#SOLOLIVES: K.T. OSLIN

#SoloLives is our feature in which we look at notable single women in history.

K.T. Oslin was a unique woman when she emerged on the country charts in the 1980s. She was 45 years old and she was single. But those attributes made her a dynamic and popular artist.

• Oslin lived in New York City, working on Broadway and singing jingles, for 20 years before she took up songwriting and changed careers to country music. She wrote about female friendships ("’80s Ladies”), procrastination (“Come Next Monday”) and desire (“Hey Bobby”). It takes a single person to write a love song called “Live Close By, Visit Often” (co-written with the late, great Raul Malo and Kostas). "I'm alone, but I like my own company," she said.

• Oslin won three Grammys in the country music categories, two County Music Association Awards and four Academy of Country Music Awards.

• Oslin died in 2020 at age 78. “She became the inspiration for every middle-aged woman who felt vibrant yet overlooked; who believed she had wisdom, sex appeal and something to offer; who yearned for recognition of her experience,” wrote Mary A. Bufwack and Robert K. Oermann in the classic book, “Finding Her Voice: The Sage of Women in County Music.”