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Published on Birthplace of Country Music (http://www.birthplaceofcountrymusic.org)

Patty Loveless

                                                                      

Patty Loveless

(Singer, Songwriter, Guitar)

Patty Loveless, who emerged in the mid-1980’s as a major female singer in country music, has seen her career gain strength through the 1980’s and 1990’s.

One of a large family, Patty started to write songs and sing duets with her older brother, Roger, before she was 12. He took her to Nashville when she was 14, with a catalog of 30 songs. There she met Porter Wagoner and his singing partner, Dolly Parton, both of whom encouraged her. She soon had a meeting with the Wilburn Brothers, who were looking for a singer to replace Loretta Lynn (another coal-miner’s daughter and a distant cousin). For three years, while finishing high school, Patty was featured singer with the Wilburn Brothers and was signed to their publishing company as a songwriter.

Shortly after high school, she married Terry Loveless, a former Wilburn Brothers drummer, and they moved to his home near Charlotte, North Carolina. They worked with a series of bands for the next eight years. Patty returned to songwriting in 1983, and continued to sing in clubs, fairs and hotels. In 1985, she returned to Nashville to record a five-song demo tape that Roger circulated to recording companies. Within two months of making the demo, Patty was signed to MCA and she was also divorced from Terry Loveless.

Her initial singles both hit the Top 50 on the Country chart, but her career began to move in 1988 with a Top 10 and Top 3 release. Patty began promoting ladies’ boots for Justin Western Footwear and she appeared at Wembley Festival in England in 1987 and 1988. She did 29 straight one-nighters on the West Coast, joined the Grand Ole Opry, and toured with Kenny Rogers.

Her next album produced five hit singles and Patty won the MCN "Star of Tomorrow" award in 1989, and "Best Female Artist" in 1990. She joined a tour for the USO to Japan, Korea and Alaska with Randy Travis, which was filmed by the Nashville Network for a special. Her popularity continued with her next two albums, which again produced several charted singles.

Having signed a lucrative contract with Sony Music/Epic, Patty was recording her first album for them when she had a leaky blood vessel in one of her vocal cords and needed an operation. During this time, she was encouraged by Kathy Mattea, who had been through the same procedure. After her emergency vocal surgery, she was ordered to rest for two months. After extensive vocal therapy, she was back in the studio finishing her album and her career continues to thrive.

Recordings include:

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