Patty Lee Ramey
"Patty Loveless"

Patty Lee Ramey (aka Patty Loveless) b 4 Jan 1957 Belcher Holler, Pikeville, Pike Co KY; occupation, country music singer; d/o John Ramey and Naomi Bowling; m. 1976 (divorced 1986) (1) Terry Lovelace. Patty Lee Ramey m. Jan 1989 Gatlinburg, TN to (2) Emory Gordy Jr b 25 Dec 1944 Atlanta GA.

L-R: Roger Ramey, Patty Loveless and Porter Wagoner

Loretta Lynn and Patty Loveless

Dolly Parton and Patty Loveless

Patricia Lee Ramey was born the sixth of seven children to John and Naomi Ramey outside of Pikeville, Kentucky on 4 January 1957. Although born in Pikeville, the family lived in a small town nearby named Belcher Holler[3] where her father was a coal miner.

Patricia 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, Dotty 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 Dotty and Roger to Fort Knox in 1969, and hearing her sister perform on stage, Patricia Ramey decided that she would like to become a performer as well.

When her sister Dotty married in 1969 and quit performing, Roger Ramey convinced Patricia to perform onstage for the first time at a small country jamboree in Louisville. 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.

Patricia Ramey joined her brother Roger and started singing together at several clubs in Louisville Kentucky, under the name "Singin' Swingin' Rameys". 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.

Emory Gordy, Jr., born December 25, 1944, in Atlanta, Georgia, is a Grammy Award- winning musician and music producer. Since 1989, he has been married to country music artist Patty Loveless. Gordy was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1992. His wife joined him in the Hall of Fame in 2005.