In 1973, at the age of 23, she signed with Motown and, using the moniker "Charlene Duncan" (her married name), released two unsuccessful singles: "Relove/Give It One More Try" (M 1262) in July 1973[2] and in January 1974 a cover of "All That Love Went to Waste" (M 1285) from the film A Touch of Class.
[3] Charlene sought to find her niche at Motown by writing her own songs, doing demos for other artists (including Michael Jackson's "One Day in Your Life"), and working with various producers and writers before finally being teamed up with Ron Miller.
The lyrics to "I've Never Been to Me" were originally written by Ron Miller from a male perspective, but he rewrote them from a woman's viewpoint for Charlene; and on her debut album, the ballad was recorded with a controversial narration to underscore the song's sentiment.
In 1982, Scott Shannon, a disc jockey then working at Tampa radio station WRBQ-FM, began playing the version from the Charlene album (with the original spoken bridge) at the behest of his girlfriend, and response from local listeners was such as to motivate Shannon, a former Motown employee, to alert Motown president Jay Lasker of the track's hit potential.
The song's music video was filmed at Blickling Hall, Norfolk, England, with Charlene appearing in her actual wedding dress.
Charlene even became one of a handful of artists on Motown Latino when she issued a Spanish-language cover of her hit called "Nunca he ido a mi" (1624LF).
[9] The LP mixed previously recorded tracks with some new material and featured two different covers: one showed Charlene in an elegant white dress with a bow and the other used her image in a moody pastel rendering.
Although the original Virgin compilation did not contain the cut, "It Ain't Easy Comin' Down" has since been added to extended editions of the soundtrack, including 2004 and 2012 re-issues.
[10] The 1982 outing, The Sky Is the Limit (Motown 6024 ML), offers reflective gospel music with several songs penned by Charlene herself plus a cover of Lionel Richie's "Jesus Is Love".
[12] The controversial lyrics of "Used to Be", which lamented an uncaring, self-centered society, caused some radio stations in the U.S. to refuse to play the single and facilitated its actual ban in England.
[9] Highlights of Used to Be included a rendition of "You're Home", which had previously appeared in the stage musical Daddy Goodness,[7] and a cover of "Heaven Help Us All," originally popularized by Stevie Wonder.
In 1984, Charlene co-produced a new LP, Hit & Run Lover (6090ML), which showcased primarily up-tempo dance music and separated her from perennial producer Ron Miller and the Miller-Hirsch writing team responsible for much of her catalog.
Although Charlene was offered the power ballad "We Belong", which soon after became a big hit for Pat Benatar, the song's inclusion on the album was opposed by executive producer Ray Singleton.
[15] In 2022, Paul Stuart Davies, a British soul singer who had already worked with other Motown artists, contacted Charlene via social media to let her know that her signature song was #1 on the day he was born.
Although they had not met in person, Charlene and Davies virtually composed and recorded a duet together called "Fairytale Life", which became available on iTunes on September 23, 2022.
[17] In the 2018 episode of Splitting Up Together entitled "Asking for a Friend", Jenna Fischer's Lena longingly begins singing the song to her children, and her performance prompts her youngest son, Milo, to question aloud if his mother is having a nervous breakdown.
With her husband, Jeff Oliver, Charlene has been the co-operator of a legal document assistance agency servicing clients in and around Los Angeles County.