Kathy Mattea - Coal

Mattea remains one of Nashville's most spiritual singers. - Brian Mansfield (USA Today) Grammy winner Kathy Mattea, known for such classic hits as Eighteen Wheels And A Dozen Roses has dreamed quietly of one day recording an album such as this. Raised near Charleston, West Virginia her childhood was steeped in the Appalachian culture and her mining heritage is thick: both her parents grew up in coal camps, her grandfathers were miners, and her mother worked for the local UMWA.The idea for the album began during the Sago Mine Disaster which killed twelve WV miners in 2006. I knew the time was right, says Mattea. The project forced her to dig really deep to find the power to let these songs come forth. Co-producer Marty Stuart understood her core relationship to these songs, that they were in her blood. Mattea says, Somewhere in my DNA there's my great grandmother singing, my grandma, and my people, singing together through me, with me. Singer, songs, producer and pickers have come together flawlessly to form COAL, a career record for Mattea and a great gift for music lovers. Guests inlcude Patty Loveless, Marty Stuart and fellow West Viriginia natives Tim and Mollie O'Brien.