Kathy Mattea’s third album, 1986’s folky Walk the Way the Wind Blows, proved to be her breakthrough. Her cover of Nanci Griffith’s “Love at the Five and Dime” was her first Top 5 hit, and the record produced three other Top 10 hits. Her 1987 album, Untasted Honey, offered two No. 1 country hits, “Goin’ Gone” and her signature, “Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses.” Mattea’s 1989 Willow in the Wind brought two more No. 1 hits, “Come From the Heart” and “Burnin’ Old Memories.” Mattea’s music kept getting rootsier and more eclectic, as demonstrated 1991’s ambitious Time Passes By. The album’s title track and “A Few Good Things Remain” both hit the Top 10. She then recorded 1992’s Lonesome Standard Time and 1993’s Walking Away a Winner with the title track reaching the Top 5. After a hiatus, Mattea returned in 1997 with Love Travels, which balanced her folk and mainstream country leanings. In 2000, she released The Innocent Years, then the eclectic 2002 Roses and the 2003 Joy for Christmas Day, followed by Right Out of Nowhere in 2005. In 2008, Mattea released the bluegrass-centric Coal for the Captain. She dropped Go Tell It on the Mountain in 2014. Kathy Mattea continues to tour the country.
