Kathy Mattea

Kathy Mattea earned her first hit song in 1986 with "Love at the Five and Dime." A more than decade-long string of hits followed, including "Goin' Gone," "Come From the Heart" and "Burnin' Old Memories," all of which hit #1. Mattea has worked with and helped bring success to many talented songwriters, like Nanci Griffith, and musicians, such as Vince Gill. Her hit "Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses" in 1988 brought her the "Single of the Year" award from both the Country Music Association (CMA) and Academy of Country Music (ACM) and ACM "Song of the Year." In 1989, she was named CMA "Female Vocalist of the Year" and ACM "Top Female Vocalist." That year, she also received the ACM award for "Song of the Year" for the very touching "Where've You Been." The song earned "Song of the Year" from CMA in 1990 and Mattea again was named CMA "Female Vocalist of the Year." She took home her first Grammy in 1990 for "Best Country Performance/Female" and three years later won another Grammy for her gospel album Good News. The hit "455 Rocket" won CMA's 1997 "Video of the Year" award. She has appeared on scores of television shows and in the movie Maverick, and she was part of the national touring company of the tremendously successful stage play The Vagina Monologues. Active in the fight against AIDS, Mattea was honored with the "Harvard AIDS Leadership Award" in 1994 and the "Minnie Pearl Humanitarian Award" in 2001. Last year, Mattea released her second holiday album, Joy for Christmas Day.