Born in 1942, K. T. Oslin was one performer who used her own real name/initials also as her “stage name”— Kay Toinette Oslin—K. T. was an Arkansas infant, who grew up in Alabama and Houston, and then later moved to New York to make a name for herself on Broadway. After bit parts in Hello, Dolly! and Promises, Promises, she determined that she would never “hit it rich” or even semi-wealthy in musical theatre performing and said she was afraid she would just “have a grimy little actress’s life” if she did not move on, which she did by taking parts in commercials and by singing “jingles” for various productions.
1986—After Oslin borrowed enough money to journey to Nashville for a “show case,” RCA took a chance on her and aligned her with producers and singers who had worked with Reba McEntire and the singing group, “Alabama”—and this was her BIG BREAK!
Her first real beginning ALBUM—80’s Ladies—was a “greater than ONE MILLION SELLER,” and she followed this great start with another “million seller,” This Woman.
Did I mention that she also won THREE GRAMMY awards in her spare time?
Mid-1990s—Oslin did return to her first love, ACTING, and did not just make a “grimy” living, as she worked with the legendary Peter Bogdanovich in The Thing Called Love, and in a series called Evening Shade on television.
However, she did not desert what had first made her a star, as she made Billboard’s Chart in 2001 with a “re-make” of a Rosemary Clooney big-time chart buster, “Come On-A My House” and also released a great album in 2015—Simply, which contained a piano ballad of her original hit, “80’s Ladies.”
K. T. Oslin, who “made it large” much later in her life than did many of the “stars of the day,” was described by another singer as “smart, funny, elegant, and beautiful” and was known most for singing “polished, lightly twangy music”—you know, the type country-western earlier was!
She took home the prestigious CMA SONG OF THE YEAR award in 1988 (1st female song-writer to win that award) and is a member of Nashville’s Songwriters Hall of Fame with hits besides those already mentioned— “Come Next Monday,” “Do Ya,” “I’ll Always Come Back,” “Hold Me,” and, of course, 1988’s Album of the Year, This Woman, and its many hits.
Suffice it to end this article with the thoughts of some of her friends that she liked to write about FAMILY—ROMANCE—and, yes, WORK!.....and, that she bridged sounds from adult contemporary to big band era to country. I will close with those compliments.
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