A Name From The Past – K. T. Oslin

I don’t think this could happen in today’s country music atmosphere; a 45 year old unknown female vocalist, releases a record that not only becomes a big hit, but also an anthem, of sorts, for all women in her generation. No, in today’s country music, where it seems for someone to have a chance, they must be very young, have a marketable look, and frankly, being blond doesn’t hurt. Talent? Not important. No, in today’s music, it just couldn’t happen.

However, in 1987, things were a bit different. Artists weren’t judged more for their looks than their music, so it was possible. And not only possible, it did happen. In 1987, 45 year old K. T. Oslin stormed the country music charts with a song that became an anthem to women of her generation; “80′s Ladies”.

I’m guessing that K. T. is someone you likely hadn’t heard or even given thought to, for a while. After all, it’s been nearly twenty years since her last hit single, and most country radio stations long ago dropped her music from their play lists.

I can’t even recall the last time I heard one on the radio.

A Crossett, Arkansas, native, K. T. wasn’t a stranger to the business, when her record (yes, they were still records) hit, as she was already an established songwriter, plus had made previous recordings, as well. In fact, as early as 1981, she made a minor chart appearance with a song titled “Clean Your Own Tables”.

The follow-up failed to chart, and K. T. didn’t release another single until “Wall Of Tears” in early 1987. That single did make a brief appearance on the country top forty, just prior to the release of “80′s Ladies”. While “80′s Ladies” would become her first big hit and her signature song, from a chart perspective, it wasn’t her biggest hit, as it only reached number 7 on the country charts, while her next two releases would wind up topping the charts; “Do Ya” and “I’ll Always Come Back”.

In all, K. T. would rack up 7 top ten hits, with 4 reaching number one, the last one being 1990′s “Come Next Monday”. Following that song, she would continue charting, but only once more did she even reach the top forty, and that was 1991′s “Mary And Willie”. By this decade, she had all but disappeared from the music scene, releasing no albums since 2001.

S0, what happened? Basically, the song quality fell off. If you listen to the above mentioned hits, or one of her other hits, such as “This Woman” or “Hey Bobby”, they are much stronger songs than the later releases that failed to garner much attention, which is often the story of an artist; when the hits dry up, you can usually hear why.

From the information that I could find, K. T. has pretty much retired from touring and recording, but does make an occasional appearance, on stage, for special events.

Her music is still available, as well. An online check found several albums, mostly hits compilations, still available.

A fine artist, whose body of work, while not exceptionally large, deserves to be heard again.