Join me Sunday, March 1st at 11 am for the Sunday Morning Country Classic Spotlight featuring Kathy Mattea. 

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

Kathy struggled until she recorded a sweet yet earthy song written by contemporary folksy writer Nanci Griffith.  The song, Love at the Five and Dime,  was a #3 country hit in 1986.  That song defined Kathy for country radio and recounts a love story between a dime store clerk and an aspiring steel guitar player over the years. 

Rita was sixteen years, hazel eyes and chestnut hair she made the Woolworth counter shine and Eddie was a sweet romancer and a darn good dancer they'd waltz the aisles of the five and dime.

She followed with a string of Top Ten singles until her smash second number one song, Eighteen Wheels and a dozen Roses, which took a 1989 CMA Award for Best Single.  She won the CMA's Female Vocalist of the Year Award two years running in 1989 and 1990.

Kathy has been heavily involved in HIV/AIDS related charities beginning in the early 1990's and is often credited with being among the first to champion this cause among the country music community.  She is the recipient of the Minnie Pearl Humanitarian Award.   .

Hear more of your favorite country classic hits every Sunday from 9 am to 1 pm on 98-1 Minnesota's New Country.  Remember we take your requests at 320-252-9897 or by email dick@minnesotasnewcountry.com.

More From 98.1 Minnesota's New Country