Triple Grammy-Winner K.T. Oslin Dead at Age 78
Music legend K.T. Oslin died Monday after contracting COVID-19. She was 78.
It has not yet been revealed whether coronavirus-related complications were responsible for her death. Since 2016, she has been in assisted care living and struggled with Parkinson’s.
Oslin spent much of her life pursuing the arts in their various forms. While she is well-known for her singing and songwriting prowess, she got her start on the stage.
Born in Crossett, Arkansas, on May 15, 1942, as Kay Toinette Oslin, she grew up in Houston.
She was featured in a number of musicals, including a Broadway production of “Hello Dolly” and a Lincoln Center revival of “West Side Story.” She also appeared in television commercials and talk shows over her career, according to Music Row.
Oslin wrote songs in between gigs but didn’t really make a name for herself in music until 1987, when she was 45 years old and the world fell in love with “80’s Ladies.”
From then on, she landed hit after hit, including “Wall of Tears,” “Do Ya,” “I’ll Always Come Back,” “Hold Me,” “Hey Bobby” and “This Woman.”
Other well-known singers picked up her songs and ran with them, too, and have continued singing her music even up until 2017.
Oslin received many awards for her talent in the musical world, including being the first female songwriter to win CMA’s Song of the Year for “80’s Ladies.”
Over her career, she received four Academy of Country Music honors, three Grammys and CMA Female Vocalist of the Year in 1988.
Oslin was inducted into the Texas Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018.
By 2005, she rarely performed, and several years later she was focusing on other artistic pursuits, including hand-painted tableware.
Oslin paved the way for many performers after her, and her contemporaries as well as more recent musicians have taken to social media to remember her.
“Mom and I are saddened to hear about the passing of yet another country music icon, K.T. Oslin,” the Charlie Daniels Band posted. “Prayers for her family and friends.”
“K.T. made a big impact on country music with her style, flair, and talented, unique voice during the Eighties Ladies era,” Janie Fricke wrote. “My prayers go out to her family and friends.”
“What a unique talent,” Ray Stevens posted. “She was a breath of fresh air to country music. We will miss you.”
“I am so sad to hear that K. T. Oslin has passed,” Ricky Skaggs shared. “She was truly one of the best singers I ever heard. I loved the way she made the words come alive with the expressiveness of her unique voice. Thank God we still have her music to learn from.”
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