Patty Loveless
Patty Loveless, born Patricia Lee Ramey in Pikeville, Kentucky is one of country music’s most admired neo-traditionalists. Growing up on traditional country and mountain music, Loveless, the oldest of seven children, was born to Naomie and John Ramey, a coal miner. She spent her early years in Elkhorn City, Kentucky just down the road from Butcher Holler and her distant cousins, Loretta Lynn and Crystal Gayle.
“When it comes to the soul, you have to think about those people back in the mountains. It’s a hard life and it gives them a special spark that lets them thrive there. They work hard in a world that’s very different — and they’re very proud of that. How can you sing about something worldly, when the only world you know is there? Even as I’ve experienced all these things in my life and my career there’s one thing that’s constant — You never leave there. No matter what, where I come from, where I was born remains, you always have a mountain soul.” Patty Loveless
By the tender age of 11, Loveless had begun playing guitar and writing songs with her brother Roger, which led them to perform regularly at local venues and events. By the time Loveless was 14, the siblings were discovered by The Wilburn Brothers who invited her to join them on the road as their background vocalist. Later she auditioned for Porter Wagoner resulting in a publishing deal and her move to Nashville.
In 1985, the country superstar signed her first recording contract with MCA Records which she would call “home” until 1993. The first hit that put her on the map was a George Jones cover of "If My Heart Had Windows." She released a total of five albums on MCA and later moved to Epic where she released 9 additional albums.
Since then Loveless has had 21 album releases; four of which were platinum and three gold, charted 44 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts; five of which reached #1: "Timber, I'm Falling in Love," "Chains," "Blame It on Your Heart," "You Can Feel Bad," and "Lonely Too Long, five CMA award-wins (plus 15 additional nominations), three ACM Award wins (and 17 additional nominations), two Grammy Award wins (and 13 additional nominations). Loveless has also been honored with countless other awards, nominations, and accolades including one of her biggest career milestones, her 1988 induction into the world-famous Grand Ole Opry, and the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 2005.
In 2001, Loveless returned to her Appalachian roots with the release of the critically acclaimed Mountain Soul and the 2009 Grammy award-winning Mountain Soul II. The first Mountain Soul release included the Darrell Scott-penned “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive.” Loveless has since enjoyed collaborating with other artists and participating on projects including Trisha Yearwood’s “Bible and a .44” where she was a featured vocalist, and most recently a duet with Carly Pearce, “Dear Miss Loretta,” paying tribute to Country Music Hall of Famer, Loretta Lynn.
In 2022 Patty stole the show during a rare television appearance on the CMA Awards, singing “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive” with Chris Stapleton. Earlier this year, Rolling Stone named her one of the 200 Best Singers of All Time, declaring her the “best Country singer alive.”
On October 23rd 2023 Patty Loveless became the 150th member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.