Angaleena Presley Reveals How She Got Patty Loveless to Sing on Her New Album

Angaleena Presley's new debut album, 'American Middle Class,' is a dream come true for multiple reasons, including a duet with one of her lifelong musical heroes. The songstress is joined by Patty Loveless on the title cut of the record.

"I grew up loving her. We met through Miranda [Lambert]," Presley tells Billboard. "They had toured together in Switzerland. She came out to a Pistol Annies show in Atlanta, and we clicked instantly -- like we were kindred spirits."

The 38-year-old recalls the moment Loveless agreed to sing on 'American Middle Class.'

"I was at her house one weekend, cooking and singing, and I played her the rough of the record," Presley shares. "She gravitated toward 'American Middle Class.' She said it was kind of a modern-day 'Coal Miner's Daughter.' I asked her to sing on it, and she did. It's my story of how I grew up -- right at poverty's door. We were going to fake it 'til we make it."

Presley is, fittingly, also joined on the song by her father, Jimmy, a former coal miner. The song is an aching tribute to the difficulties and joys of her own childhood.

"My mom would cut the little Keds signs and hot-glue them to dollar store shoes so her daughter had Keds, and she could hold her head up and be proud until you have something to be proud of," Presley recounts. "It works. I'm so proud my parents had that work ethic. They pushed me. They made me go to college, and then I got my degree and said, 'Here, Mom. I'm going to Nashville.' But I have all these stories to write about, and I definitely wouldn't have as many to write about if they hadn't forced me to grow up before I came here.''

The Kentucky native says the entire record is a glimpse into her own personal life.

“It’s like my autobiography -- each of the songs is a chapter of my life. I’ve literally lived every minute of this record,” she notes. “My mama ain’t none too happy about me spreading my business around, but I have to do it. It’s the experience of my life from birth to now.”

'American Middle Class' is available now through iTunes and Amazon.