Kathleen Troccoli (; born June 24, 1958) is an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, author, and speaker. Early life and family Born in Brooklyn, New York, Troccoli was raised in Islip Terrace, Long Island, New York, where she graduated from East Islip High School. Her father died of colon cancer when she was 15; her mother died of breast cancer in 1991, shortly before the release of her album Pure Attraction and its mainstream chart selection, "Everything Changes". Troccoli was raised in a Catholic family, which was not particularly religious. As of 1998, she was a practicing Roman Catholic, but currently identifies as a non-denominational Christian. As of 2020, she continues to sing, speak and minister to the Church worldwide. Musical career After graduating from high school, Troccoli studied jazz and opera at the Berklee College of Music in Boston for a year, then returned to Long Island to major in voice at Suffolk County Community College (SCCC) also singing with a SCCC-based jazz band and later singing in Long Island clubs. In the summer of 1978, while working a "day job" to help cover her college expenses, Troccoli formed a friendship with a born again Christian co-worker; this led to Troccoli herself becoming a devout Christian. Troccoli's alto voice gained prominence when she opened for Ed Nalle's group, GLAD, when the group performed at the Long Island church Troccoli attended in 1980. Approximately six months afterwards, Nalle invited Troccoli to record a demo tape, with his band's backing, and Kathy accepted. After she and GLAD had recorded it, the tape was submitted to Michael Blanton and Dan Harrell (Amy Grant's brother-in-law); these two, as a result of hearing it, formed the Reunion Records label, in Nashville, specifically to record Troccoli, and Kathy herself, in turn, moved to Nashville to reside with Harrell and his family. Troccoli's debut album, the 1982 release Stubborn Love, was reportedly the best-selling debut album by a contemporary Christian music female artist. A second album, Heart and Soul, was released in 1984; it led to her receiving her first Grammy nomination a year later, in 1986, in which year Images followed it. Troccoli then withdrew from her musical career returning to Long Island for a six-year sojourn, giving singing lessons and sang at weddings. In 1989, Troccoli was prominently featured on the selection "I'll Be Your Shelter", a Diane Warren-penned song which Taylor Dayne