DESCRIPTION:
Country : Patty Lee Ramey was born the sixth of seven children to John and Naomie Ramey outside of Pikeville, Kentucky on 4th January 1957. Although born in Pikeville, the family lived in Elkhorn City, Kentucky where her father was a coal miner (Patty Is a distance cousin to Loretta Lynn and Crystal Gayle)

Patty'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). Patty would attend Fairdale Jr. High school for two years, and Fairdale High for four, graduating in 1975.

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 decided that she would like to become a performer as well It was her brother Roger who initially took Patty 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.


The Wilburn Brothers listened to Patty 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 agreed
.Between 1973 and 1975 Patty 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 Patty 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 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