I was all set to make a post about goings-on in the studio until I heard that the singer K.T. Oslin passed away. What a loss. I discovered K.T. about the same time lots of other people did: around 1990. At the time, I was in the early stages of an epic divorce and country music was THE music to listen to. And K.T. was at the top of her game.
K.T. didn't write the usual first-love songs you hear from popular singers, or songs about her dog or pickup truck or other typical country things. Her songs are for those of us who are a bit older, who've been around the block a few times, who've won some and lost some, been there and done that, and are still trying to figure it all out. Songs like "80's Ladies", about three childhood friends growing up: "We've said "I do" and we signed "I don't" and we swore we'd never do that again". (You really need to see the video on YouTube for this one.) Or "Mary and Willie", two older single people whose unrealistically high expectations for possible mates ensures they never meet somebody that would be good for them. And she could be funny: in "Hey Bobby", the protagonist is a young girl who's the one with a car and, with a sly knowing "trust me" purr, suggesting they go for a ride, completely turning the tables on the usual boy/girl storyline.
Listening to a K.T. Oslin album, you'll hear stories of life's situations that we're all familiar with. But nobody writes songs about them like her. Few sing with the kind of personal feelings that she does. You know she has lived every word of every song she ever wrote. That's art.
The paper said she had Parkinson's for the past few years and was in an assisted living facility. Then she tested positive for COVID last week. And now a great artist is gone. So long, K.T., you're missed, but your music is still here, and I'm listening to it.
