“You’re Easy On the Eyes”
Terri Clark
Written by Terri Clark, Tom Shapiro, and Chris Waters
Billboard
#1 (3 weeks)
December 26, 1998 – January 9, 1999
Terri Clark scores the final No. 1 single of 1998.
The Road to No. 1
Terri Clark followed up her first No. 1 hit, “Now That I Found You,” with her second one, both from her third studio album, How I Feel.
The No. 1
“You’re Easy On the Eyes” has the bravado and wry sense of humor most closely associated with Terri Clark. It’s an especially devastating takedown of a returning lover who is “easy on the eyes” but “hard on the heart.”
You can hear the influence of Wynonna Judd in her growling vocal, which makes for a delicious combination with her cutting lyrics. Her parting shot: “Why don’t you send me your photograph?…Then I could still have my favorite part of you.”
It’s one of the best rave ups in a catalog chock full of them, proving that you can be just as insightful and incisive while rocking out as you can while singing a tender ballad.
The Road From No. 1
How I Feel produced one more hit: the exquisite top fifteen “Everytime I Cry.” Clark followed How I Feel with the critically acclaimed Fearless, which included the top fifteen hit “A Little Gasoline” and the top thirty hit “No Fear.” The album has since been cited as influential by Ashley McBryde, among others. Clark still has some chart-toppers on the way, too, and we’ll cover them down the road when we get to the 2000s.
“You’re Easy On the Eyes” gets an A.
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I would be thrilled if this feature puts a spotlight on Terri Clark’s music the way it did earlier for Joe Diffie’s, Clay Walker’s and Tracy Lawrence’s output. Any effort made to dive deeper into her albums will be rewarded. Oddly, her 202 holiday album “It’s Christmas….Cheers!” Is evidence she is still in full command of her signature intimacy, charisma and charm, and musical integrity!
It’s hard to imagine radio having room for a star like Clark today. She often sounded like she was simply having a ton of genuine fun when singing. She captured an every-woman appeal the same way Luke Combs has tapped into his every-woman groove in his career.