. It was re-released in 1982 and became a hit. I remember when it became a hit in 1982.
I would like to see this song make it back on the charts. While this song is a sad song, it also has a great message that so many people really need to hear. The older a person gets the better they hear the message in this song. This will always be a #1 hit in my book.
special voice darlinks !!!
She looks and sounds a little like Stevie Nicks in these later years!
I'm here in 2024 because my neighbor just pulled up to park his car, and this classic was playing....it immediately took me back to the 80's, the best musical time of my life.
I’ve always loved this song. She is incredibly beautiful; then and now.
I was listening to the QMorning Zoo in Tampa when Scott Shannon introduced Charlene's song! My mother heard it and asked me to find her a copy. I was in college in '82, and drove from Tampa to St. Petersburg to a used record store and bought the "Charlene" album that included the song. I love that it was used in "Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" as the film's first song.
I found a second-hand LP of her named: ''Hit and Run Lover'', I didn't know ANY of the songs but bought it just because I liked ''Never been to me''. The album was an amazing 80's pop gem, she is a wonderful singer.
This song resonates with me so much. I spent my life looking for love in all the wrong places, with the wrong people and survived domestic violence. Never been to me 🙏
Try reiki
Being single, content,happy. Thats me. Iv been to me.I was there in a lonely marriage for 38 years. Now single 6. Happiness is within the single mind,body and soul.My love tank is full from my children. Need nothing from anyone else.
Omg! Even better to know the story behind one of my favorite songs of all time.
Love this song so much!!!
The melody is so catchy, that i find myself humming it many days walking thru the shops! The lyrics are also very poignant the older i get and look back at my life!
this is one of my mother’s favorites. miss her so much
She sang this with such deep emotions, no one else could have done this any better. I love the interview. GREAT SONG!!!
Beautiful song and stunning vocals. The clip at the end was great and she still has that stunning voice.
Hey lady, you lady.
I don't know if Charlene knew about it but this song was a big hit in the Philippines when it first came out in 1977. It remains a karaoke favorite to this day.
Phillos LOVE good melodies more than any other nation on earth.
So much pain and truth but this song also is heading. ❤️her voice is untouchable so beautiful ❣️
One of the er best voices ever heard -plenty of emotion in her voice.
I remember, in my younger years, when I was working as a waiter in a restaurant. a Couple were having a romantic tete-a-tete and this song came up. The man was softly repeating the words to the lady and she just melted. I learned that day the power of words...
Really loved your little story, thank you for that 🙏It reads like a scene from the movie Love Story, in real life. Thank you ones more.
Just like the choice of words you use to relay this story, powerful indeed!
Bet the subtle wh0ring line made her wet
Always and forever I will associate this song with Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Such a great movie with an excellent soundtrack!
That song held me during my teen years and ended up being so truthful for me. I always had a stubborn streak and figured I would experience much heartache along the way, much as you did. It was the only song for years that spoke to a woman's ability to search for happiness and herself. Thank you for sharing your story with us. I'm so glad you got away from your abuser. Keep seeking. I have come to the notion that nothing in my life was wasted on God. He had a plan for me from the start. I hope you find the happiness you sang about wanting to find. Sincerely, Patti
Thank you very much charlene.This song was very beautiful and I often listen to it in 1990
I was sad to hear at the end that she's still never "been to me". I'm glad to hear she was honest about it, though. She's a real person, and I like that.
She been in paradise the wealt the rich the power everywhere..but the true paradise is love that she cannot find..true love finds in her lovingly husband and her beautiful child.
i bought the song not long ago on digital. was flipping through some songs on Amazon heard it and said, "I remember that song!!" It was so different, sad, and beautiful.
Gosh. For years it was just a song that stuck in my head, but now that I know the story behind the singer.....it will be engraved in my brain. Charlene, sooo sorry you had to undergo all this pain, I never knew this. Look at your beautiful daughter: you still guess who you are? Look into her eyes, and you WILL know.
This is a great song that came once in a life time.
this song brings me to tears every time i hear it.
She actually sounds much better now than she did way back then. She needs to be performing folk blues.
I'm saddened to see that she is still searching. I really like the song.
A touching back story ❤
2024 here! Love love love this song and Charlene!
What a sad song it reminds me of a woman with a sad life trying to get out and have a life of her own that's why she dreams about things like this, Paradise,,
Very beautiful story of Charlene's troubled first marriage . Although the lyrics reflect someone regretting not settling down , it seems i can relate to putting my eggs in one basket whilst living lives that weren't working.
Spot on....Thank you
@@oskie66skye I think I get it - maybe she was dreaming of that kind of life: a loving husband, a baby and a stable life, where the one she had was so turbulent, nothing like a loving marriage “should” be, as the one she describes.
Amazing story and timeless.
Wow! Does that bring back memories.
Such a beautiful song that I’ve loved to listen to for many years. Such a lovely voice. I’m so sorry that she had to endure the evil that the weak fool she married bestowed upon her. Hopefully she does find herself. Thank you Charlene 👍.
I love the song and only she can make it sound so good.
That is still the meaning of music....thank you
😥😥😥😥😥😥🇻🇺🇻🇺🇻🇺🇻🇺🇻🇺 I can't stop the tears. Thanks for sharing the story behind it
You are with you all the time XOX you can't find yourself because you are you, when you stop rejecting what is already you, looking for a better version.. then you will be to you xox
Thank you Charlene ❤
This song has haunted me since I first hear it back in 1982.
Charlene 👑❤👑🇧🇷❤
Great song. Great interview.
GREAT SONG? It's horrible
Marilyn Anthony it was of a time. But of a fish out of water. That’s why it appealed to certain people. Wordy, rhyming scheme, vivid images.. tragic and regretful and a cautionary tale. Compared to Let’s get Physical...
No other song can and could ever beat this! 💜
I'm So Sad You Said That I was Cried Charlene ,Thank You so much you Made Beautiful Love Song 💖♥️
One of my favorite song..❤❤❤❤❤
I put this song in my humanities subject then after i discussed the meaning of this song other ladies in the class cried. Maybe they can relate . Thank you charlene for this song.
Beautiful melody, relevant lyrics and her voice, her breathtaking voice.
Instead of re-releasing that silly disco uptempo version, she should've done that piano version that she does at the end of this video... so much better, and even adds more flair to her vocals, and a much more mature version...
true
I liked that version too. She should at least put that full version on TH-cam.
Pretty sure the dance version was a remix made by someone else
Yes
I remember this song hitting me hard. I was away from home in college. Rebound from a heart break.It hit most women who listened in some way. Charlenes voice was pure gold. So lovely to hear Charlene all these years later. I saw that rebound ghost last week. How age affects the human body but doesn't really affect the memory. I can still see a young man in my mind. However reality is.Iv been to me.Not going back.❤❤
One of my guilty pleasures. When Stevie Wonder helped her with her follow-up single, "Used To Be", I was hoping it would be a success as well. Good song, but sadly it was probably a bit too controversial for radio back then. Too bad because she has a wonderful voice that has a touch of vulnerability and honesty.
Nothing to be guilty about tbh - it’s a genuinely great song.
Very Nice !!!
I love this tune.💛🧡
fell in love with her and this meaningful true song...great sing a long...still sing to ""I've never been to ME..."..Love to meet her
I first heard that song on the movie "Pricilla Queen of the Desert" and fell in love with it. I'd never seen an interview with Charlene before either. What a beautiful person.
Mooi verhaal bij dit prachtige nummer.
Remember this on the radio in Chicago, at 19. The lyrics.
These snippet interviews are so short!!!
I'd never thought I'd see how Charlene looks like but here I am
Love this song very much
Remembering my mother, a very strong woman with full of wisdom. ❤
When i first heard this song by Charlene it totally blew me away such a beautiful singer n oh boy what a beautiful song indeed such a lovely song
This is one of the best story i saw on youtube
what a sweet lady!
Truly a masterpiece
"Physical" went on to be the #1 song of the 80's. LOL! I absolutely love Charlene's song though. The second time around (1982), it spent 3 weeks at #3.
Charlene I send you a hug wherever you are !!
Cool Charlene
I've listened to this song so many times over the years. Haunting and so true to life. My life. Well, maybe didn't have yahts, but song speaks to me.
2021 still listening to this song ❤️
One of my aunt really hated this song, because this song was practically about her whole life, and the first time she listened to this song, it really broke her, everything the song tried to tell people, it was too late for her for most of those things. She tried to be the fun aunt though, so even though she's still 'alone' in her mid 60s now, she's not really alone since all of us nieces and nephews loved her, and she loved us back-- as long as we don't mention this song, that is.
It always adds to something, song/movie/etc., if you learn the story behind it. Two songs that come to mind are Stevie Nicks song, "Has anyone ever written anything for you", and "Suzanne" by Leonard Cohen(I prefer the Neil Diamond version). There is also the story by Jerry Jeff Walker about how he came to write the song, "Mr. Bojangles". The man he wrote about was someone who claimed to be Bojangles, but the real Bojangles had died many years before the incident described in the song took place in the jail. Bobby Cole's version is my favorite version of that song. Thanks for posting this video.
My favorite song, Love from China❤
Charlene i love this song 😍 . Growing up with this kind of music made my childhood awesome im crying right now 😭😭..
I want you to know i love you so much ❤️❤️❤️ hope you doing well .
This song is my life. Almost literally except I'm a gay male and not a woman. I'm old now and have no children and regret my choices
Wow. Really cool story behind the song. I don't think she ever hit the charts with anything else.
The music biz is hard to penetrate. You have to have the right personality to make it all the way up.
I agree I love that song and rendition, it’s the best!!! Thank you. But can you tell me if it’s just a fantasy for a woman that in a terrible situation and is just a fantasy
I love your song soooo much! that talks reality...
Thank you Charlene for sharing your story with us! I was saddened to hear you are "still searching", yet I know why... Jesus Christ is the only one who can complete us. Once you find Him you will search no more. May His grace and peace shine upon you!
Meaningful song and Beautiful Voice, And Beautiful Girl
I love the song!
Truly cheesy songs like this one will always occupy a soft spot in my heart. I simultaneously hate them and love them. Thank you, Charlene.
One can't insult something and also have it occupy "a soft spot" in your heart. The song isn't "cheesy."
This song is very far from cheesy- you need to get your ears checked!
I was attracted by this beautiful song in 1982 when my English was zero.
Essa música fez parte de trilha sonora de uma novela brasileira ....foi a música que eu mais amei a que a mais ouvi eu e o resto do Brasil ....linda música e ela tbm é linda...
This is one of my all time favourite songs so sad though that itx about everything that was wrong in her life and if your still searching for your me it can only be found within you
Charlene is a beautiful lady and has a great voice. I like her better as a brunette. Just saying. 😍I've no use for men like her husband who treat women that way. They aren't worth the bullet.
This was my song, it helped me through a bad relationship and troubled time in my life. It stayed with me even when I moved on and when I was in my late 20’s I was told the news that the one thing I longed for through my whole life was impossible and that was to have a child. That almost destroyed me so this song had even more significant meaning then and still does today and I’m 58🦋🙏🇦🇺
I too have a story of how I met Ron Miller and the friendship we developed and my version of I'VE NEVER BEEN TO ME."