Patty Loveless Chronicles Her Journey To Becoming A Country Music Icon
By Kelly Fisher
June 28, 2023
Patty Loveless will share an in-depth look at milestone moments throughout her life and decades-long career in an upcoming exhibit in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Downtown Nashville, Tennessee. The exhibit will explore the Kentucky-born artist’s journey “from a musical prodigy to a Grammy award-winning country music star” with some of her most iconic wardrobe pieces, guitars and other items on display.
The Patty Loveless: No Trouble with the Truth exhibit is set to open in late summer, according to a press release issued by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on Wednesday (June 28). The release also noted a few of the items museum goers can expect to see, including the black velvet dress with floral pleats and velvet sleeves that Loveless wore in her “I’m That Kind of Girl” music video in 1991, the 1987 Gibson J-200 acoustic guitar she used, the original handwritten manuscript for “Timber, I’m Falling in Love” (Loveless’ first No. 1 hit in 1989) and more.
“My journey into a career of music all started out on an Epiphone acoustic guitar my father bought for me in 1969,” Loveless said in the release. “As a 12-year-old, I didn’t want to set the world on fire, I just wanted to play and sing music. By the age of 14, I wrote ‘Sounds of Loneliness’ and ‘I Did’ on this guitar, two songs that in 1986 ended up on my debut album for MCA records. Now that guitar will be displayed in my exhibit of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum where it truly belongs with other memorabilia of the many people that supported me throughout my musical journey to whom I’m forever grateful.”
Loveless was the youngest of eight children, born into a coal mining family in Kentucky. She began to sing and write songs by age 11, according to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Loveless released her first album, a self-titled project, in 1987, and quickly drew praise from legendary country stars like George Jones and Willie Nelson at the start of her career. More recently, the Grammy Award winner has recorded with artists like Alan Jackson, Miranda Lambert, Carly Pearce, John Prine, Bob Seger and Chris Young. She joined fellow Kentucky native Chris Stapleton for a powerful performance at the CMA Awards in 2022.
“Patty Loveless achieved lasting success by merging traditional country music styles with a modern sensibility in her song choices and musical arrangements,” said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “As one of country music’s most accomplished song interpreters with immense vocal power, she has remained focused on conveying deep emotion through her lyrics and recordings, and her influence resonates throughout today’s generation of country artists.”
Loveless will hold a conversation and acoustic performance in the CMA Theater at the museum in support of the exhibit opening. It’s set for Saturday, August 26 at 2:30 p.m. Tickets go on sale on Friday (June 30).
The Patty Loveless: No Trouble with the Truth exhibit will open on August 23, and will be included with museum admission. It will remain available through October 2024.