Kathy Chiavola

Born in Chicago, Illinois, USA, the country singer Chiavola—pronounced “key ah vo lah”—quickly drew notice after settling in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Early 1993 brought a wave of enthusiastic notices for her first record, which marked a decisive turn from her initial efforts as an opera performer toward a far more successful country direction. One such notice, appearing in Folk Roots, observed that “Not often one finds such poise, power or purity in a voice committed to the world of contemporary country.” The recording in question, Labor Of Love, mixed well-known material such as Buddy Holly’s “Well All Right,” Peter Rowan’s “A Woman In Love” and the Elvis Presley hit “A Fool Such As I” with songs by lesser-known writers and artists. The sole original piece, the title track, stood as a graceful and respectful tribute to Chiavola’s mother. Listeners responded especially to the album’s wide-ranging tastes, a quality that prompted Robert Oermann of The Tennessean to remark, “She has the unusual ability to ‘cry’ like a country star, moan like a blues mama and maintain the clarity and purity of tone of a folk soprano, often all in the same song.” Her next release, the 1996 bluegrass and acoustic collection The Harvest, featured appearances by Chet Atkins, Emmylou Harris, Bela Fleck, Bill Monroe and Vince Gill. On the sessions she worked with world champion fiddle player Randy Howard, mandolinist Brent Truitt and acoustic bassist Roy Huskey. Following Howard’s death from cancer in June 1999, Chiavola dedicated the album From Where I Stand to his memory.