Thirty-one years ago today (April 9, 1991) was a day of celebration for Patty Loveless. It was on that date that Loveless earned her first gold album with her 1988 record Honky Tonk Angel.
Patty Loveless Honky Tonk Angel album cover
Honky Tonk Angel was Loveless’ third album; it followed her self-titled freshman record, which was released in 1986, and her sophomore disc, If My Heart Had Windows, which was also released in 1988. Loveless’ sophomore project spawned two Top 10 hits, “If My Heart Had Windows” and “A Little Bit in Love,” the latter of which landed at No. 2, but it was Honky Tonk Angel that gave Loveless her first chart-topping hit, “Timber, I’m Falling in Love.” Another of the album’s singles, “Chains,” also landed at No. 1.
Honky Tonk Angel was later certified platinum, for sales of one million units. Several of the songs from the album, including “Blue Side of Town,” “Don’t Toss Us Away” and “Chains,” are included on Loveless’ 1993 Greatest Hits album. “Timber, I’m Falling in Love” and “Chains” are also included on her 2007 project 16 Biggest Hits.
Also in 1991, Loveless released her fifth and final studio album for MCA Records, Up Against My Heart. She then released eight more albums on Epic Records, a division of Sony Music, and earned several more Top 10 hits, including the chart-topping “Blame It on Your Heart,” from 1993’s Only What I Feel, and “You Can Feel Bad,” from 1996’s The Trouble With the Truth.
But, of all the albums that Loveless released, Honky Tonk Angel and 1994’s When Fallen Angels Fly are the only two that had all of their singles land in the Top 10.
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