One of contemporary Christian music's biggest stars during the 1980s, singer Kathy Troccoli was born in Brooklyn, New York on June 24, 1958. She performed her first concert while in junior high, delivering a set of Carole King songs at her school's talent show; she became interested in CCM during the late '70s, and in 1982 issued her debut LP, Stubborn Love, on Reunion Records, a label formed specifically to release her music. Although some pundits declared Troccoli's smoky voice too "sexy" for Christian audiences, the album became the fastest-selling debut ever by a female CCM artist; however, after just two more releases, 1984's Heart & Soul and 1986's Images, she quit the music industry, moving back to Long Island after six years in Nashville. Some time later Troccoli resurfaced as a session vocalist, and in 1991 she released Pure Attraction, her first new album in five years; after signing to RCA, she issued a self-titled 1994 LP, followed a year later by Sounds of Heaven. Love and Mercy appeared in 1997, and a year later she returned with Corner of Eden. Troccoli returned in 1999 with the seasonal effort Sentimental Christmas. She continued recording and was able to release a string of popular solo albums including Love Has a Name in 2000, Heart of Me in 2002, and Comfort in 2005, but hosting television programs and writing books slowed her career in music. That changed in 2015 when the album Better Days arrived and was followed by a supporting tour across the U.S. ~ Jason Ankeny