KATHY MATTEA
"Back about 1981 I would often go to lunch down on Elliston Place with a buddy of mine J. Remington Wilde. We worked together at ATV Music and made it somewhat of a routine to eat at one of the spots on Elliston Place like either the Goldrush or Friday's. One day we were eating in Friday's and our waitress walked up to the table with her hair pulled through a 45 rpm record. She introduced herself and we began to talk about music. Jokingly, I told her I would bring her one of my singles if she would wear it in her hair. Our conversation went on and we found out that she was a singer. She brought me a tape and I was initially interested her voice because along about that time, every songwriter in Nashville was hoping for an Anne Murray cut. Finding the right voice for the demo was always tricky, and Kathy's voice seemed perfect. Over the next months I hired Kathy to sing demos for us at ATV. Meanwhile, the word was already getting around with other publishers that she was good, and she began to seriously augment her income as a waitress by singing demos for many other companies. Kathy had expressed interest in getting a record deal, and was exploring several options. The thought came to my mind that Frank Jones at Mercury had originally signed Anne Murray to her deal in Canada many years earlier. I discussed the idea with Kathy of gathering some of her best demos to play for Frank. I called Frank and arranged a meeting, and we had a deal offered to us almost immediately. Though I had produced records before, I really didn't initially see that as my role with Kathy. I just wanted to get her career going for her and be associated with her success, both for my own career and for the publishing company that I worked for at the time, ATV. I suggested that we talk with Brent Maher first about being her producer. Brent was an ATV writer and had achieved considerable success by then as a producer (The Judds, Michael Johnson, Dottie West). Kathy, Brent, and I met for lunch at a Cracker Barrel restaurant. For whatever reason, Brent was not interested. Meanwhile, Kathy and I kept listening to songs and having meetings with Rick Peoples (the then head of A&R for Mercury). One afternoon Frank Jones stuck his head in the door during one of our song meetings and said to me...."Byron, I think you and Rick will do a good job as Kathy's producers". I was shocked. I looked at Rick, he looked at me, Kathy was smiling, and we went on from there as a team and produced her first album, which included three singles, the first of which was "Street Talk". We were all so inexperienced, and Kathy had still not found her definitive direction. It was not very long after the first album was released that the label staff completely changed. Frank Jones was out, Rick Peoples was out, everyone was gone that had anything to do with Kathy's signing. The circumstances led to the breakup of the original team and Kathy has since survived several different producer changes. Frank Jones retired. Rick Peoples went on to work on his songwriting career, and the last I heard was playing clubs in the Pocono mountain resorts. I see Kathy every year or so around Nashville and not too long ago ran into her at a local restaurant where we talked about the old times, and laughed about that 45 rpm record in her hair."-BH