Kathy Mattea, Coal Tattoo

Kathy Mattea sings Coal Tattoo @ Joes Pub in NYC

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Kathy
• Mattea
• Joes
• Pub
• Coal
• Tattoo

[celticchrys]

She is _always_ excellent live, or at least the half-dozen times I've seen her. Always has excellent players in her band.

[neckindaho93]

native of west virginia

[Tony2581]

As mentioned by another commenter, "Coal Tattoo" was written in 1964 by the incomparable Billy Edd Wheeler, another West Virginian. In fact, Kathy included two of Billy Edd's other brilliant coal mining songs on her album "Coal": "Red-Winged Blackbird" & "The Coming of the Roads".

As mentioned by other commenters, both Chuck Ragan and the Fenians do powerful versions of "Coal Tattoo". Other great versions have been performed by Steve Goodman, Hazel Dickens, Red Molly & Laurie MacAllister

[zaggerzigger]

Great song. First heard on Bob Harris Country

[tomagregg]

Great song-good sound,except for the two glitches in the beginning- Amateur hr. on the camera .

[OrlanKruegler561]

Rip the audio from this vid at tubepull doht cohm.

[BRANSCOMBEx]

:): )

Nice version!

Check out my acoustic version.. I changed it up and think its sounds upbeat.

Let me know what you think, YouTube :)

[waldo2358]

My brother rented a hunting cabin to her favorite uncle, back in the W.Va. 70's. The uncle then lamented his favorite niece, their first in college, as she intended to leave school and head off to Nashville. May all the gods bless her courage.

I saw her last summer, and she was the only one at the festival who 'manned' her own CD booth. She loved to meet her fans. She and Fred had an extra-long conversation.

She done good. Real good.

[brynkelly]

so so so good. when are you coming back to joe's pub? NYC misses you!

[DC7077]

Kathy is, alas, WELL out of her 40s <LOL>.  Just still gorgeous.

[fanchbrezoneg]

@keithsmd - Hum !

[keithsmd]

@fanchbrezoneg

Judy Collins's Town Hall version is certainly wonderful, but I've got to give the nod to Mattea. In a way the comparison is unfair to Collins, though, because Ms. Mattea is, I believe, in her 40's, and Ms. Collins was still in her early 20's at the time of her Town Hall recording. The more the artist has lived the better she can understand and interpret a song like "Coal Tattoo."