On Monday 21 December 2020, Gene Watson mourned the passing, on the morning of Monday 21 December 2020, of fellow country music artist, K.T. Oslin.
‘Sorry to hear KT Oslin has passed’
K.T. Oslin was born Kay Toinette Oslin on Friday 15 May 1942 in Crossett, Arkansas. Her father, a foreman at a paper mill, died when she was five years old. Following his death, K.T. Oslin and her mother moved to Houston in Texas. K.T. Oslin attended Lon Morris College, where she majored in drama.
K.T. Oslin also performed in a folk trio which included Guy Clark (Thursday 6 November 1941 – Tuesday 17 May 2016) and David Jones, which recorded an album that was never released.
K.T. Oslin later moved to New York City where, in the 1970s, she appeared in productions of ‘West Side Story’, ‘Promises, Promises’ and ‘Hello, Dolly!’ K.T. Oslin also sang commercial jingles around New York and began writing songs.
By 1981, K.T. Oslin had signed to Elektra Records and saw the release of two singles as Kay T. Oslin, ‘Clean Your Own Tables’ and ‘Younger Men (Are Startin’ To Catch My Eye)’. Despite the poor performance of these singles, Kay T. Oslin had songs recorded by Gail Davies, Sissy Spacek, The Judds, Judy Rodman and Dottie West (Tuesday 11 October 1932 – Wednesday 4 September 1991).
Following a showcase performance in Nashville, she was spotted by producer Harold Shedd, who was best known for his work with Alabama.
Harold Shedd helped Oslin, now using K.T. Oslin as her stage name, sign a recording contract with RCA Records in 1987, the same year she saw the release of her debut album, ’80’s Ladies’ (RCA Records, 1987), which included five tracks, which were released as singles on the Billboard country music singles chart:
‘Wall of Tears’ (written by Richard Leigh and Peter McCann) (No.40, 1987)
’80’s Ladies’ (written by K.T. Oslin) (No.7, 1987) / this track, which also reached No.4 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks Chart in 1987, earned K.T. Oslin a Grammy Award for ‘Best Female Country Vocal Performance’
‘Do Ya’ (written by K.T. Oslin) (No.1 for one week in December 1987) / this track also reached No.3 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks Chart in 1987
‘I’ll Always Come Back’ (written by K.T. Oslin) (No.1 for one week in April 1988) / this track also reached No.1 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks Chart in 1988
‘Younger Men’ (written by K.T. Oslin) / this track, which was a re-recording of a track from 1982, was released as a single in 1988, but it did not chart
K.T. Oslin’s debut album, ’80’s Ladies’ (RCA Records, 1987) reached No.1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart in 1987, and was certified ‘Platinum’ by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
In 1988, K.T. Oslin saw the release of ‘This Woman’ (RCA Records, 1988), which included five tracks, which were hit singles on the Billboard country music singles chart:
‘Money’ (written by K.T. Oslin) (No.13, 1988) / this track also reached No.11 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks Chart in 1988
‘Hold Me’ (written by K.T. Oslin) (No.1 for one week in January 1989) / this track, which also reached No.1 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks Chart in 1988, earned K.T. Oslin Grammy Awards for ‘Best Female Country Vocal Performance’ and ‘Song of The Year’
‘Hey Bobby’ (written by K.T. Oslin) (No.2, 1989) / this track also reached No.1 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks Chart in 1989
‘This Woman’ (written by K.T. Oslin) (No.5, 1989) / this track also reached No.2 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks Chart in 1989
‘Didn’t Expect It To Go Down This Way’ (written by K.T. Oslin) (No.23, 1989) / this track also reached No.27 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks Chart in 1989
K.T. Oslin’s ‘This Woman’ (RCA Records, 1988) reached No.2 on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart in 1988, No.75 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart in 1988, and No.4 on the Canadian RPM Country Albums Chart in 1988.
On Tuesday 27 November 1990, K.T. Oslin saw the release of ‘Love In A Small Town’ (RCA Records, 1990), which included five tracks, which were hit singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks Chart:
‘Two Hearts’ (written by K.T. Oslin and Rory Bourke) (No.73, 1990) / this track also reached No.50 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks Chart in 1990
‘Come Next Monday’ (written by K.T. Oslin, Rory Bourke and Charlie Black) (No.1 for two weeks in November / December 1990) / this track also reached No.1 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks Chart in 1990
‘Mary & Willie’ (written by K.T. Oslin) (No.28, 1991) / this track also reached No.20 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks Chart in 1991
‘You Call Everybody Darling’, which was written by Sam Martin, Benjamin Louis Trace (15 October 1897 – Saturday 7 July 1973) and Albert J. Trace (25 December 1900 – Tuesday 31 August 1993) (No.69, 1991) / this track also reached No.72 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks Chart in 1991
‘Cornell Crawford’ (written by K.T. Oslin andd Joe Miller) (No.63, 1991)
K.T. Oslin’s ‘Love In A Small Town’ (RCA Records, 1990) reached No.5 on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart in 1990, and No.76 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart in 1990.
Following the release of ‘Love In A Small Town’ (RCA Records, 1990), K.T. Oslin retired from touring; her retirement coincided with the chart declines of many country music artists who were over 40.
On Tuesday 27 April 1993, K.T. Oslin saw the release of ‘Greatest Hits: Songs From An Aging Sex Bomb’ (RCA Records, 1993), which included the following tracks:
‘New Way Home’ (written by Joe Miller, K.T. Oslin and Glen Ballard) (No.64, 1993) / this track, which also reached No.78 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks Chart in 1993, was a new recording
‘Hold Me’ (written by K.T. Oslin) / this track was re-recording; the original version of this track, which was No.1 on the Billboard country music singles chart for one week in January 1989, and also reached No.1 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks Chart in 1988, earned K.T. Oslin Grammy Awards for ‘Best Female Country Vocal Performance’ and ‘Song of The Year’
‘Feeding A Hungry Heart’ (written by Randy Goodrum, K.T. Oslin and Glen Ballard) / this track, which was new song, was released as a single in 1994, but it did not chart
’80’s Ladies’ (written by K.T. Oslin) (No.7, 1987) / this track, which also reached No.4 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks Chart in 1987, earned K.T. Oslin a Grammy Award for ‘Best Female Country Vocal Performance’
‘Do Ya’ (written by K.T. Oslin) (No.1 for one week in December 1987) / this track also reached No.3 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks Chart in 1987
‘Come Next Monday’ (written by K.T. Oslin, Rory Bourke and Charlie Black) (No.1 for two weeks in November / December 1990) / this track also reached No.1 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks Chart in 1990
‘You Can’t Do That’ (written by Glen Ballard, Will Jennings and K.T. Oslin)
‘I’ll Always Come Back’ (written by K.T. Oslin) (No.1 for one week in April 1988) / this track also reached No.1 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks Chart in 1988
‘Hey Bobby’ (written by K.T. Oslin) (No.2, 1989) / this track also reached No.1 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks Chart in 1989
‘This Woman’ (written by K.T. Oslin) (No.5, 1989) / this track also reached No.2 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks Chart in 1989
‘Get Back In The Saddle’ (written by Walt Aldridge and James Hooker)
K.T. Oslin’s ‘Greatest Hits: Songs From An Aging Sex Bomb’ (RCA Records, 1993) reached No.31 on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart in 1993, No.126 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart in 1993, and No.27 on the Canadian RPM Country Albums Chart in 1993.
On Sunday 30 November 2014, K.T. Oslin performed live at The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville (and on the WSM simulcast). Although she had been on The Grand Ole Opry previously, it was K.T. Oslin’s first time on stage at Ryman Auditorium.
It was also in 2014 when K.T. Oslin was inducted into The Texas Songwriters Hall of Fame.
In June 2015, K.T. Oslin was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and moved into an assisted-living facility in 2016.
In 2018, K.T. Oslin was inducted into The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
On Monday 21 December 2020, K.T. Oslin passed away, having been diagnosed with COVID-19; she was 78 years old.
Kay Toinette Oslin
(Friday 15 May 1942 – Monday 21 December 2020)
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