Every Friday around 11 a.m. Central, it’s time for Classic Americana on Radio Heartland. We pull a special track from the archives or from deep in the shelves to spotlight a particular artist or song.

This week for Classic Americana, we spotlight singer-songwriter Lacy J. Dalton, an artist that People magazine described as “country’s Bonnie Raitt.”

Born in Pennsylvania on October 13, 1946, Lacy J. Dalton released an album in the mid-1970s on a small label before getting signed to Columbia Records. Dalton’s first hit came in 1979, a song called “Crazy Blue Eyes” that went to No. 7 in the Billboard Country chart and helped Dalton earn the Academy of Country Music’s Top New Female Vocalist of the Year honors.

Other hits followed, including Dalton’s 1980 rendition of the classic tune, “The Tennessee Waltz.”

In 1981, Dalton released her fourth album, Takin’ It Easy. The album’s title track reached No. 2 in Billboard’s Country chart, the highest-charting single in Dalton’s career. Co-written by Dalton along with Billy Sherrill and Mark Sherrill, the song evokes a seaside getaway; coincidentally, the imagery in “Takin’ It Easy” joins a number of country hits from the late 1970s and early ‘80s that reference beachy scenes, including Bertie Higgins’ “Key Largo,” Ronnie Milsap’s “Back on My Mind Again,” Barbara Mandrell’s “Wish You Were Here,” Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville,” and Rodney Crowell’s “An American Dream” (which Nitty Gritty Dirt Band made a hit).

Lacy J. Dalton’s “Takin’ It Easy”is our Classic Americana pick this week on Radio Heartland. When you hear Dalton’s warm, textured voice, you’ll understand why she’s been compared to Bonnie Raitt.

Since that time, Dalton continued to chart many hits, including the 1982 song, “16th Avenue,” which eloquently and melodically captures the toil of Nashville singer-songwriters.

Dalton continues to write, record and tour to this day. In 2020, she wrote a song called “I Can’t Breathe” in reaction to the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. And in 2024, Dalton released the album For The Black Sheep, which Dalton describes as “a collection of songs with meaningful lyrics and messages of unity and acceptance for all of us.”

In addition to her work in music, Dalton co-founded and operates the nonprofit Let ‘Em Run Foundation, which protects and advocates the wild horses and burros that roam the open lands of the western United States. Dalton has also worked with the William James Arts in Corrections program at High Desert State Prison in Susanville, California, teaching basic songwriting, music theory and guitar playing to incarcerated people there.

In 2017, Dalton was inducted into the North American Country Music Association International Hall of Fame. In 2022, Dalton was awarded a Lifetime Career Achievement Award from the Josie Music Awards, which recognize and reward excellence across the independent music industry.

External Links

Lacy J. Dalton – official site