Patty Loveless is a legend.
At this year’s CMA Awards, she took the stage with Chris Stapleton for one of the best performances of the night, a tribute to their home state of Kentucky with an incredible duet of “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive.”
Which got me thinking: How is Patty Loveless so underrated?
Loveless started in country music as a teenager with MCA records in Nashville. After a slow start to her career, her determination and ability to fine-tune her pop-country sound, which houses elements of bluegrass, appealing her music to a large audience.
Her career skyrocketed when she switched to Epic Records in 1993. Since then, she has won countless awards and many accolades, including 22 album releases, 5 CMA Awards, 4 Grammy Awards, and An American Music Award. This is barely skimming the surface of her numerous charted hits.
In 1996, Loveless took the stage at the CMA Awards to sing her hit song “Lonely Too Long.” When the song was released earlier that year, it charted at number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs.
The song is very well written, allowing Loveless to emote many emotions as she sings the lyrics.
The performance was simply a knock-out.
After laying down a phenomenal live performance, and the crowd going wild, Loveless was called up to the stage later that evening when she won Female Vocalist of the Year.
Talk about a night people dream of. It’s like Loveless knew she would be receiving the award and wanted to give people a show to prove she deserved the award…which she did. Patty Loveless has a set of pipes.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time…..This is just such an honor.”
She says during part of her acceptance speech.
Check out this stellar performance and her thoughtful words for yourself.
And here’s her duet of “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive” with Chris Stapleton from this year’s awards ceremonies:
