43 Facts About Kathy Mattea

Kathleen Alice Mattea was born on June 21,1959 and is an American country music and bluegrass singer.

Kathy Mattea has released 14 studio albums, two Christmas albums, and one greatest hits album.

Kathy Mattea has collaborated with Dolly Parton, Michael McDonald, Tim O'Brien, and her husband, Jon Vezner.

Kathy Mattea is a two-time Grammy Award winner: in 1990 for "Where've You Been", and in 1993 for her Christmas album Good News.

Kathy Mattea's style is defined by traditional country, bluegrass, folk, and Celtic music influences.

Kathleen Alice Kathy Mattea was born June 21,1959, in South Charleston, West Virginia.

Kathy Mattea sang in her parents' church as a child, and in high school she performed at school shows and family gatherings.

Kathy Mattea began playing guitar in her teen years after discovering folk music.

Kathy Mattea worked as a tour guide at the Country Music Hall of Fame, and then as a secretary and a waitress, to support herself while working as a demo singer.

Kathy Mattea's self-titled debut album came out in 1984, with Hill and Rick Peoples as the album's producers.

Kathy Mattea later noted that "there were no budgets" when she was recording the album, as she was unable to afford a $75 makeup session, and the front cover featured her wearing a jacket which she had purchased at Kmart.

Kathy Mattea had originally recorded a demo of the song with the intent of having Terri Gibbs record it, but Kathy Mattea kept it for herself when Gibbs declined the song.

Kathy Mattea had her first number one single in late 1987 to early 1988 with "Goin' Gone".

Kathy Mattea's version was the lead single to her fourth album Untasted Honey.

An uncredited review from People was positive, stating that "she's still not one to rock and roll, but this album has a fair share of swingy, blue-newgrass tracks", and that "Kathy Mattea sounds warm and relaxed".

Kathy Mattea won the Country Music Association's Female Vocalist of the Year award in both 1989 and 1990, and a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance in 1990 for "Where've You Been".

Later in 1990, Kathy Mattea released her first greatest hits album, A Collection of Hits.

In June 1992, Kathy Mattea experienced a burst blood vessel on her vocals.

Kathy Mattea was required to undergo vocal rest and surgery to "repair years of overuse" on her vocal cords.

Also in 1994, Kathy Mattea had a cameo in the movie Maverick, whose soundtrack featured her as one of several lead vocalists on a multi-artist rendition of "Amazing Grace".

Kathy Mattea spent the entirety of 1996 off the charts before returning with Love Travels in 1997.

Kathy Mattea said that she chose to work with this label after leaving Mercury because she felt that the label would "give [her] alternative marketing ideas" and "didn't see [her] musical restlessness as a liability".

Kathy Mattea said that she wanted to keep a contemporary folk and Celtic influence.

Kathy Mattea supported the album with a tour largely focused on performing arts centers.

Kathy Mattea released this album independently on her own Captain Potato Records.

Kathy Mattea said that she chose to do an album themed to coal mining after the Sago Mine disaster, and worked with country and bluegrass singer Marty Stuart as her producer.

Kathy Mattea said that she was unsure about recording the song "Black Lung" until Stuart noted that the recording engineer on the session had gotten emotional and begun to cry during her take on the song.

Kathy Mattea began working with a vocal coach who helped her find her singing voice again.

In 2021, Kathy Mattea became the new host of the Mountain Stage, a program that is aired by West Virginia's NPR network.

Kathy Mattea's music was categorized as country during her years as a commercial recording artist.

Authors Mary A Bufwack and Robert K Oermann noted that Mattea was part of a group of country artists that took inspiration from the American folk revival by incorporating "modern sensibilities to create powerfully appealing images".

Writer Thomas Harrison found that Kathy Mattea had elements of "Southern California Rock" that mixed in "mountain elements" because she often incorporated the acoustic guitar.

Kathy Mattea participated in several collaborative works, primarily in the 1990s.

In March 1991, Kathy Mattea was one of several artists on "Voices That Care", a charity single to help boost the morale of US troops involved in Operation Desert Storm.

Kathy Mattea appeared on two tracks from the 1994 Red Hot + Country compilation, put out by the AIDS activism group Red Hot Organization.

Kathy Mattea has been married to songwriter Jon Vezner since February 14,1988.

Kathy Mattea started a publishing company underneath the apartment in which Mattea lived in the 1980s, and the two met after he jump-started her car.

In 2003, Kathy Mattea's father died following a long battle with colon cancer.

In 2005, Kathy Mattea's mother died due to complications of Alzheimer's disease.

Kathy Mattea chose to wear three red ribbons that night, each one honoring a friend of hers who had died of the disease, along with the green ribbon.

Besides her participation in the Red Hot + Country charity album series, Kathy Mattea participated in charity concerts and made public appearances in activism campaigns.

Kathy Mattea was the recipient of the inaugural Harvard AIDS Initiative award in 1994.

Kathy Mattea has received a series of awards, including four from the Country Music Association and two from the Grammy Awards.