The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (December 2010)

Timber in storage for later processing at a sawmill

Wood cut from Victorian Eucalyptus regnans

Lumber (also known as timber) is wood in any of its stages from felling to readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production.

Lumber is supplied either rough or finished. Besides pulpwood, rough lumber is the raw material for furniture-making and other items requiring additional cutting and shaping. It is available in many species, usually hardwoods.^{[citation needed]} Finished lumber is supplied in standard sizes, mostly for the construction industry, primarily softwood from coniferous species including pine, fir and spruce (collectively known as Spruce-pine-fir), cedar, and hemlock, but also some hardwood, for high-grade flooring.

Terminology[link]

In the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth Countries such as Australia and New Zealand, timber is a term used for sawn wood products, such as floor boards, whereas generally in the United States and Canada, it refers to felled trees, later milled into boards referred to as lumber. "Timber" is also used there to describe sawn lumber not less than 5 inches (127 mm) in its smallest dimension.^[1] An example of the latter is the often partially finished lumber used in timber-frame construction.

In the United Kingdom the word lumber has several other meanings, including unused or unwanted items.

Dimensional lumber[link]

Example of 2×6.

Dimensional lumber is a term used for lumber that is finished/planed and cut to standardized width and depth specified in inches. Examples of common sizes are 2×4 (also two-by-four and other variants, such as four-by-two in the UK, Australia, New Zealand), 2×6 (pictured), and 4×4. The length of a board is usually specified separately from the width and depth. It is thus possible to find 2×4s that are four, eight, or 12 feet in length. In the United States and Canada the standard lengths of lumber are 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, and 24 feet. For wall framing, "stud," or "precut" sizes are available, and commonly used. For an eight, nine, or ten foot ceiling height, studs are available in 92 5/8 inches, 104 5/8 inches, and 116 5/8 inches. (Because the term "stud" is used inconsistently when referring to length, care should be taken to always specify the exact, actual length required.) 

Solid dimensional lumber typically is only available up to lengths of 24 ft. Engineered wood products, manufactured by binding the strands, particles, fibers, or veneers of wood, together with adhesives, to form composite materials, offer more flexibility and greater structural strength than typical wood building materials.^[2]

Pre-cut studs save a framer a lot of time as they are pre-cut by the manufacturer to be used in 8 ft, 9 ft & 10 ft ceiling applications, which means they have removed a few inches of the piece to allow for the sill plate and the double top plate with no additional sizing necessary.

In the Americas, two-bys (2×4s, 2×6s, 2×8s, 2×10s, and 2×12s), along with the 4×4, are common lumber sizes used in modern construction. They are the basic building block for such common structures as balloon-frame or platform-frame housing. Dimensional lumber made from softwood is typically used for construction, while hardwood boards are more commonly used for making cabinets or furniture.

Lumber's nominal dimensions are given in terms of green (not dried), rough (unfinished) dimensions. The finished size is smaller, as a result of drying (which shrinks the wood), and planing to smooth the wood. However, the difference between "nominal" and "finished" lumber size can vary. So various standards have specified the difference between nominal size, and finished size, of lumber.

Early standards called for green rough lumber to be of full nominal dimension when dry, but the requirements have diminished over time. For example, in 1910, a typical finished 1-inch- (25 mm) board was ¹³⁄₁₆ in (21 mm). In 1928, that was reduced by 4%, and yet again by 4% in 1956. In 1961, at a meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona, the Committee on Grade Simplification and Standardization agreed to what is now the current U.S. standard: in part, the dressed size of a 1 inch (nominal) board was fixed at ³⁄₄ inch; while the dressed size of 2 inch (nominal) lumber was reduced from 1 ⁵⁄₈ inch to the now standard 1 ¹⁄₂ inch.^[3]

Grades and standards[link]

Individual pieces of lumber exhibit a wide range in quality and appearance with respect to knots, slope of grain, shakes and other natural characteristics. Therefore, they vary considerably in strength, utility and value.

The move to set national standards for lumber in the United States began with publication of the American Lumber Standard in 1924, which set specifications for lumber dimensions, grade, and moisture content; it also developed inspection and accreditation programs. These standards have changed over the years to meet the changing needs of manufacturers and distributors, with the goal of keeping lumber competitive with other construction products. Current standards are set by the American Lumber Standard Committee, appointed by the Secretary of Commerce.^[4]

Design values for most species and grades of visually graded structural products are determined in accordance with ASTM standards, which consider the effect of strength reducing characteristics, load duration, safety and other influencing factors. The applicable standards are based on results of tests conducted in cooperation with the USDA Forest Products Laboratory. Design Values for Wood Construction, which is a supplement to the ANSI/AF&PA National Design Specification® for Wood Construction, provides these lumber design values, which are recognized by the model building codes. A summary of the six published design values—including bending (Fb), shear parallel to grain (Fv), compression perpendicular to grain (Fc-perp), compression parallel to grain (Fc), tension parallel to grain (Ft), and modulus of elasticity (E and Emin) can be found in Structural Properties and Performance^[5] published by WoodWorks.

Canada has grading rules that maintain a standard among mills manufacturing similar woods to assure customers of uniform quality. Grades standardize the quality of lumber at different levels and are based on moisture content, size and manufacture at the time of grading, shipping and unloading by the buyer. The National Lumber Grades Authority (NLGA)^[6] is responsible for writing, interpreting and maintaining Canadian lumber grading rules and standards. The Canadian Lumber Standards Accreditation Board (CLSAB)^[7] monitors the quality of Canada's lumber grading and identification system.

Attempts to maintain lumber quality over time have been challenged by historical changes in the timber resources of the United States—from the slow-growing virgin forests common over a century ago to the fast-growing plantations now common in today's commercial forests. Resulting declines in lumber quality have been of concern to both the lumber industry and consumers and have caused increased use of alternative construction products^[8][9]

Machine stress-rated and machine-evaluated lumber is readily available for end-uses where high strength is critical, such as truss rafters, laminating stock, I-beams and web joints. Machine grading measures a characteristic such as stiffness or density that correlates with the structural properties of interest, such as bending strength. The result is a more precise understanding of the strength of each piece of lumber than is possible with visually graded lumber, which allows designers to use full-design strength and avoid overbuilding.^[10]

In Europe, strength grading of sawn softwood is done according to EN-14081-1/2/3/4 and sorted into 9 classes; In increasing strength these are: C14, C16, C18, С22, С24, С27, С30, С35 and С40^[11]

• C14 Used for Scaffolding or Formwork
• C24 General construction
• C30 Prefab Rooftrusses and where design requires somewhat stronger joists than C24 can offer
• C40 Usually seen in Glulam

Hardwoods[link]

In North America, sizes for dimensional lumber made from hardwoods varies from the sizes for softwoods. Boards are usually supplied in random widths and lengths of a specified thickness, and sold by the board-foot (144 cubic inches or 2,360 cubic centimetres, ¹⁄₁₂th of 1 cubic foot or 0.028 cubic metres. This does not apply in all countries; for example, in Australia many boards are sold to timber yards in packs with a common profile (dimensions) but not necessarily consisting of the same length boards.

Also in North America, hardwood lumber is commonly sold in a "quarter" system when referring to thickness. 4/4 (four quarters) refers to a 1-inch-thick (25 mm) board, 8/4 (eight quarters) is a 2-inch-thick (51 mm) board, etc. This system is not usually used for softwood lumber, although softwood decking is sometimes sold as 5/4 (actually one inch thick).

Hardwoods cut for furniture are cut in the fall and winter, after the sap has stopped running in the trees. If hardwoods are cut in the spring or summer the sap ruins the natural color of the timber and decreases the value of the timber for furniture.

Engineered lumber[link]

Engineered lumber is lumber created by a manufacturer and designed for a certain structural purpose. The main categories of engineered lumber are:^[12]

1. Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) – LVL comes in 1 ³⁄₄ inch thicknesses with depths such as 9 ¹⁄₂, 11 ⁷⁄₈, 14, 16, 18, or 24 inches, and are often doubled or tripled up. They function as beams to provide support over large spans, such as removed support walls and garage door openings, places where dimensional lumber isn't sufficient, and also in areas where a heavy load is bearing from a floor, wall or roof above on a somewhat short span where dimensional lumber isn't practical. This type of lumber cannot be altered by holes or notches anywhere within the span or at the ends, as it compromises the integrity of the beam, but nails can be driven into it wherever necessary to anchor the beam or to add hangers for I-joists or dimensional lumber joists that terminate at an LVL beam.
2. Wood I-Joists – Sometimes called "TJI","Trus Joists" or "BCI", all of which are brands of wood I-joists, they are used for floor joists on upper floors and also in first floor conventional foundation construction on piers as opposed to slab floor construction. They are engineered for long spans and are doubled up in places where a wall will be aligned over them, and sometimes tripled where heavy roof-loaded support walls are placed above them. They consist of a top and bottom chord/flange made from dimensional lumber with a webbing in-between made from oriented strand board (OSB). The webbing can be removed up to certain sizes/shapes according to the manufacturer's or engineer's specifications, but for small holes, wood I-joists come with "knockouts", which are perforated, pre-cut areas where holes can be made easily, typically without engineering approval. When large holes are needed, they can typically be made in the webbing only and only in the center third of the span; the top and bottom chords cannot be cut. Sizes and shapes of the hole, and typically the placing of a hole itself, must be approved by an engineer prior to the cutting of the hole and in many areas, a sheet showing the calculations made by the engineer must be provided to the building inspection authorities before the hole will be approved. Some I-joists are made with W-style webbing like a truss to eliminate cutting and allow ductwork to pass through.
   File:Freshlycutlogs.JPG

   Freshly cut logs showing sap running from beneath bark
3. Finger-Jointed Lumber – Solid dimensional lumber lengths typically are limited to lengths of 22 to 24 feet, but can be made longer by the technique of "finger-jointing" lumber by using small solid pieces, usually 18 to 24 inches long, and joining them together using finger joints and glue to produce lengths that can be up to 36 feet long in 2×6 size. Finger-jointing also is predominant in precut wall studs. It is also an affordable alternative for non-structural hardwood that will be painted (staining would leave the finger-joints visible). Care must be taken during construction to avoid nailing directly into a glued joint as stud breakage can occur.
4. Glu-lam Beams – Created from 2×4 or 2×6 stock by gluing the faces together to create beams such as 4×12 or 6×16. By gluing multiple, common sized pieces of lumber together, they act as one larger piece of lumber - thus eliminating the need to harvest larger, older trees for the same size beam.
5. Manufactured Trusses – Trusses are used in home construction as a pre-fabricated replacement for roof rafters and ceiling joists (stick-framing). It is seen as an easier installation and a better solution for supporting roofs as opposed to the use of dimensional lumber's struts and purlins as bracing. In the southern USA and other parts, stick-framing with dimensional lumber roof support is still predominant. The main drawback of trusses are reduced attic space, time required for engineering and ordering, and a cost higher than the dimensional lumber needed if the same project were conventionally framed. The advantages are significantly reduced labor costs (installation is faster than conventional framing), consistency, and overall schedule savings.

Timber piles[link]

In the US pilings are mainly cut from Southern Yellow Pine (SYP) and Douglas Fir (DF). Treated Piling are available in CCA retentions of .60, .80, and 2.50 pcf (pounds per cubic foot) if treatment is required.

Defects in lumber[link]

Defects occurring in timber are grouped into the following five divisions:

Conversion[link]

During the process of converting timber to commercial form the following defects may occur:

1. Chip mark: this defect is indicated by the marks or signs placed by chips on the finished surface of timber
2. Diagonal grain: improper sawing of timber
3. Torn grain: when a small depression is made on the finished surface due to falling of some tool
4. Wane: presence of original rounded surface in the finished product

Defects due to fungi[link]

Fungi attack timber when these conditions are all present:

1. The timber moisture content is above 25% on a dry-weight basis
2. The environment is warm enough
3. Air is present

Wood with less than 25% moisture (dry weight basis) can remain free of decay for centuries. Similarly, wood submerged in water may not be attacked by fungi if the amount of oxygen is inadequate.

Fungi timber defects:

1. Blue stain
2. Brown rot
3. Dry rot
4. Heart rot
5. Sap stain
6. Wet rot
7. White rot

Insects[link]

Following are the insects which are usually responsible for the decay of timber:

1. Beetles
2. Marine borers (Barnea similis)
3. Termites
4. Carpenter ants

Natural forces[link]

There are two main natural forces responsible for causing defects in timber: abnormal growth and rupture of tissues.

Seasoning[link]

Defects due to seasoning are the number one cause for splinters and slivers.

Durability and service life[link]

Under proper conditions, wood provides excellent, lasting performance. However, it also faces several potential threats to service life, including fungal activity and insect damage—which can be avoided in numerous ways. Section 2304.11 of the International Building Code (IBC) addresses protection against decay and termites. This section provides requirements for non-residential construction applications, such as wood used above ground (e.g., for framing, decks, stairs, etc.), as well as other applications.

There are four recommended methods to protect wood-frame structures against durability hazards and thus provide maximum service life for the building. All require proper design and construction:

1. Control moisture using design techniques to avoid decay. 2. Provide effective control of termites and other insects. 3. Use durable materials such as pressure treated or naturally durable species of wood where appropriate. 4. Provide quality assurance during design and construction and throughout the building’s service life using appropriate maintenance practices.

Moisture control[link]

Wood is a hygroscopic material, which means it naturally absorbs and releases water to balance its internal moisture content with the surrounding environment. The moisture content of wood is measured by the weight of water as a percentage of the oven-dry weight of the wood fiber. The key to controlling decay is to control moisture. Once decay fungi are established, the minimum moisture content for decay to propagate is 22 to 24 percent, so building experts recommend 19 percent as the maximum safe moisture content for untreated wood in service. Water by itself does not harm the wood, but rather, wood with consistently high moisture content enables fungal organisms to grow.

The primary objective when addressing moisture loads is to keep water from entering the building envelope in the first place, and to balance the moisture content within the building itself. Moisture control by means of accepted design and construction details is a simple and practical method of protecting a wood-frame building against decay. Finally, for applications with a high risk of staying wet, designers should specify durable materials such as naturally decay-resistant species or wood that’s been treated with preservatives. Cladding, shingles, sill plates and exposed timbers or glulam beams are examples of potential applications for treated wood.

Controlling termites and other insects[link]

For buildings in termite zones, basic protection practices addressed in current building codes include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Grade the building site away from the foundation to provide proper drainage. • Cover exposed ground in any crawl spaces with 6-mil polyethylene film and maintain at least 12 to 18 inches of clearance between the ground and the bottom of framing members above (12 inches to beams or girders, 18 inches to joists or plank flooring members). • Support post columns by concrete piers so there’s at least six inches of clear space between the wood and exposed earth. • Install wood framing and sheathing in exterior walls at least eight inches above exposed earth; locate siding at least six inches from the finished grade. • Where appropriate and desired, ventilate crawl spaces according to local building codes. • Remove building material scraps from the job site before backfilling. If termites are found, eliminate their nests. • If allowed by local regulation, treat the soil around the foundation with an approved termiticide to provide protection against subterranean termites.

Preservatives[link]

Special fastners should be used with treated lumber because of the corrosive chemicals used in its preservation process

To avoid decay and termite infestation, it is important to separate untreated wood from the ground and other sources of moisture. These separations are required by many building codes and are considered necessary to maintain wood elements in permanent structures at a safe moisture content for decay protection. When it is not possible to separate wood from the sources of moisture, designers often rely on preservative-treated wood.^[13]

Wood can be treated with a preservative that improves service life under severe conditions without altering its basic characteristics. It can also be pressure-impregnated with fire-retardant chemicals that improve its performance in a fire.^[14] One of the early treatments to fireproof lumber which retard fires was developed in 1936 by Protexol Corporation in which lumber is heavily treated with salt.^[15] Wood does not deteriorate just because it gets wet. When wood breaks down, it is because an organism is eating it as food. Preservatives work by making the food source inedible to these organisms. Properly preservative-treated wood can have 5 to 10 times the service life of untreated wood. Preserved wood is used most often for railroad ties, utility poles, marine piles, decks, fences and other outdoor applications. Various treatment methods and types of chemicals are available, depending on the attributes required in the particular application and the level of protection needed.^[16]

There are two basic methods of treating: with and without pressure. Non-pressure methods are the application of preservative by brushing, spraying or dipping the piece to be treated. Deeper, more thorough penetration is achieved by driving the preservative into the wood cells with pressure. Various combinations of pressure and vacuum are used to force adequate levels of chemical into the wood. Pressure-treating preservatives consist of chemicals carried in a solvent. Chromated copper arsenate (CCA), once the most commonly used wood preservative in North America began being phased out of most residential applications in 2004. Replacing it are amine copper quat (ACQ) and copper azole (CA).

All wood preservatives used in the U.S. and Canada are registered and regularly re-examined for safety by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Health Canada's Pest Management and Regulatory Agency, respectively.^[17]

Timber framing[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Timber framing is a style of construction which uses heavier framing elements than modern stick framing, which uses dimensional lumber. The timbers originally were tree boles squared with a broadaxe or adze and joined together with joinery without nails. A modern imitation with sawn timbers is growing in popularity in the United States.

Residual wood[link]

The conversion from coal to biomass power is a growing trend in the United States.^[18]

The U.S. and Canadian governments both support an increased role for energy derived from biomass, which are organic materials available on a renewable basis and include residues and/or byproducts of the logging, sawmilling and papermaking processes. In particular, they view it as a way to lower greenhouse gas emissions by reducing consumption of oil and gas while supporting the growth of forestry, agriculture and rural economies. Studies by the U.S. government have found the country’s combined forest and agriculture land resources have the power to sustainably supply more than one-third of its current petroleum consumption.^[19]

Three potentially large sources of forest biomass currently not being used in abundance are harvesting residues, particularly those left at the roadside, thinning treatments done in conjunction with efforts to reduce forest fire hazards (mostly in the U.S.), and salvage and recovery of beetle-killed timber (mostly in Canada).

Biomass is already an important source of energy for the North American forest products industry. It is common for companies to have cogeneration facilities, also known as combined heat and power, which convert some of the biomass that results from wood and paper manufacturing to electrical and thermal energy in the form of steam. The electricity is used to, among other things, dry lumber and supply heat to the dryers used in paper-making.

Remanufactured lumber[link]

Remanufactured Lumber refers to secondary or tertiary processing/cutting of previously milled lumber. The term specifically refers to lumber cut for industrial or wood packaging use. Lumber is cut by ripsaw or resaw to create dimensions that are not usually processed by a primary sawmill.

Resawing is the process of splitting 1 inch through 12 inch hardwood or softwood lumber into two or more thinner pieces of full length boards. For example, splitting a ten foot 2x4 into two ten foot 1x4s is considered resawing.

In addition to resawing lumber, remanufactured lumber can be ripped on a ripsaw using single or multiple blades. Ripping is the process of splitting 1" through 12" hardwood or softwood lumber into two or more narrower pieces of full length boards. For example, splitting a ten foot 2x4 into two ten foot 2x2s is considered ripping.^[20]

Environmental benefits of lumber[link]

Green building minimizes the impact or "environmental footprint" of a building. Wood is a major building material that is renewable and uses the sun’s energy to renew itself in a continuous sustainable cycle.^[21] Studies show manufacturing wood uses less energy and results in less air and water pollution than steel and concrete.

See also[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Sathre, R; O'Conner, J (2010). A Synthesis of Research on Wood Products and Greenhouse Gas Impacts (2 ed.). FPInnovations. ISBN 978-0-86488-546-3. http://www.forintek.ca/public/pdf/Public_Information/technical_rpt/TR19%20Complete%20Pub-web.pdf. 

External links[link]

Look up lumber or timber in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• National Hardwood Lumber Association (Rules for Grading Hardwood Lumber - Inspector Training School)
• Timber Development Association of NSW - Australia
• TRADA: Timber Research And Development Association
• The Forest Products Laboratory. US main wood products research lab. Madison, WI (E)
• WCTE, World Conference on Timber Engineering　June 20–24, 2010, Riva del Garda, Trentino, Italy
• Canadian Wood Council

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2007)

Eddie Meduza (real name Errol Leonard Norstedt) (June 17, 1948–January 17, 2002) was a Swedish composer and musician working mainly in the rockabilly genre. Many of his songs were about alcohol, women, and cars, quite often with obscene lyrics. Sometimes they were also politically oriented, many aimed against the Swedish Social Democrats. He was also a popular performer of Raggare music. Norstedt's other identity was the far more vulgar E. Hitler.^[1] In this guise he generally recorded more sexually explicit material.

He is remembered now mostly for his more explicit work, but many of his songs are very ironic and some contain clever, albeit unpolished, social commentary, and earn his music something of a cult following. Norstedt also recorded serious rockabilly songs with a distinct 1950s flavour in his own studio, called Studio Ronka^[2] (ronka or runka is Swedish slang for masturbation, similar to wanking in English.). He played most of the instruments himself. He often got bad reviews from the press, notably Expressen journalist Mats Olsson, to which Norstedt replied by writing even more offensive songs, such as Kuken står på Mats Olsson (The cock stands on Mats Olsson), Mats Olsson är en jävla bög (Mats Olsson is a damn fag) and Mats Olsson runkar kuken (Mats Olsson is wanking his cock). He reportedly said that no matter what he did it was never good enough for the critics.^[3]

Despite this he was considered an accomplished musician and songwriter, in particular by Swedish record company executive Bert Karlsson who, with mixed results, tried to foster that talent in Norstedt. He never had a major breakthrough and this is commonly attributed to his increasingly obscene songwriting. According to himself, he developed alcoholism in the late 1970s during periods of intensive touring. After collapsing on his way to a show he changed his lifestyle completely.^[4] He sobered up and started working out. However, despite his efforts the years of alcohol abuse eventually took their toll and he died in his home. He is survived by his wife and children.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• 1975 - Errol
• 1979 - Eddie Meduza & The Roaring Cadillacs
• 1980 - Garagetaper
• 1981 - Gasen I Botten
• 1982 - För Jaevle Braa!
• 1982 - 21 Värsta !!!
• 1983 - Dåren E Lös
• 1984 - West A Fool Away
• 1985 - Ain't Got No Cadillac
• 1986 - Collection (2 LP)
• 1989 - Dom Dåraktigaste Dumheterna Digitalt (Röven 1)
• 1989 - Dom Dåraktigaste Dumheterna Digitalt (Röven 2)
• 1990 - På begäran
• 1990 - You Ain't My Friend
• 1991 - Collection (CD)
• 1995 - Harley Davidson
• 1997 - Silver Wheels
• 1998 - Värsting Hits
• 1999 - Väg 13
• 1999 - Dance Mix
• 1999 - Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 1
• 1999 - Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 2
• 1999 - Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 3
• 2000 - Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 4
• 2000 - Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 5
• 2000 - Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 6
• 2001 - Scoop
• 2001 - Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 7
• 2001 - Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 8
• 2001 - Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 9
• 2002 - Just Like An Eagle
• 2002 - Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 10
• 2002 - Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 11
• 2002 - Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 12
• 2003 - Live(s)! CD+DVD
• 2003 - 100% Eddie Meduza
• 2003 - Live(s)! CD
• 2004 - Rock'n Rebel
• 2005 - Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 13
• 2005 - Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 14
• 2005 - Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 15
• 2005 - Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 16
• 2005 - Raggare
• 2006 - Dragspelsrock
• 2006 - Dubbelidioterna

Singles[link]

• 1975 - Tretton År / Här Hemma
• 1978 - Punkjävlar / Oh What A Cadillac
• 1979 - Yea Yea Yea / Honey B
• 1979 - Såssialdemokraterna / Norwegian Boogie / Roll Over Beethoven
• 1981 - Volvo / 34:an
• 1981 - Gasen I Botten / Mera Brännvin
• 1982 - Han Eller Jag, Vem Ska Du Ha / Tonight
• 1982 - Jätteparty I Kväll / Tonight
• 1982 - Jätteparty I Kväll / Han Eller Jag, Vem Ska Du Ha
• 1982 - Sverige / Stupid Cupid
• 1983 - Fruntimmer Ska En Ha...
• 1983 - Fruntimmer Ska En Ha... / Han Eller Jag, Vem Ska Du Ha?
• 1983 - Jag Vill Ha En Brud Med Stora Bröst / Leader Of The Rockers
• 1983 - Jag Vill Ha En Brud Med Stora Pattar / Leader Of The Rockers
• 1984 - Sveriges Kompani (Militärpolka) / Dunder Å Snus
• 1984 - Punkar'n Å Raggar'n / Hej På Dig Evert
• 1984 - Fisdisco / California Sun
• 1985 - The Wanderer / It's All Over Now
• 1988 - Småländsk Sommarnatt / Birds And Bees
• 1990 - Sweet Linda Boogie / Heart Don't Be A Fool

See also[link]

List of Swedes in music

External links[link]

• Official Web page (Swedish)
• John-Johns fan-site (Swedish)

References[link]

Blake Shelton
Shelton in April 2010
Background information
Birth name	Blake Tollison Shelton
Born	(1976-06-18) June 18, 1976 (age 36)[1] Ada, Oklahoma, United States
Genres	Country
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Giant, Warner Bros. Nashville, Reprise Nashville
Associated acts	Bobby Braddock, Miranda Lambert, Trace Adkins, Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green
Website	blakeshelton.com

Blake Tollison Shelton (born June 18, 1976) is an American country music artist. In 2001, he made his debut with the single "Austin". Released as the lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" went on to spend five weeks at Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. This song was the first single from his gold-certified debut album, which also produced two more Top 20 hits. Although the album was released on Giant Records Nashville, Shelton was transferred to Warner Bros. Records Nashville after Giant closed in late 2001.

His second and third albums, 2003's The Dreamer (his first for Warner Bros. proper) and 2004's Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill, were each certified gold as well. Shelton's fourth album, Pure BS, was issued in 2007, and re-issued in 2008 with a cover of Michael Bublé's pop hit "Home" as one of the bonus tracks. This cover was also that album's third single. A fifth album, Startin' Fires, was released in November 2008. It was followed by the extended plays Hillbilly Bone and All About Tonight in 2010, and the album Red River Blue in 2011. He is currently a vocal coach on the NBC reality talent show The Voice with Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, and Cee Lo Green.

Overall, Shelton has charted 17 singles on the country charts, including eleven Number One hits: "Austin" (2001), "The Baby" (2003), "Some Beach" (2004–2005), "Home" (2008), "She Wouldn't Be Gone" (2009), "Hillbilly Bone" (2010), a duet with Trace Adkins, "All About Tonight" (2010), "Who Are You When I'm Not Looking" (2011)", "Honey Bee" (2011), "God Gave Me You" (2011), and "Drink on It" (2011-2012). Additionally, three more of his singles have reached Top Ten: a cover version of Conway Twitty's "Goodbye Time", "Nobody but Me", and "I'll Just Hold On".

He also covered "Footloose" for the movie remake in 2011.

Early life[link]

Shelton was born in Ada, Oklahoma, to Dick, a used car dealer, and Dorothy, a beauty salon owner. He began singing at an early age and by age 12, he learned to play guitar. By age sixteen, Shelton had received a Denbo Diamond Award in his home state.^[1] On November 13, 1990, his older brother Richie, who was 24 at the time, died in a car accident. He has an older sister, Endy. At age 17, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in pursuit of a singing career.

Musical career[link]

Shelton performing at the Crawford City Fair in August 2005

[edit] 1998–2002: Blake Shelton

After several years in Nashville, he signed to Giant Records in 1998. In 2001, he was slated to release a song entitled "I Wanna Talk About Me" as a single. Staff at the label considered the song unsuitable for a lead-off single, however, and the song was eventually recorded by Toby Keith, whose version was a Number One hit.^[2]

Instead, Giant released "Austin" as Shelton's debut single. Shortly after its release, however, Giant Records was dissolved, and Shelton was transferred to Warner Bros. Records, the parent company. "Austin" went on to spend five weeks at Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts. His self-titled debut album also produced the No.18 "All Over Me" (which Shelton co-wrote with fellow country artist Earl Thomas Conley) and the No.14 "Ol' Red", which was a cover version of a George Jones song. Although Shelton's rendition of "Ol' Red" was not a major radio hit, he considers it his signature song, and it has become popular in concert.^[3] Blake Shelton is certified gold by the RIAA.^[1]

[edit] 2002–2003: The Dreamer

Shelton's second album, The Dreamer, was first released on February 4, 2003 on Warner Bros. Records. Its lead-off single, "The Baby", reached Number One on the country charts, holding that position for three weeks. Although the second and third singles ("Heavy Liftin'" and "Playboys of the Southwestern World", respectively) only reached No.32 and #24, The Dreamer earned gold certification as well. He, along with Andy Griggs and Montgomery Gentry, sang guest vocals on Tracy Byrd's mid-2003 single "The Truth About Men".

[edit] 2004–2006: Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill

Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill was the title of Shelton's third studio album, released in 2004.^[1] Its lead-off single, the Harley Allen co-write "When Somebody Knows You That Well", peaked at No.37 on the country charts, while the follow-up "Some Beach" became his third No.1 hit, holding that position for four weeks. It was followed by a cover of Conway Twitty's 1988 single "Goodbye Time".^[4] Both this cover and its followup, "Nobody but Me", reached Top Ten for Shelton as well. As with his first two albums, Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill was certified gold. Accompanying the album's release was a video collection entitled Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill: A Video Collection.^[1]

On December 18, 2005, several of Shelton's songs, including "Nobody but Me", appeared on the TV movie The Christmas Blessing, starring Neil Patrick Harris, Rebecca Gayheart, Angus T. Jones, and Rob Lowe. Shelton had a small role at the end of the movie, playing himself at a benefit concert, singing "Nobody but Me".

[edit] 2006–2008: Pure BS

Shelton issued his fourth studio album, Pure BS, in early 2007.^[1] Unlike with his first three albums, which were produced entirely by Bobby Braddock, Shelton worked with Braddock, Brent Rowan, and Paul Worley as producers for this album. Its first two singles—"Don't Make Me" and "The More I Drink"—were both Top 20 hits on the country charts, respectively reaching No.12 and #19. Also in late 2007, Shelton made appearances on television shows: first as a judge on the talent competition Nashville Star, and later on Clash of the Choirs.

Pure BS was re-released in 2008 with three bonus tracks, including a cover of Michael Bublé's hit single "Home". This cover, released in early 2008 as the album's third single, became his fourth No.1 hit in July.^[5]

[edit] 2008–2009: Startin' Fires

"Home" was followed in August 2008 by the single "She Wouldn't Be Gone", his 14th chart entry and his fifth No. 1 hit. It was the first time in his career that he had two consecutive Number Ones. "She Wouldn't Be Gone" is the lead-off to Shelton's fifth studio album, Startin' Fires, which has also produced the single "I'll Just Hold On." This album also includes "Bare Skin Rug," a duet with Lambert.^[6] It was produced by Scott Hendricks, except for one track which was produced by Brent Rowan, and another ("I Don't Care", which carried over from Pure BS) was produced by Braddock.^[7]

[edit] 2009–2011: Hillbilly Bone and All About Tonight

After "I'll Just Hold On" fell off the chart in October 2009, Blake Shelton released a duet with Trace Adkins titled "Hillbilly Bone." It was the lead-off single on Shelton's EP, Hillbilly Bone, released on March 2, 2010 through Reprise Records Nashville. After "Hillbilly Bone" reached No.1 in February, came the August release of "All About Tonight", the lead-off single to his EP of the same name. In September, he released the second single from All About Tonight, "Who Are You When I'm Not Looking", his 18th single release. He released his first greatest hits album, Loaded: The Best of Blake Shelton in November 2010.

Shelton was invited to join the Grand Ole Opry during the September 28, 2010 "Country Comes Home" concert celebrating reopening of the Grand Ole Opry House after the Cumberland River flooded the Opry House in May 2010. The formal invitation was extended on his Twitter account and was announced by Opry star Trace Adkins.^[8] He was formally inducted by Adkins at the Saturday, October 23, 2010 Opry performance.

Shelton recorded the title track for the "Footloose" remake film released on October 14th, 2011.

Blake Shelton appeared on the 44th Annual Country Music Awards on November 10, 2010 where he performed "All About Tonight" and won Male Vocalist of the Year.^[9]

Shelton will serve as a judge/coach to singers on the 2011 NBC reality television series The Voice.^[10]

[edit] 2011–present: Red River Blue

Blake Shelton released the album Red River Blue on July 12, 2011, led by the single, "Honey Bee". The song received 138,000 downloads in its first week and was certified gold in its seventh week, setting a new record for the fastest gold certification by a male country singer.^[11] On June 13, 2011, in its tenth chart week, "Honey Bee" went to #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, becoming his ninth #1 and his fastest-climbing. The album was expected to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 with around 110,000 copies sold.^[12] "God Gave Me You", a cover of a Dave Barnes song, was the album's second single; it also reached #1. "Drink On It", the fifth song on the album, hit #1 in April 2012, giving him his 11th #1 song. On April 30, 2012, Blake performed "Over" on the Semi-finals of the second season of The Voice. "Over" later debuted at #53 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs on 19 May, 2012.^[13]

Blake Shelton is a coach on the NBC show The Voice. His finalist Dia Frampton came in second. He returned for a second season of the show with Jermaine Paul as the champion ^[14]. Frampton also recorded a track with Shelton titled "I Will" on her album Red, released December 6, 2011.

Blake Shelton took the stage with Miranda Lambert at Super Bowl XLVI in February 2012 to open the event by singing a duet version of “America the Beautiful”. It marked their first TV performance since their headlining nuptials in May 2011.

Television[link]

[edit] 2011–present: The Voice

In 2011, Shelton became a coach on NBC's new show, The Voice, along with Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green and Adam Levine.

In season 1, Shelton became the runner-up coach as his final team member, Dia Frampton, won second place of the season.

In season 2, Shelton became the winning coach as his final team member, Jermaine Paul, was declared winner of the season.

Season 3 of The Voice will air in the fall of 2012. All four judges have signed on to return. ^[15]

Personal life[link]

Shelton married longtime girlfriend Kaynette Gern on November 17, 2003. They divorced in 2006.

Shelton is now married to fellow country singer Miranda Lambert, whom he met at the CMT's 100 Greatest Duets Concert.^[16] Lambert also sang background vocals on his cover of Michael Bublé's song, "Home", which became a Number 1 single on the Hot Country Songs chart. On May 9, 2010, after dating for four years,^[17] Shelton proposed to Miranda, after seeking (and receiving) her father's blessing.^[17][18]

Shelton and Lambert were married on May 14, 2011 at Don Strange Ranch in Boerne, Texas.^[17] 550 people were in attendance, including many celebrities, such as Reba McEntire, Cee Lo Green, Martina McBride, Kelly Clarkson, Dierks Bentley, Charles Kelley, and the Bellamy Brothers. After the wedding, Shelton expressed his joy stating, "I wanted to be married to Miranda the day I proposed. Finally, it's official!"^[19] Blake and Miranda reside in the small town of Tishomingo, OK, located in the Texoma area.

On January 17, 2012, Shelton's father, Dick, 71, died in Oklahoma, following a period of declining health.^[20][21]

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• Blake Shelton (2001)
• The Dreamer (2003)
• Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill (2004)
• Pure BS (2007)
• Startin' Fires (2008)
• Red River Blue (2011)

Extended plays

• Blake Shelton: Collector's Edition (2008)
• Hillbilly Bone (2010)
• All About Tonight (2010)

Compilation albums

• Blake Shelton – The Essentials (2009)
• Loaded: The Best of Blake Shelton (2010)

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Website
• Blake Shelton at the Internet Movie Database

Patty Loveless
Patty Loveless signing a shirt at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in July 2004
Background information
Birth name	Patricia Lee Ramey
Born	(1957-01-04) January 4, 1957 (age 55)
Origin	Pikeville, Kentucky, USA[1]
Genres	Country, bluegrass
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, Guitar
Years active	1973–1975; 1985–present
Labels	MCA, Epic, Saguaro Road
Associated acts	Vince Gill Emory Gordy, Jr. George Jones
Website	www.pattyloveless.com

Patty Loveless (born Patty Lee Ramey, January 4, 1957), is an American country music singer.

Since her emergence on the country music scene in late 1986 with her first (self-titled) album, Loveless has been one of the most popular female singers of the Neotraditional country movement, although she has also recorded albums in the Country pop and Bluegrass genres.

Loveless was born in Pikeville, Kentucky, and was raised in Elkhorn City, Kentucky and Louisville, Kentucky and rose to stardom thanks to her blend of honky tonk and country-rock, not to mention a plaintive, emotional ballad style. Her late-1980s records were generally quite popular, earning her comparisons to Patsy Cline, but most critics agreed that she truly came into her own as an artist in the early 1990s.

To date, Loveless has charted more than forty singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including five Number Ones. In addition, she has recorded fourteen studio albums (not counting compilations); in the United States, four of these albums have been certified platinum, while two have been certified gold.^[2]

She is the 65th member of the Grand Ole Opry.

Loveless is also a distant cousin of Loretta Lynn and Crystal Gayle.^[3] She has been married twice, first to Terry Lovelace (1976–1986), from whom her professional name "Loveless" is derived, and to Emory Gordy, Jr. (1989–present), who is also her producer.

Biography[link]

Early years[link]

Patty Lee Ramey was born the sixth of seven children to John and Naomie Ramey outside of Pikeville, Kentucky on 4 January 1957. Although born in Pikeville, the family lived in Elkhorn City, Kentucky where her father was a coal miner.

Patty Ramey's interest in music started when she was a young child. In 1969, when she was twelve, the Ramey family moved to Louisville, Kentucky in search of medical care for John Ramey, who was afflicted with "Black Lung Disease" (Coalworker's pneumoconiosis).

Her older sister, Dottie Ramey, was an aspiring country singer, and would perform frequently at small clubs in Eastern Kentucky, with her brother Roger Ramey, known as the "Swinging Rameys". Traveling with Dottie and Roger to Fort Knox in 1969, and hearing her sister perform on stage, Patty Ramey decided that she would like to become a performer as well.^[4]

When her sister Dottie married in 1969 and quit performing, Roger Ramey convinced Patty to perform onstage for the first time at a small country jamboree in Hodgenville,Ky. The forum consisted of foldout chairs in a small auditorium and was called the "Lincoln Jamboree". She was terrified at first, but with her brother performed several songs, however she loved the applause she received for her performance, and after the show she was paid five dollars, the first money she ever earned.^[4]

Patty Ramey joined her brother Roger and started singing together at several clubs in Louisville Kentucky, under the name "Singin' Swingin' Rameys".^[5] Loveless and her brother would perform in various clubs in the Louisville area. A local radio announcer, Danny King with a country radio station in Louisville was a supporter of the Ramey kids. Whenever there was an opportunity for them to appear on stage, he would call up the Rameys and try to get them a booking.^[6]

Teenager in Nashville[link]

It was her brother Roger who initially took Patty Ramey to Nashville, Tennessee in 1971. Having grown up listening to the music of the Grand Ole Opry both in Pikeville, and then in Louisville, Roger had moved to Nashville in 1970 and became a producer with The Porter Wagoner Show.

When they arrived in Nashville, Roger went to Porter Wagoner's office without an appointment and managed to introduce his sister to Wagoner. Roger was able to convince Wagoner to listen to his sister sing, and she performed a song she wrote for their father, John, called "Sounds of Loneliness". To both Roger and Patty's surprise, Wagoner thumped his hand on his desk and said he was going to help her out. Wagoner introduced them to his singing partner at the time, Dolly Parton, and encouraged her to go back home and finish school, although he did invite her to travel with him and Dolly Parton on weekends during the summer.^[5]

In 1973 Bill Anderson, Connie Smith, the Wilburn Brothers, and Jean Shepard were scheduled to appear in a touring Grand Ole Opry show in Louisville Gardens. However, Jean Shepard was caught in a flood, and she wasn't able to make it in. Danny King, sensing an opportunity, gave the Rameys a call. Loveless and her brother Roger appeared in the show for about fifteen minutes on stage.

The Wilburn Brothers listened to Patty Ramey and after her performance asked her if she had ever sung professionally. She explained that she had worked with Porter Wagoner some and had traveled with him and Dolly Parton on weekends and during the summers. Doyle Wilburn asked if she wanted to come to Nashville and work with their band to replace their female singer, to which Patty Ramey agreed.^[7] Between 1973 and 1975 Patty Ramey traveled with the Wilburns on weekends and during the summers when school was out. Loveless's parents insisted that the Wilburns watch over her while on the road.

Doyle Wilburn was slowly grooming Ramey to replace Loretta Lynn as his lead female singer, he also held a music publishing contract on her with Sure-Fire music, his songwriting agency, as Wilburn realized that she was also a very talented songwriter. In addition, during the summer when the group wasn't on the road, Doyle Wilburn had Patty Ramey work at his various enterprises in Nashville, having her wait on tables in one of his restaurants and clerking at his Music Mart USA record store.

After graduation from High School in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1975 Patty Ramey became a full-time member of the Wilburn Brother's band as their lead female singer. About this time she met the Wilburn's new drummer, Terry Lovelace. Lovelace came from a small town in western North Carolina, Kings Mountain, and shared many things in common with Loveless. At first Patty kept her friendship and her growing relationship with Lovelace a secret from the Wilburns, however eventually Dolyle Wilburn learned about it and asked Patty to break it off. However, Ramey being the rebellious teenager instead quit the Wilburns and left with her boyfriend for western North Carolina. In early 1976, she married Terry Lovelace and began performing with him in a pickup-band based in Kings Mountain.^[5][7]

North Carolina years[link]

In North Carolina, Patty and her husband Terry played in a circuit of small bars and concert halls. She sang covers of late 70s rock songs, along with Linda Ronstadt and Bonnie Raitt tunes, with the occasional country song. (After her marriage, she adopted the professional name Patty Loveless, as not to draw any connection to porn actress Linda Lovelace [4].)

During this time of her life she also was distant from her family, as she had married without their consent. According to Loveless, "...I think my father thought I had lost my mind. This music is going to just ruin your life... it ruined your life... But it was a music that I learned from again... You wouldn't believe the people that would come to this club. They would get off from work, and they wouldn't go home. They'd come to this club and have a few beers, or ... dance.... I learned a lot about people and life in those places. I mean there was all walks of life... people who had hit the very bottom. And myself, there was times I felt myself becoming one of those people too. There was some hard times for us both, my ex-husband and I. And I think at the time, it caused us to be torn apart, and we lost respect for each other. And it got to the point that we didn't know each other..."^[8] A low point of her life was in August 1979, when her father, whom she idolized, died in Louisville while Loveless was in North Carolina.

The years in North Carolina were not successful for her, as the police started busting the clubs she would perform in and shut them down. When she wasn't performing she was working as a waitress at her mother-in-law's restaurant. By 1984, she was singing in a club and was singing country music for a change of the rock she would normally perform. There was a new generation of artists in Nashville, singers like Ricky Skaggs and Emmylou Harris who were changing the traditions of country music.^[5]

According to Loveless, "...I learned so much about what to feel in a song from those years of playing those clubs. I was saddened sometimes because I thought 'I left Nashville, I left all that for this? What happened to me? What is wrong with me?' But I think what was happening was that I was beginning to find... me. Find who I really was. And what kind of person I was inside and out. I still believe to this day it happened the way it was supposed to happen."^[8]

Return to Nashville[link]

In April 1985, Loveless felt her marriage to Terry Lovelace was ending (they eventually divorced amicably in 1986). She contacted her brother Roger to help her get back to Nashville. After being in the rock 'n' roll scene for so long she felt completely out of the country-music loop but wanted to sing country music again. Roger Ramey helped his sister cut a five-song demo tape, one of them being a rough cut of her self-penned song "I Did", which Loveless first wrote as a teenager, then later included on her first album. Roger Ramey then began to spread the word around about her talent. She and her brother disagreed about including "I Did" on the demo tape. Loveless didn't believe the song was good enough, but Roger argued that it would be what got her a contract. Once the demo was finished, Roger started trying to get her a recording contract with a major label in Nashville.^[5][9]

Roger Ramey sent the demo tape out to every major label in Nashville, and was met with a solid wall of rejection by them all. After a month of not getting anywhere, out of desperation to help his sister, he decided to take a chance with MCA Nashville. MCA, being the industry leader at the time was his first choice of labels. Taking a cassette of the five song demo of Loveless, Roger bluffed his way past the receptionist of Tony Brown, the head of A&R (Artist & Repertoire – in charge of finding and developing new talent) by pretending to be someone else who was late for an appointment.

As soon as they met, Roger told Brown him he had the "best girl singer to ever come to Nashville". Tony Brown said he'd give Roger 30 seconds to sell him, and he quickly played the tape of Patty singing "I Did". Brown listened to the entire five-song tape, and asked Roger to leave it with him so he could play it for some other execs and get back to him. Roger refused and told Brown that he wanted a commitment that day, and if he didn't want her on MCA, he knew another label that did.

With Roger Ramey waiting in his office, Brown took the tape to Jimmy Bowen, President of MCA Nashville at the time. Hearing the tape, Bowen wasn't impressed with Loveless, but told Brown to go ahead and sign her, but only to a short-term, singles-only recording contact.^[5]

MCA years (1985–1992)[link]

Tony Brown brought in one of his top producers, Emory Gordy, Jr., to help develop Loveless for MCA. Together, they produced a series of songs for Loveless, and all of them were released to radio stations with varying degrees of success. MCA released her first single, "Lonely Days, Lonely Nights" on December 7, 1985, charting on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for 8 weeks, reaching #46 on January 25, 1986.^[10]

Loveless' second single, "I Did", was released in April 1986. The song had gone out with releases from four other MCA singers, all of whom had album contracts. Shortly after its release, Roger Bowen asked Loveless to come into his office where he explained to her that he wanted to pull the song from radio because it was succeeding too well. "I have to be fair to the other artists". In return, he would give Loveless an album deal and she could release "I Did" as a single from her first album. This gave birth to the self-titled Patty Loveless album, being initially released on October 1, 1986 in a promotional form, with a full release on February 21, 1987.^[10] Several other singles, "Wicked Ways" and "After All", were released from that album, which again, did not do well on the charts but garnered sufficient airplay that Tony Brown decided to sign Loveless to a long-term recording contract.^[5]

It was her second album, If My Heart Had Windows, released on January 25, 1988, was the one that got Loveless noticed in the country music world. "If My Heart Had Windows" and a Steve Earle song, "A Little Bit in Love", both of which reached the country music top 10.^[10] Also, in 1988 Loveless was invited to join the Grand Ole Opry, which put her firmly in Nashville to stay. The critics praised Loveless' first two albums, but they didn't sell all that well. On the road, Loveless was the opening act for the top MCA artists, such as George Jones, Reba McEntire and George Strait, which had people coming early to the shows to hear her sing. However, her concert popularity did not translate into album sales for her label.^[5]

For Loveless' third album Honky Tonk Angel, Tony Brown took over as sole producer. Brown used his shrewd commercial instincts by releasing a series of upbeat, up-tempo singles from the album, one after another. With five tracks from the album charting in the Billboard Top Ten Country Singles, including two at #1, it served as the breakthrough album for Loveless. The album itself was Loveless' highest charting at #7 on the Country Albums category. The two #1 singles were "Chains" and "Timber, I'm Falling In Love". Loveless also did a cover of the Lone Justice song, "Don't Toss Us Away", which featured Rodney Crowell on backing vocals. The song charted at #5. Famed songwriter Kostas had a major role by writing three of the album's tunes, including "Timber, I'm Falling in Love" and "The Lonely Side of Love", which peaked at #6.^[5][10]

In February, 1989 Loveless and her producer, Emory Gordy, Jr. secretly married in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. For a year and a half afterward, they publicly hid the fact that they were married, in large part because Loveless didn't want to hurt her former husband, Terry Lovelace, who still loved his former wife and hoped to rejoin her.^[5][11]

While at MCA, Loveless released two more albums, On Down the Line in 1990 and Up Against My Heart in 1991, scoring hits with songs such as "I'm That Kind of Girl"; "Hurt Me Bad (In a Real Good Way)", and "Jealous Bone". She toured endlessly and performed on television frequently.

Although MCA had given her stardom, there was the belief (rightly or wrongly) that the record label did not promote her albums well. Both Loveless and her husband believed that her career was just not taking off the way they believed it would if she had the same level of promotion as Reba McEntire, Trisha Yearwood and Wynonna. Changes in her band, also replacing her brother Roger as her manager did not improve matters. The fact remained that the other female singers on MCA were selling millions of records, while Loveless, with a gold record for Honky Tonk Angel, sold less than half of that with her two follow-up albums.

Larry Fitzgerald, her new manager believed a major change was in order. At the end of 1992, Fitzgerald met with Tony Brown to try to get Loveless out of her MCA contract. He worked out an agreement with MCA that Loveless could leave the label, but retained an option to record with other MCA artists on the MCA Label. Quickly, Fitzgerald arranged a meeting with Roy Wunsch, the head of Sony Nashville. Their Epic label was looking for a "name" female singer and worked out a contract for Loveless to record for Sony under their Epic label.^[5]

Throat surgery and a new voice[link]

With the new recording contract, Loveless headed into the recording studio to record new material for Epic. In the studio, her producer (Gordy) noticed that her voice was not as strong as it had been when she last recorded two years previously. The fact was that beginning as far back as 1990, Loveless felt some pain in her throat when singing, and when she saw a doctor, he noticed a red spot on her vocal cords. By 1992, Loveless was on a regimen of steroid tablets and cortisone to prop up her voice.^[12]

Despite the voice problem, Loveless had booked a fall 1992 tour. Also she had been invited to appear on a CBS television special about "Women In Country". The day before leaving on the tour she asked her manager to accompany her to her throat doctor's office. In the office, her doctor compared her 1990 results versus what he saw during the exam. Her vocal cords had developed an enlarged blood vessel that looked like a varicose vein. The juxtaposition was dramatic. If not treated, it could end her career and there was no guarantee that surgery could correct the problem.

Although Loveless went ahead and sang in the television special, her manager canceled all of her tour dates for the rest of 1992. On October 21, Loveless had corrective throat surgery. For the next nine weeks, she could not sing or talk. Her husband, in order to communicate with her, attempted to teach Loveless Morse Code, as well as using pen and paper with yellow Post-It notes.^[5][12] After this her interest in Amateur Radio developed and she was eventually licensed with the callsign KD4WUJ,^[13] although her license currently shows as canceled.^[14]

On her 36th birthday, January 4, 1993, Loveless re-entered her professional life by performing at the Grand Ole Opry. She was fully recovered, although her voice was changed by the surgery. It had a deeper, fuller quality which enhanced her career over the following years.^[5]

Epic Records years (1993–2005)[link]

Going back to work in the studio, Loveless and Gordy re-recorded all the material they had worked on the previous fall. The changed voice was stronger than what it was previously and a different Patty Loveless recorded her first album for Epic, Only What I Feel. The album was released in April and was promoted strongly and heavily by Epic. Loveless' #1 single "Blame It On Your Heart" firmly put her back into the spotlight. The release of Only What I Feel gave Loveless two CMA nominations for Single of the Year and Video of the Year for "How Can I Help You Say Goodbye". Some critics said that this album with Epic was her personal best.

In 1994, Loveless contributed the song "When I Reach the Place I’m Going" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Country produced by the Red Hot Organization.

Perhaps her crowning achievement was that album's follow-up, When Fallen Angels Fly. It won the Country Music Association's Album of the Year award and gave her four Top 10 singles. She followed it up with The Trouble with the Truth in 1996 which gave her Female Vocalist of the Year awards from both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association.

Although she continued to record for Epic throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s, her commercial momentum slowed down, as neotraditionalist artists like Loveless were eclipsed on country radio by flashier, trendier young performers like Shania Twain and Faith Hill; none of the singles released from her 1997 album Long Stretch of Lonesome or 2000's Strong Heart reached the top ten. (The albums themselves continued to do well, however, with Long Stretch reaching # 9, and Strong Heart peaking at #13 on the country albums charts.)

In an effort to control her own destiny, rather than be controlled by country radio, Loveless made an abrupt move away from commercial, country/pop and made a stone-cold bluegrass album in 2001. Mountain Soul was released to numerous critical accolades and sold decently despite a lack of radio support. She used the same bluegrass approach on a Christmas album, Bluegrass & White Snow: A Mountain Christmas, in 2002. On Your Way Home, a return to more commercial oriented country, was released in 2003 to critical acclaim. Though she has not scored a top-forty country single since "On Your Way Home" reached # 29 in 2004, Loveless' albums still do well, usually charting in the country albums top forty, despite the fact that she no longer has the support of mainstream country radio or a major label.

In 2005 she released Dreamin' My Dreams. While critical reception was good, it did not fare well commercially. The album debuted and peaked at number 29 on Billboard's country album chart while no song from the album made the singles chart. This was the last album Loveless recorded for Epic Records before the label closed its Nashville division in 2005 and released Loveless from her recording contract.

Recent endeavors[link]

After her release from Sony Nashville, in 2006 Loveless sang a duet with Bob Seger on his Face the Promise album, also collaborating with Solomon Burke on his Nashville album and performing a duet, "Out Of My Mind", with Vince Gill on his album These Days. This was their first recorded duet since "My Kind of Woman, My Kind of Man", which they recorded in 1998.