Enduring Traditionalist

A real life coal miner’s daughter, Patty Loveless is Country Music's most enduring female traditionalist. Her restrained, emotion filled, vocal delivery can heal any wound and lift any spirit. In a time when many country artists have forgotten country’s past, Patty Loveless’ refusal to abandon the traditional sound is as refreshing as anything being done today.

It could be no other way for Patty Loveless. Patricia Ramey was born January 4, 1957 in Pikeville, Kentucky to an Appalachian coal miner and his homemaker wife. Poverty was a real concept to Patty, so was her dream of being a Country singer.

At age fourteen Patty and her older brother Roger visited Nashville. Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton received them backstage at the Grand Ole Opry, but encouraged Patty to return home and finish her education. Patty did and also sang with group called the Wilburn Brothers.

While touring with the Wilburn Brothers she met Terry Lovelace. Lovelace, a drummer for the Wilburn Brothers band, took to the shy, young, Patty. They were married. It did not last. A drinking and club touring life in North Carolina was followed by a divorce.

Terry Lovelace helped Patty with a performing name, but it would be Patty’s future husband, Emory Gordy Jr. who would help Patty with a career in Country Music. Gordy and MCA Records a & r executive, Tony Brown heard Patty’s elegant, restrained, vocals and knew she was a potential star. Jimmy Bowen, the head of MCA Records, disagreed. The man, who had help make George Strait and Reba McEntire stars, did not see what his underlings did in Patty. Still with vigorous lobbying from Brown and Gordy, Bowen tepidly agreed to give Patty a recording contract.

The early going was rough. Patty’s first two albums, “Patty Loveless” and “If My Heart Had Windows” stiffed commercially. Only two of her eight singles even cracked the top 30.

Bowen departed from MCA replaced by Bruce Hinton and Brown. It proved a turning point for Patty. Hinton let Brown run the music end of MCA; and Brown quickly lent more support to his young traditionalist. Patty’s 1989 “Honky Tonk Angel,” release produced Patty’s first two #1 singles in “Timber, I’m Falling in Love” and “Chains”. Those hits pushed album sales up with “Honky Tonk Angel” going gold for sales of over 500,000.

Patty became a member of the Grand Old Opry, and married her new love, Emory Gordy Jr.

Patty Loveless (right) poses with Olivia Newton - John

after winning the 1997 ACM Female Vocalist of the Year Award

Jimmy Bowen would, indirectly, influence Patty’s career again. Bowen, now head of Capitol Nashville, had help break a young Garth Brooks onto the Country Music scene. The subsequent sales boom provided MCA with three hot, million plus selling female artists in Reba McEntire, Wynonna Judd and Trisha Yearwood. The “big three” became major “cash cows” for MCA. Accordingly, they became MCA’s major concerns. Patty Loveless was now an after thought.

Never able to sell multi-platinum (sales over two million), Patty’s steady but sure sales failed to match MCA’s desire for explosive selling artist like the big three. Patty’s “desire” for success began to be questioned. Support from MCA waned. The top songs were offered to the big three; Patty got the b and c material. Patty’s album sales floundered. Her last studio album for MCA, “Up Against My Heart” never got above #27 on the album charts.

Patty knew staying at MCA would be her demise. Hinton and Brown did too. When they received Loveless’ request for her release from her recording contract, they granted it knowing it could come back to haunt them.

Patty was being haunted by an internal struggle. For her entire professional career she had been managed by her older brother Roger. Now, she was thinking of relieving him of that duty. After much debate within herself Patty did so. Then the bottom fell out from under her. For some time Patty had been having voice problems. She thought it was due to all stress she had been going through. She was wrong.

Soon after signing a recording deal with Epic Records, Patty learned she would need immediate vocal cord surgery. Her entire career was now on the line. However, like her music career, Patty endured. Her surgery was successful. In fact, many of her peers said she sang better after the surgery. Epic, eager for a female star, allowed Patty and Emory to make Patty’s next album with little interference. Emory, an accomplished producer and songwriter helped find Patty the traditional material she needed; then coaxed her to raise her vocal performance.

“Only What I Feel”, Patty’s first release on Epic, was hailed as a masterpiece by critics. Epic promoted Patty’s singles extensively. “Blame It on Your Heart”, the lead single from “Only What I Feel”, went to number one. Combined with “How Can I Help You Say Goodbye”, it pushed sales of “Only What I Feel” to gold then platinum making it Patty’s first platinum album.

The success of “Only What I Feel” gave Patty new exposure. Award nominations followed as did her amazing follow-up album “When Fallen Angels Fly”. With all four of its singles making the top ten, and big time tour with Vince Gill, sales of “When Fallen Angels Fly” also went platinum. In 1995 the Country Music Association awarded “When Fallen Angels Fly” its Album of the Year Award, making Patty only the second female to win this award.

Patty would win more awards in 1996. The Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association awarded Patty its Female Vocalist of the Year Award.

Her new album “The Trouble With the Truth” was named one of the top ten albums of 1996 by Time magazine. “The Trouble With the Truth” and would produce two number one singles and go platinum. In 1997 the Academy of Country Music again awarded Patty their Female Vocalist of the Year Award.

Despite all the seemingly good news, things had not been going well personally for Patty. Emory became ill with life-threatening pancreatitis, and Patty was forced to abandon her tour to care for him. Her brother Roger contracted liver disease, and her older sister, Dottie joined their father in Heaven after a long bout with emphysema. Patty herself had a brief hospital stay for walking pneumonia. Musically things began deteriorating too.

Patty’s fourth album of Epic, “Long Stretch of Lonesome” was another masterpiece. Its lead single was the incredible “You Don’t Seem to Miss Me”. However, it prominently featured Country legend George Jones. Patty considered it an honor to have someone she revered sing on the song. Country radio felt differently. In 1997 Country radio wanted no part of older Country artists. Despite “You Don’t Seem to Miss Me’s” rave reviews and strong word of mouth, it struggled up to only #14. “Long Stretch of Lonesome” went gold and received award nominations, but none of its singles faired well.

Her string of misses on Country radio continued with her 14th album "Strong Heart". The album, which included some Pop leaning cuts, tanked commercially and garnered only lukewarm reviews. Patty seemed headed toward the commercial and artistic oblivion that catches the majority of artists over time. Would Patty, like Pam Tillis, try to fit into Country radio's every pop-leaning world only to find rejection, or would she hold to her traditional sound?

The enduring traditionalist answered firmly with "Mountain Soul", the finest and most traditional album of her career. Filled with the sounds of Patty's youth, "Mountain Soul" features traditional Country, Bluegrass and Mountain Music. Critics lauded "Mountain Soul" as the Country album of the year. Some critics even called it the best album of any genre.

"Mountain Soul" success proves those who endure in their passions are rewarded. Patty Loveless' passion is traditional Country Music. Her endurance through a career of ups and downs not only rewarded her, but her fans as well.