K.T. Oslin

K.T. Oslin – born Kay Toinette Oslin on May 15, 1942 in Crosset, Arkansas – was a country music singer and songwriter best known for his string of hits in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She moved to Houston, Texas where she attended Lon Morris College and majored in drama. She was a member of a folk music trio with Guy Clark and David Jones that recorded an album that remains unreleased. She moved to New York City in the 1970s and began performing in productions of Hello, Dolly!, West Side Story, and Promises, Promises. She also began composing her own songs and providing vocals for commercial jingles. In 1978, she provided backing vocals for her old bandmate Guy Clark on his self-titled album. Signing to Elektra Records in 1981, she released two singles – “Clean Your Own Tables” and “Younger Men (Are Startin’ to Catch My Eye)” – while also have her songs recorded The Judds, Dottie West, and Gail Davies. While her stint with Elektra didn’t garner any hits, she continued to write and perform, eventually signing to RCA Records in 1987. Oslin’s first single for the label, “Wall of Tears”, hit the Top 40 on the country charts, followed by “80’s Ladies”, which climbed to Number 7 and earned her a Grammy. Her debut album, 80’s Ladies, reached the top of the Country Albums chart and also included the Number 1 hits “Do Ya” and “I’ll Always Come Back”. Her second album, This Woman, was released in 1988 and contained five Top 40 Country Music singles including the Number 1 hit, “Hold Me”. Oslin’s 1990 album Love in a Small Town included the Number 1 hit “Come Next Monday”. After releasing Greatest Hits: Songs from an Aging Sex Bomb in 1993, she took a break from music and focused on her acting career, appearing on numerous TV movies and series. She returned to recording in 1996 with the album My Roots Are Showing but wasn’t able to match the sales of her first three albums. Her next album, Live Close By, Visit Often, was issued in 2001. She continued to occasionally perform and released the album Simply in 2015. In June of 2015, she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and was moved into an assisted-living facility a year later. K. T. Oslin died at the age of 78 on December 21, 2020 of COVID-19.