Country singer-songwriter K.T. Oslin died on Monday, December 21, 2020. She had been suffering from Parkinson’s disease and was recently diagnosed with COVID-19. Oslin was 78 years old.

Oslin was known for songs like “80’s Ladies” and “Come Next Monday,” and became the first woman to win song of the year at the CMA Awards in 1988.

Hailing from Crossett, Arkansas, she was born on May 15, 1942. Oslin majored in drama at Lon Morris College and performed in a folk trio during the earliest days of her career. She moved to New York City and appeared on stage in West Side Story, Hello Dolly, and Promises, Promises.

By 1981 she signed with Elektra Records and released the singles “Clean Your Own Tables” and “Younger Men (Are Startin’ to Catch My Eye).” It wasn’t until ’87 that she saw big success when she released “Wall of Tears” on 80’s Ladies with RCA. That was followed by “80’s Ladies,” which went to No. 7 and won her a Grammy, and the No. 1 hits “Do Ya” and “I’ll Always Come Back.”

Her next album, This Woman, had five hit singles, including the title track and “Hold Me,” the latter of which won her two Grammys. For Love in a Small Town, she released “Come Next Monday,” which became her biggest hit and spent two weeks at No. 1, and “Mary and Willie,” her last Top 40 hit.

By ’90 she retired from touring and three years later, Oslin released a greatest hits album. In the early ‘90s she turned to acting, appearing in The Carol Burnett Show, The Thing Called Love, and Evening Shade.

Oslin returned to singing in ’96 with the album My Roots Are Showing… then five years later she released Live Close By, Visit Often. In 2013 she performed a concert to commemorate the 25th anniversary of 80’s Ladies, a year later she performed at the Grande Ole Opry, and in 2015 Oslin released her last album, Simply.