Song:Love At The Five & Dime
Album:The Definitive Collection
Though it wasn't her biggest hit, the 1986 single Love At The Five & Dime was Kathy Mattea's first top five country single. So it set up her late 80s run which included four number one country hits. She was born June 21, 1959 in South Charleston, WV. Her home town of Cross Lanes didn't have a hospital. She took classical voice training but she discovered folk music in high school and learned to play guitar. While attending West Virginia University in 1976, Kathy was a member of the bluegrass group Pennsboro. In 1978 she moved to Nashville and sang backup for Bobby Goldsboro and recorded plenty of demos for songwriters. Songwriter producer Byron Hill liked Kathy and got her a deal with Mercury Records. Hill had written hits for Johnny Lee and George Strait. Hill produced Kathy's debut album. But her second album From My Heart was produced by Allen Reynolds. He produced all of her albums until he got busy with Garth Brooks. Kathy's 1986 album Walk The Way The Wind Blows was her breakthrough when her single Love At The Five And Dime reached #3 on the Country Singles chart. The song was written by singer songwriter Nanci Griffith who recorded it on her 1986 album Last Of The True Believers. Nanci is a great performer but she has had a lot of success writing hits for others. Guys like Reynolds are always on the prowl for great songs. Kathy became a fixture on the country charts. Her number one hits were Goin' Gone, Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses, Come From The Heart and Burnin' Old Memories. Kathy faded in the mid-90s. Walking Away A Winner was her final top five country hit in 1994. You can get all her hits on this budget comp. Kathy left Mercury in 2000 and she has recorded for small labels. She still tours. Her latest CD Calling Me Home was released in 2012 on Sugar Hill Records. That's a bluegrass label. Her recent music is more traditional country than when she was making hits in the 80s. I think Kathy prefers performing bluegrass. Here's Kathy Mattea performing Love At The Five And Dime on TNN's Nashville Now 1986.
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