Kathy Mattea

Artist Playlists

About Kathy Mattea

Kathy Mattea was at the forefront of the ’80s/’90s country/pop scene, but there was always something a little different about her. It was clear from the start, with “Street Talk”: the opening cut of her 1984 debut album featured a reggae groove, yet that song became her first hit. Born in West Virginia in 1959, Mattea sang bluegrass before moving to Nashville to pursue a country career. Her 1986 album, Walk the Way the Wind Blows, was her breakthrough, containing a batch of big hits including “Love at the Five and Dime” and “You’re the Power”. A long string of successes followed over the next decade, including No. 1 country singles like “Goin’ Gone” and “Burnin’ Old Memories”. For all her mainstream success, Mattea had regularly cut songs by country mavericks like Steve Earle and Rodney Crowell, and in the 21st century, she amped up her eclectic, idiosyncratic side, with projects like 2008’s bluegrass-based Coal and 2018’s stripped-down Pretty Bird, emphasising the unpredictability that was always part of her makeup.

HOMETOWN
Cross Lanes, WV, United States
BORN
21 June 1959
GENRE
Country

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