Kathy Mattea is an American female bluegrass and country music performer. She has been singing since 1983 and has recorded 17 albums charting more than 30 of her singles on Billboard’s hot country track chart. Her singles that made it in the top of the Billboard’s chart are “Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses”, “Goin’ Gone”, “Burnin’ Old Memories” and “Come from the heart”, along with other 12 singles.

In hopes of making it big in the music industry, she worked at the Country Music hall of Fame as a tour guide, while doing backup vocals for Bobby Goldsboro and singing demos for people in the local music scene. Kathy was introduced to the music industry when she sang demos for the songwriter and producer Byron Hill, who introduced her to the head of Mercury Records, Frank Jones. Kathy Mattea signed with Mercury Records and started recording in 1983.

Her third album entitled “Walk the Way the Wind Blows” boost her popularity when it was released in 1986. In May of 1988, Kathy Mattea single “Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses” made it to the top of the Billboard’s Country Music chart and stayed for several weeks as number one. She was the second female artist who made it to the top of the chart since “You’re the Only One” by Dolly Parker in 1979. She won a Grammy for best country vocal in 1990 for her single “Where’ve You Been”, which is written by Don Henry and her Husband Jon Vezner. Kathy Mattea also won repeatedly in the Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year.

Kathy Mattea was a part of the various artists single “Voices That Care”, which was used to raise funds for the allied troops in the Gulf War. Randy Travis Garth Brooks and Kenny Rogers are some of the high-profiled artist whom Mattea collaborated with in the single.