Kostas
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| Kostas | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Kostas Lazarides[1] |
| Origin | Greece |
| Genre(s) | Country |
| Occupation(s) | singer-songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
| Years active | 1989-present? |
| Label(s) | Liberty |
| Associated acts | Patty Loveless Dwight Yoakam |
Kostas (born Kostas Lazarides[1]) is an American country music songwriter, identified only by his first name.[2] To date, he has written for several country music artists, including Dwight Yoakam, Patty Loveless, and Travis Tritt, and has won eleven awards from Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI).[3] In addition, he recorded one album, entitled XS in Moderation, on Liberty Records in 1994.
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[edit] Biography
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Kostas Lazarides was born in the country of Greece. While he was seven years old, he and his family moved to the United States, taking up residence in Montana.[2] At some point in his life, Lazarides began identifying himself by the singular name Kostas, by which he would come to be known.[2]
[edit] Musical career
In the 1980s, Kostas performed in Montana as a pop singer and songwriter. Eventually, he was discovered by record producer Tony Brown, who was searching for new material for country singer Patty Loveless. Kostas's first cut as a songwriter, "Timber, I'm Falling in Love", was recorded by Loveless; released as a single in 1989, it went to Number One on the Billboard country charts, becoming Loveless's first Number One hit.[3] She would also release three more of his songs as singles: "The Lonely Side of Love" (1989), "On Down the Line" (1990), and "Blame It On Your Heart" (1994). "Blame It on Your Heart" also earned BMI's Robert J. Burton award for being the most performed single of 1994.[4]
Dwight Yoakam also recorded several songs written by Kostas, including "Nothing's Changed Here", "Turn It On, Turn It Up, Turn Me Loose", and "Send a Message to My Heart" (a duet with Loveless), all of which were released as singles from Yoakam's 1990 album If There Was a Way.[2] Yoakam's 1993 album, This Time, included another song co-written by Kostas: the single "Ain't That Lonely Yet", which earned Yoakam a Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance - Male in 1994.[2] During the early 1990s, Kostas also wrote singles for McBride & the Ride, Travis Tritt, Holly Dunn, Martina McBride, and The Mavericks.[2][3]
In 1994, Kostas signed to Liberty Records as a recording artist. His only album, XS in Moderation, was released that year.[2] The album, which included his own renditions of the singles that he had written, was part of a special songwriters' series by Liberty.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Davis, John T.. "Not theirs for a song: Songwriters find Nashville, let alone Austin, tough turf to ply their trade" (HTML), The Austin American-Statesman, 1994-10-06. Retrieved on 2008-04-06.
- ^ a b c d e f g Simons, David (May 1994). "Made in Montana: Kostas Is A Hitmaking Machine From Way Up North". New Country 1 (3): 20–21. ISSN 1074-536X.
- ^ a b c The Songs of Kostas
- ^ BMI.com | Country Songwriter Kostas Performs for Montana Broadcasters
