The 1980s seems like long ago, doesn't it? Remember big hair and Urban Cowboy and Dynasty on TV? There was some great pop culture back then, and great country music stars. They and their outstanding work are clearly worth recalling. Let's look back at the careers of a few of the best county music artists of the 1980s who you may have forgotten - Barbara Mandrell, Janie Fricke, Steve Wariner, and Kathy Mattea.
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Barbara Mandrell
Mandrell is a staggeringly accomplished performer and artist. Per the Country Music Hall of Fame web site, "Few entertainers have been as gifted or as hardworking as Barbara Mandrell: a talented singer, adept multi-instrumentalist, dynamic stage performer, accomplished dancer, and successful actor." She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2009, Even as a child, Mandrell had a remarkable flair for music. She played multiple instruments with jaw-dropping professionalism and she sang as well.
Mandrell was recognized as the CMA Entertainer of the Year in 1980 and 1981, and was CMA Female Vocalist of the Year in 1979 and 1981. She had a bunch of successful songs in the 1980s such as "To Me," which she did with Lee Greenwood, "Till You're Gone," and "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool."(Lainey Wilson does a song titled "Country's Cool Again.")
A serious car accident in 1984 that took the life of the other driver left Mandrell with multiple injuries. Now 75, she stopped performing in 1997.
Janie Fricke
Janie Fricke was a real powerhouse during the height of her career. Per her web site, "All I ever wanted to do was sing," she said. With three dozen hit singles and nearly two dozen albums, Fricke established herself in the country music genre. She began her singing doing jingles for major companies like Coca-Cola and United Airlines. Then she turned her sights to a recording career, with laudable results. During the 1980s, Fricke had seven chart-topping country tunes, per All Music. The outlet called her "one of the most popular female country singers of the '80s...." Fricke will turn 77 on December 19.
Steve Wariner
What do these songs have in common - "Life's Highway," "Some Fools Never Learn," "The Weekend," and "I Should Be With You"? They were all done in the 1980s by Steve Wariner, who will turn 70 on Christmas Day. Per his web site, he had more than 50 Billboard singles, won 4 Grammys, and is in the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame, Musicians Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Grand Ole Opry. Wariner also had three ACM awards and four CMA awards. And did you ever wonder who did the theme song for Who's The Boss? starring Tony Danza and Judith Light? Yes, that was Steve Wariner in 1986.
Kathy Mattea
Mattea has other claims to fame besides being a cousin of Loretta Lynn and Crystal Gayle. She has had an illustrious career spanning 40 years. Per the Grand Ole Opry web site, her 1987 album Untasted Honey was the springboard for two chart-topping hit songs, one of them being "Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses."
That tune earned the Single of the Year Award from the CMA in 1988. A pair of no. 1's came from Mattea's album, Willow in the Wind. A Grammy came her way for the 1989 song, "Where've You Been?" She is now 65 years old.
