Jump to content

Loretta Lynn

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Loretta Lynch.

Loretta Lynn
Publicity photo, 1965
Born
Loretta Webb

(1932-04-14)April 14, 1932
Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedOctober 4, 2022(2022-10-04) (aged 90)
Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, U.S.
Resting placeHurricane Mills, Tennessee
OccupationSinger-songwriter
Years active1960–2022
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1948; died 1996)​
Children6, including The Lynns
Relatives
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Labels
Websitelorettalynn.com

Loretta Lynn (née Webb; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "Hey Loretta", "The Pill", "Blue Kentucky Girl", "Love Is the Foundation", "You're Lookin' at Country", "You Ain't Woman Enough", "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl", "Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind)", "One's on the Way", "Fist City", and "Coal Miner's Daughter". The 1980 musical film Coal Miner's Daughter was based on her life.

Lynn received many awards and other accolades for her groundbreaking role in country music, including awards from both the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music (ACM) as a duet partner and an individual artist. She was nominated 18 times for a Grammy Award and won three times.[1] As of 2022, Lynn was the most awarded female country recording artist and the only female ACM Artist of the Decade (the 1970s). Lynn scored 24 No. 1 hit singles and 11 number-one albums. She ended 57 years of touring on the road after she suffered a stroke in 2017 and broke her hip in 2018.[2]

Early life and career

[edit]

Lynn was born Loretta Webb in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, on April 14, 1932.[3] She was the oldest daughter and second child born to Clara Marie "Clary" (née Ramey; May 5, 1912 – November 24, 1981) and Melvin Theodore "Ted" Webb (June 6, 1906 – February 22, 1959). Ted was a coal miner and subsistence farmer.[4] The family claims Cherokee heritage on Lynn's mother's side, but have not been officially recognized by that tribe.[5] She was named after the film star Loretta Young.[6] The other Webb children were:

Childhood home of Loretta Lynn in Kentucky

Loretta's father Ted died at the age of 52 from a stroke four years after relocating with her mother and younger siblings to Wabash, Indiana. He had also been battling black lung disease at the time of his death.[13]

Through her matriline, Lynn was distant cousins with country singer Patty Loveless.[14]

Career

[edit]

1960–1966: Early country success

[edit]
Lynn in 1962

Lynn began singing in local clubs in the late 1950s. She later formed her own band, the Trailblazers which included her brother Jay Lee Webb. Lynn won a wristwatch in a televised talent contest in Tacoma, Washington, hosted by Buck Owens. Lynn's performance was seen by Canadian Norm Burley of Zero Records, who co-founded the record company after hearing Loretta sing.[15]

Zero Records president, Canadian Don Grashey, arranged a recording session in Hollywood, where four of Lynn's compositions were recorded, including "I'm A Honky Tonk Girl," "Whispering Sea," "Heartache Meet Mister Blues," and "New Rainbow." Her first release featured "Whispering Sea" and "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl". Lynn signed her first contract on February 2, 1960, with Zero. Her album was recorded at United Western Recorders in Hollywood, engineered by Don Blake and produced by Grashey.[16][17] Musicians who played on the songs were steel guitar player Speedy West,[18] fiddler Harold Hensley, guitarist Roy Lanham, Al Williams on bass, and Muddy Berry on drums.[19][user-generated source?] Lynn commented on the different sound of her first record: "Well, there is a West Coast sound that is definitely not the same as the Nashville sound [...] It was a shuffle with a West Coast beat".[18]

The Lynns toured the country to promote the release to country stations,[15] while Grashey and Del Roy took the music to KFOX in Long Beach, California.[17] When the Lynns reached Nashville, the song was a hit, climbing to No. 14 on Billboard's Country and Western chart, and Lynn began cutting demo records for the Wilburn Brothers Publishing Company. Through the Wilburns, she secured a contract with Decca Records.[15] The first Loretta Lynn Fan Club formed in November 1960. By the end of the year, Billboard magazine listed Lynn as the No. 4 Most Promising Country Female Artist.[20]

Lynn's relationship with the Wilburn Brothers and her appearances on the Grand Ole Opry, beginning in 1960,[21] helped Lynn become the No. 1 female recording artist in country music. Her contract with the Wilburn Brothers gave them the publishing rights to her material. She unsuccessfully fought the Wilburn Brothers for 30 years to regain the publishing rights to her songs after ending her business relationship with them. Lynn stopped writing music in the 1970s because of the contracts. Lynn joined the Grand Ole Opry on September 25, 1962.[4]

Lynn credited Patsy Cline as her mentor and best friend during her early years in music. In 2010, when interviewed for Jimmy McDonough's biography of Tammy Wynette, Tammy Wynette: Tragic Country Queen, Lynn said of having best friends in Patsy and Tammy during different times: "Best friends are like husbands. You only need one at a time."[22]

Lynn released her first Decca single, "Success", in 1962, and it went straight to No. 6, beginning a string of top 10 singles that would run throughout the 1970s. Lynn's music began to regularly hit the Top 10 after 1964 with songs such as "Before I'm Over You", which peaked at No. 4, followed by "Wine, Women and Song", which peaked at No. 3. In late 1964, she recorded a duet album with Ernest Tubb. Their lead single, "Mr. and Mrs. Used to Be", peaked within the Top 15. The pair recorded two more albums, Singin' Again (1967) and If We Put Our Heads Together (1969). In 1965, her solo career continued with three major hits, "Happy Birthday", "Blue Kentucky Girl" (later recorded and made a Top 10 hit in the 1970s by Emmylou Harris), and "The Home You're Tearing Down". Lynn's label issued two albums that year, Songs from My Heart and Blue Kentucky Girl.[23]

Lynn's first self-penned song to crack the Top 10, 1966's "Dear Uncle Sam", was among the first recordings to recount the human costs of the Vietnam War.[4] Her 1966 hit "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)" made Lynn the first country female recording artist to write a No. 1 hit.[24]

1967–1980: Breakthrough success

[edit]

In 1967, Lynn released the single "Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind)",[25] It was her second number one country hit.[26]

Lynn's next album, Fist City, was released in 1968. The title track became Lynn's third No. 1 hit, as a single earlier that year, and the other single from the album, "What Kind of a Girl (Do You Think I Am)", peaked within the top 10. In 1968, her next studio album, Your Squaw Is on the Warpath, spawned two Top 5 Country hits, including the title track and "You've Just Stepped In (From Stepping Out on Me)". In 1969, her next single, "Woman of the World (Leave My World Alone)", was Lynn's fourth chart-topper, followed by a subsequent Top 10, "To Make a Man (Feel Like a Man)". Her song "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)", was an instant hit and became one of Lynn's all-time most popular. Her career continued to be successful into the 1970s, especially following the success of her autobiographical hit "Coal Miner's Daughter", which peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Chart in 1970. The song became her first single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 83. She had a series of singles that charted low on the Hot 100 between 1970 and 1975. In 1978, she became a special guest star on The Muppet Show. The song "Coal Miner's Daughter" later served as the impetus for her bestselling autobiography (1976) and the Oscar-winning biopic, both of which share the song's title.[27]

In 1973, "Rated "X"" peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Chart and was considered one of Lynn's most controversial hits. The following year, her next single, "Love Is the Foundation", also became a No. 1 country hit from her album of the same name. The second and last single from that album, "Hey Loretta", became a Top 5 hit. Lynn continued to reach the Top 10 until the end of the decade, including 1975's "The Pill", one of the first songs to discuss birth control. Many of Lynn's songs were autobiographical, and as a songwriter, Lynn felt no topic was off limits, as long as it was relatable to women.[28] In 1976, she released her autobiography, Coal Miner's Daughter, with the help of writer George Vecsey. It became a bestseller, with more than 8 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list.[29]

Professional partnership with Conway Twitty

[edit]
David Barnes, Conway Twitty and Lynn in 1979

In 1971, Lynn began a professional partnership with Conway Twitty. As a duo, Lynn and Twitty had five consecutive No. 1 hits between 1971 and 1975, including "After the Fire Is Gone" (1971), which won them a Grammy award; "Lead Me On" (1971); "Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man" (1973); "As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone" (1974); and "Feelins'" (1974). For four consecutive years, 1972–1975, Lynn and Twitty were named the "Vocal Duo of the Year" by the Country Music Association. The Academy of Country Music named them the "Best Vocal Duet" in 1971, 1974, 1975, and 1976. The American Music awards selected them as the "Favorite Country Duo" in 1975, 1976, and 1977. The fan-voted Music City News readers voted them the No. 1 duet every year between 1971 and 1981, inclusive. In addition to their five No. 1 singles, they had seven other Top 10 hits between 1976 and 1981.[30]

As a solo artist, Lynn continued her success in 1971, achieving her fifth No. 1 solo hit, "One's on the Way", written by poet and songwriter Shel Silverstein. She also charted with "I Wanna Be Free", "You're Lookin' at Country", and 1972's "Here I Am Again", all released on separate albums. The next year, she became the first country star on the cover of Newsweek.[31] In 1972, Lynn was the first woman to be nominated and win Entertainer of the Year at the CMA awards. She won the Female Vocalist of the Year and Duo of the Year with Conway Twitty, beating out George Jones and Tammy Wynette and Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton.[32]

Tribute album for Patsy Cline, other projects, and honors

[edit]

In 1977, Lynn recorded I Remember Patsy, an album dedicated to her friend, singer Patsy Cline, who died in a plane crash in 1963. The album covered some of Cline's biggest hits. The two singles Lynn released from the album, "She's Got You" and "Why Can't He Be You", became hits. "She's Got You", which went to No. 1 by Cline in 1962 and went to No. 1 again by Lynn. "Why Can't He Be You" peaked at No. 7. Lynn had her last No. 1 hit in 1978 with "Out of My Head and Back in My Bed".[23]

In 1979, Lynn had two Top 5 hits, "I Can't Feel You Anymore" and "I've Got a Picture of Us on My Mind", from separate albums.[33]

Lynn on tour in 1975

Devoted to her fans, Lynn told the editor of Salisbury, Maryland's newspaper the reason she signed hundreds of autographs: "These people are my fans... I'll stay here until the very last one wants my autograph. Without these people, I am nobody. I love these people." In 1979, she became the spokesperson for Procter & Gamble's Crisco Oil. Because of her dominant hold on the 1970s, Lynn was named the "Artist of the Decade" by the Academy of Country Music. She is the only woman to have won this honor.[34]

Lynn became a part of the country music scene in Nashville in the 1960s. In 1967, she had the first of 16 No. 1 hits, out of 70 charted songs as a solo artist and a duet partner.[35] Her later hits include "Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind)", "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)", "Fist City", and "Coal Miner's Daughter".[36]

Lynn focused on women's issues with themes about philandering husbands and persistent mistresses. Her music was inspired by issues she faced in her marriage. She increased the boundaries in the conservative genre of country music by singing about birth control ("The Pill"), repeated childbirth ("One's on the Way"), double standards for men and women ("Rated 'X'"), and being widowed by the draft during the Vietnam War ("Dear Uncle Sam").[37]

Country music radio stations often refused to play her music and in a 1987 interview she said eight of her songs had been banned.[38]

Her bestselling 1976 autobiography, Coal Miner's Daughter, was made into an Academy Award–winning film with the same title in 1980, starring Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones. Spacek won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as Lynn. Lynn's album Van Lear Rose, released in 2004, was produced by the alternative rock musician Jack White. Lynn and White were nominated for five Grammys and won two.[39][40]

Lynn received numerous awards in country and American music. She was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983, the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008. She was honored in 2010 at the Country Music Awards. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2013.[41] Lynn was a member of the Grand Ole Opry since joining on September 25, 1962. Her debut appearance on the Grand Ole Opry was on October 15, 1960. Lynn recorded 70 albums including 54 studio albums, 15 compilation albums, and a tribute album.[42][unreliable source?][43]

1980–1989: Movie and popularity

[edit]

On March 5, 1980, the film Coal Miner's Daughter debuted in Nashville and soon became the No. 1 box office hit in the United States. The film starred Sissy Spacek as Loretta and Tommy Lee Jones as her husband, Doolittle "Mooney" Lynn. The film received seven Academy Award nominations, winning the Best Actress Oscar for Spacek, a gold album for the soundtrack album, a Grammy nomination for Spacek, Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music awards, and several Golden Globe awards. The 1980s featured more hits, including "Pregnant Again", "Naked in the Rain", and "Somebody Led Me Away".[31] Lynn's last Top 10 record as a soloist was 1982's "I Lie", but her releases continued to chart until the end of the decade.[23]

One of her last solo releases was "Heart Don't Do This to Me" (1985), which reached No. 19, her last Top 20 hit. Her 1985 album Just a Woman spawned a Top 40 hit. In 1987, Lynn lent her voice to a song on k.d. lang's album Shadowland with country stars Kitty Wells and Brenda Lee, "Honky Tonk Angels Medley". The album was certified gold and was Grammy nominated for the four women. Lynn's 1988 album Who Was That Stranger would be her last solo album for MCA, which she parted ways with in 1989.[44] She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988.[45]

1990–2004: Return to country and second autobiography

[edit]

Lynn returned to the public eye in 1993 with a hit album, the trio album Honky Tonk Angels, recorded with Dolly Parton and Tammy Wynette.[46] The album peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Country charts and No. 42 on the Billboard Pop charts and charted a single with "Silver Threads and Golden Needles". The album sold more than 800,000 copies and was certified gold in the United States and Canada. The trio was nominated for Grammy and Country Music Association awards. Lynn released a three-CD boxed set chronicling her career on MCA Records. In 1995, she taped a seven-week series on the Nashville Network (TNN), Loretta Lynn & Friends.[47]

In 1995, Loretta was presented with the Pioneer Award at the 30th Academy of Country Music Awards.[48] In 1996, Lynn's husband, Oliver Vanetta "Doolittle" Lynn, died five days short of his 70th birthday. In 2000, Lynn released her first album in several years, Still Country, in which she included "I Can't Hear the Music", a tribute song to her late husband. She released her first new single in more than 10 years from the album, "Country in My Genes". The single charted on the Billboard Country singles chart and made Lynn the first woman in country music to chart singles in five decades. In 2002, Lynn published her second autobiography, Still Woman Enough, and it became her second New York Times Best Seller, peaking in the top 10. In 2004, she published a cookbook, You're Cookin' It Country.[49]

2004–2022: Late career resurgence

[edit]
Lynn performing at South by Southwest in 2016

In 2004, Lynn released Van Lear Rose, the second album on which Lynn either wrote or co-wrote every song. Produced by Jack White of The White Stripes, the album featured guitar and backup vocals by White. The collaboration garnered Lynn high praise from the mainstream and alternative rock music press, such as Spin and Blender.[50] Rolling Stone voted it the second best album of 2004, and it won the Grammy Award for Best Country Album of the Year.[51]

Late in 2010, Sony Music released a new compilation album, Coal Miner's Daughter: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn, featuring stars like Reba McEntire, Faith Hill, Paramore, and Carrie Underwood performing Lynn's classic hits spanning 50 years. The album produced a Top 10 hit music video on Great American Country of the single "Coal Miner's Daughter", featuring Lynn, Miranda Lambert and Sheryl Crow. The track cracked the Billboard singles chart, making Lynn the only female country artist to chart in six decades. Lynn's concerts during this period included performances at the Nelsonville Music Festival in Nelsonville, Ohio, in May 2010,[52] and at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival on June 11, 2011.[53] In 2012, Lynn published her third autobiography, Honky Tonk Girl: My Life in Lyrics.[54] She also contributed "Take Your Gun and Go, John" to Divided & United: Songs of the Civil War, released on November 5, 2013.[55]

In November 2015, Lynn announced the completion of a new album, Full Circle. Released in March 2016, the album debuted at No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 200[56] and went on to become Lynn's 40th album to make the Top 10 on Billboard's best selling country chart. It featured a combination of new songs and classics, and duets with Elvis Costello and Willie Nelson.[57]

Lynn's holiday album White Christmas Blue was released in October 2016.[58] In December of the same year, Full Circle was nominated for Country Album of the Year in the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.[59]

Following Full Circle, the album Wouldn't It Be Great was released by Legacy Recordings in September 2018 after being delayed by health issues, which had caused Lynn to cancel all of her scheduled tour dates in 2017.[60][61] Lynn was named Artist of a Lifetime by CMT in 2018.[62] On October 19, 2019, Lifetime aired the movie Patsy & Loretta which highlighted the friendship of Lynn and Patsy Cline.[63]

On March 19, 2021, Lynn released her 50th studio album Still Woman Enough, the fourth album of her deal with Legacy Recordings. Recorded in sessions at Cash Cabin in Tennessee, it features Carrie Underwood and Reba McEntire on the title track, alongside duets with Tanya Tucker and Margo Price on re-recordings of "You Ain't Woman Enough" and "One's on the Way", respectively.[64]

Personal life

[edit]

Marriage

[edit]

On January 10, 1948, 15-year-old Loretta Webb married 21-year-old Oliver Vanetta Lynn (August 27, 1926 – August 22, 1996), better known as "Doolittle", "Doo", or "Mooney".[65] They had met only a month earlier. The Lynns left Kentucky and moved to the northwest Washington state logging community of Custer when Lynn was seven months pregnant with the first of their six children.[5] The happiness and heartache of her early years of marriage would help to inspire Lynn's songwriting.[16] They were married for almost 50 years until his death in 1996 at age 69. In her 2002 autobiography, Still Woman Enough, and in an interview with CBS News the same year, she recounted how her husband cheated on her regularly and once left her while she was giving birth.[28] Lynn stated she and her husband fought frequently, but that "he never hit me one time that I didn't hit him back twice." Loretta said that her marriage was "one of the hardest love stories".[66][page needed] In one of her autobiographies, she recalled:

I married Doo when I wasn't but a child, and he was my life from that day on. But as important as my youth and upbringing was, there's something else that made me stick to Doo. He thought I was something special, more special than anyone else in the world, and never let me forget it. That belief would be hard to shove out the door. Doo was my security, my safety net. And just remember, I'm explainin', not excusin'... Doo was a good man and a hard worker. But he was an alcoholic, and it affected our marriage all the way through.[67]

Children

[edit]

Loretta and her husband had six children together. Their eldest daughter, Betty Sue, was born on November 26, 1948, and died of complications associated with emphysema on July 29, 2013.[68][69] Second child and eldest son Jack Benny Lynn, born December 7, 1949, was found dead by drowning on July 24, 1984, after going missing while horse riding on his mother's Hurricane Mills ranch.[70][71] Their third and fourth children are Ernest Ray Lynn, born May 27, 1951, and Clara Marie "Cissie" Lynn, born less than a year later on April 7, 1952.[72] Their youngest children, twin daughters Peggy Jean and Patsy Eileen, were born on August 6, 1964; they are named after Lynn's sister, Peggy Sue Wright, and her friend, Patsy Cline.[72] Patsy's daughter and Loretta's granddaughter, Emmy Russell, auditioned for season 22 of American Idol, making the cut and earning the golden ticket to Hollywood.[73]

Loretta Lynn's Ranch

[edit]

Lynn owned a ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, known as Loretta Lynn's Ranch. Billed as "the seventh largest attraction in Tennessee",[74] it features a recording studio, museums, lodging, restaurants, and western stores. Traditionally, three holiday concerts are hosted annually at the ranch, Memorial Day Weekend, Fourth of July Weekend, and Labor Day Weekend.[75][76]

Since 1982, the ranch has hosted Loretta Lynn's Amateur Championship motocross race, the largest amateur motocross race of its kind. The ranch also hosts GNCC Racing events. The centerpiece of the ranch is its large plantation home which Lynn once resided in with her husband and children. She had not lived in the antebellum mansion in more than 30 years prior to her death. Lynn regularly greeted fans who were touring the house. A replica of the cabin in which Lynn grew up in Butcher Hollow is one of its main features.[75][77]

Politics

[edit]

At the height of her popularity, some of Lynn's songs were banned from radio airplay, including "Rated "X"", about the double standards divorced women face; "Wings Upon Your Horns", about the loss of teenage virginity; and "The Pill", about a wife and mother becoming liberated by the birth-control pill. Her song "Dear Uncle Sam", released in 1966, during the Vietnam War, describes a wife's anguish at the loss of a husband to war. It was included in her live performances during the Iraq War.[15]

Although Lynn was outspoken about her views on controversial social and political subjects, she saw herself as apolitical, writing in her 1976 autobiography that, "I don't like to talk too much about things where you're going to get one side or the other unhappy....My music has no politics."[78]: 153 

When asked about her position on same-sex marriage by USA Today in November 2010, she replied, "I'm still an old Bible girl. God said you need to be a woman and man, but everybody to their own."[79][80][81] She endorsed[82] and campaigned[83] for George H. W. Bush in the presidential election in 1988.[84]

While a recognized "advocate for ordinary women", Lynn often criticized upper-class feminism for ignoring the needs and concerns of working-class women.[4] She rejected being labeled a feminist,[85] and wrote in her memoir, "I'm not a big fan of women's liberation, but maybe it will help women stand up for the respect they're due."[78]: 56 

In 1971, Lynn performed at the White House, at the invitation of President Richard Nixon. She returned there to perform during the administrations of Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush.[86] In 2002's Still Woman Enough, she discussed her longtime friendship and support for Jimmy Carter.[87]

In 2016, Lynn expressed support for Donald Trump's presidential campaign, stumping for him at the end of each of her shows. She stated, "I just think he's the only one who's going to turn this country around."[88]

Lynn allowed PETA to use her song "I Wanna Be Free" in a public service campaign to discourage the chaining of dogs outdoors in the cold.[89][90]

Health and death

[edit]

Over the years, Lynn suffered from various health concerns, including pneumonia on multiple occasions and a broken arm after a fall at home.[91][92]

In May 2017, Lynn had a stroke at her home in Hurricane Mills. She was taken to a Nashville hospital and as a result had to cancel all of her upcoming tour dates. The release of her album Wouldn't It Be Great was delayed until 2018. On January 1, 2018, Lynn fell and broke her hip.[93][94]

Lynn died in her sleep at her home in Hurricane Mills on October 4, 2022, at the age of 90. No cause of death was immediately given.[95][9][96] She was buried three days later on her Hurricane Mills ranch beside her husband Doolittle.[97]

Awards and achievements

[edit]
Main article: List of awards received by Loretta Lynn

Lynn wrote more than 160 songs and released 60 albums. She had 10 No. 1 albums and 16 No. 1 singles on the country charts. Lynn won three Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, eight Broadcast Music Incorporated awards, 14 Academy of Country Music, eight Country Music Association, and 26 fan-voted Music City News awards. Lynn remains the most awarded woman in country music history.[98][99] She was the first woman in country music to receive a certified gold album for 1967's Don't Come Home a' Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind).[100]

In 1972, Lynn was the first woman named "Entertainer of the Year" by the Country Music Association. In 1980, she was the only woman to be named "Artist of the Decade" for the 1970s by the Academy of Country Music. Lynn was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988[21] and the Country Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1999.[101] She was also the recipient of Kennedy Center Honors, an award given the President of the United States, in 2003. Lynn is ranked 65th on VH1's 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll[102] and was the first female country artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1977.[103] In 1994, she received the country music pioneer award from the Academy of Country Music.[104]

In 2001, "Coal Miner's Daughter" was named among NPR's "100 Most Significant Songs of the 20th Century". In 2002, Lynn had the highest ranking, No. 3, for any living female, in CMT television's special of the 40 Greatest Women of Country Music.[105]

A BMI affiliate for more than 45 years, Lynn was honored as a BMI Icon at the BMI Country Awards on November 4, 2004.[106]

In March 2007, Lynn was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music during her performance at the Grand Ole Opry.[107]

Lynn was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York City in 2008. She received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for her 50 years in country music in 2010.[108]

Lynn was honored for 50 years in country music at the 44th Annual Country Music Awards on November 10, 2010.[109] That same year, Lynn was presented with a rose named in her honor.[110]

Sony Music released a tribute CD to Lynn titled Coal Miner's Daughter: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn in November 2010. The CD features Kid Rock, Reba McEntire, Sheryl Crow, Miranda Lambert, Alan Jackson, Gretchen Wilson, The White Stripes, Martina McBride, Paramore, Steve Earle, and Faith Hill. In 2011, Lynn was nominated for an Academy of Country Music, CMT Video and Country Music Association awards for "Vocal Event of the Year" with Miranda Lambert and Sheryl Crow for "Coal Miner's Daughter", released as a video and single from the CD.[4]

Lynn marked her 50th anniversary as a Grand Ole Opry member on September 25, 2012,[111] and her 60th anniversary in 2022.[112]

Lynn was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama in 2013.[113][114]

Miranda Lambert presented Lynn with the Crystal Milestone Award from the Academy of Country Music.[115] Lynn also received the 2015 Billboard Legacy Award for Women in Music.[116]

In 2016, she was the subject of an American Masters profile documentary Loretta Lynn: Still a Mountain Girl on PBS.[117]

Lynn was named Artist of a Lifetime in 2018 by CMT.[62]

In 2020 a statue of Loretta Lynn was unveiled on the Ryman's Icon Walk.[118]

In 2022 Loretta Lynn was inducted into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame.

In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Lynn at number 132 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.[119]

Discography

[edit]
Main article: Loretta Lynn albums discography
See also: Loretta Lynn singles discography and Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn discography

Studio albums

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Loretta Lynn". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. November 23, 2020. Archived from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  2. ^ "Loretta Lynn Biography". Biography.com. January 9, 2018.
  3. ^ "Loretta Lynn". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on March 10, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2020. Although she claimed 1935 as her birth year, various official documents indicate that she was born in 1932
  4. ^ a b c d e "WELCOME 2017". LorettaLynn.com. Archived from the original on March 21, 2006. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Whiteley, Jenni (October 6, 2017). "Country music star Crystal Gayle coming to Fort Hall Oct. 13". Associated Press News. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  6. ^ "About the Artist: Biography of Loretta Lynn" Archived December 8, 2006, at the Wayback Machine. John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Retrieved February 4, 2007.
  7. ^ a b c Whitson, Waylon; Begley, Justin (October 5, 2022). "Johnson County native and legend Loretta Lynn passes at 90". The Paintsville Herald.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Fox, Courtney (October 4, 2022). "Loretta Lynn's Siblings: Then and Now". Wide Open Country. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  9. ^ a b McArdle, Terence (October 4, 2022). "Loretta Lynn, ever a 'Coal Miner's Daughter,' dies at 90". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  10. ^ Brennan, Sandra (2015). "Peggy Sue Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Archived from the original on May 13, 2015.
  11. ^ Brow, Jason (October 4, 2022). "Loretta Lynn's Siblings: Everything To Know About Country Legend's 7 Brothers & Sisters". hollywoodlife.com.
  12. ^ Friskics-Warren, Bill (October 4, 2022). "Loretta Lynn, Country Music Star and Symbol of Rural Resilience, Dies at 90". The New York Times.
  13. ^ Trott, Bill (October 5, 2022). "Country music star Loretta Lynn dies at age 90". Reuters.
  14. ^ "6 Oct 1989, 102". Tampa Bay Times. October 6, 1989. Retrieved October 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ a b c d "Van Lear Rose" Archived February 6, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 4, 2007.
  16. ^ a b "KochDistribution.com". kochdistribution.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007.
  17. ^ a b "Honky Tonk Make Believe", Don Grashy – Co. Joseph Mauro, "MY RAMBLING HEART" (Washington. DC: 1995), p. 45.
  18. ^ a b Loretta, Lynn (2012). Honky Tonk Girl: My Life in Lyrics. New York: Knopf. pp. 10–11. ISBN 978-0-307-59489-1.
  19. ^ PragueFrank's Country Music Discographies Archived November 6, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, countrydiscography.blogspot.com; May 2011
  20. ^ "Most Promising Female Artists of C&W Jockeys". Billboard. October 31, 1960. p. 26.
  21. ^ a b Loretta Lynn Archived April 23, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Country Music Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 4, 2007.
  22. ^ "Loretta Lynn: Country superstar whose style, courage and panache have made her a legend, plays the Hard Rock Rocksino on Thursday (Commentary)". June 13, 2014. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  23. ^ a b c Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
  24. ^ Loretta Lynn Profile Archived November 5, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Country Music Television website. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
  25. ^ Wolff, Kurt (2000). In Country Music: The Rough Guide. Orla Duane (ed.), London: Rough Guides Ltd. p. 311.
  26. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944–2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 209.
  27. ^ Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Country Music In America. Paul Kingsbury & Alanna Nash (eds.) London: Rough Guides Ltd., 2006, p. 251
  28. ^ a b "Legends: Loretta Lynn Tells All". CBS News. December 27, 2002. Archived from the original on November 2, 2013. Retrieved February 4, 2007. Her autobiography recounts how once, in a drunken rage, he smashed many jars full of vegetables she had painstakingly canned.
  29. ^ Walters, Ray (May 8, 1977). "PAPERBACK TALK". The New York Times.
  30. ^ "Country Music – Music News, New Songs, Videos, Music Shows and Playlists from CMT". Country Music Television. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  31. ^ a b Loretta Lynn biography, Countrypolitan.com. Retrieved April 18, 2008. Archived February 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  32. ^ "CMA Awards: Archive: 1972". Country Music Association Awards. October 9, 2008. Archived from the original on September 24, 2016. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  33. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944–2006, Second edition. Record Research.
  34. ^ Grein, Paul (October 4, 2022). "The Many Times Loretta Lynn Made Awards Show History". Billboard.
  35. ^ "Country Music Music News, New Songs, Videos, Music Shows and Playlists from CMT". Country Music Television. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  36. ^ Coal Miner's Daughter. p. 73.
  37. ^ Thanki, Juli. "20 Most Controversial Songs by Women". Engine 145. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  38. ^ Varga, George (October 4, 2022). "Loretta Lynn, dead at 90, was unapologetic in our 1987 interview: 'I've had eight of my songs banned!'". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  39. ^ "2004 GRAMMY WINNERS|47th Annual GRAMMY Awards". The Recording Academy. January 15, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  40. ^ "Loretta Lynn – Love Is The Foundation". Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  41. ^ Branigin, William (November 20, 2013). "Presidential Medal of Freedom honors diverse group of Americans". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  42. ^ "Discography". LorettaLynn.com. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  43. ^ "Loretta Lynn – Releases – MusicBrainz". musicbrainz.org. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  44. ^ "The Rosters They Are A- Changin'" (PDF). Billboard. June 17, 1989. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 24, 2021. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  45. ^ Loretta Lynn profile, Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
  46. ^ "29 Sep 1993, 18". Ottawa Citizen. September 29, 1993. Retrieved October 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  47. ^ "Looking back at the life and legacy of Loretta Lynn". News Channel 5 Nashville (WTVF). October 4, 2022.
  48. ^ "26 May 1995, Page 100". Orlando Sentinel. May 26, 1995. Retrieved October 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  49. ^ McCarthy, Amy (October 5, 2022). "Late Country Legend Loretta Lynn Was Also One Hell of a Home Cook". Eater.
  50. ^ "Loretta Lynn Recovering From Surgery ". CBS News, June 8, 2006. Retrieved February 4, 2007.
  51. ^ "Winners: 47th Annual Grammy Awards (2004)". Grammy Awards. Recording Academy. Archived from the original on June 1, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
  52. ^ "Past Shows" Stuart's Opera House: Nelsonville, Ohio. Stuart's Opera House: Nelsonville, Ohio, n.d. Web. October 8, 2012.
  53. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Loretta Lynn "Coal Miner's Daughter" Bonnaroo 2011". June 25, 2011. Retrieved September 26, 2021 – via YouTube.
  54. ^ Lynn, Loretta (April 3, 2012). "Honky Tonk Girl: My Life in Lyrics". Nyjournalofbooks.com. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
  55. ^ "Various Artists – Divided & United: Songs of the Civil War Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic.
  56. ^ "Billboard 200 Chart Moves: Loretta Lynn Earns Her Highest Charting Album Ever With 'Full Circle'". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 18, 2016. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  57. ^ "Loretta Lynn on New Album Full Circle: 'We Don't Have Real Country Music Anymore'". Time. Archived from the original on November 19, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  58. ^ Betts, Stephen L. (September 16, 2016). "Loretta Lynn Plans Holiday Album 'White Christmas Blue'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 20, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  59. ^ "Here Is the Complete List of Nominees for the 2017 Grammys". Billboard. December 6, 2016. Archived from the original on December 6, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  60. ^ Tingle, Lauren (April 14, 2017). "Loretta Lynn's Wouldn't It Be Great Arrives Aug. 18". CMT News. Archived from the original on April 17, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  61. ^ "Loretta Lynn: 'Willie Ain't Dead Yet and Neither Am I'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  62. ^ a b "Loretta Lynn to Receive 2018 plCMT Artist of a Lifetime Award". Taste of Country. September 26, 2018. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  63. ^ Houghton, Cillea (October 10, 2019). "Callie Khouri, Megan Hilty, Jessie Mueller Celebrate 'Patsy & Loretta' at Nashville Bow". Variety.
  64. ^ Sodomsky, Sam (January 4, 2021). "Loretta Lynn Announces New Album Still Woman Enough". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  65. ^ "AP: Country singer Loretta Lynn married at 15, not 13". USA Today. May 18, 2012. Archived from the original on August 31, 2013. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  66. ^ Lynn 2002.
  67. ^ Lynn 2002, p. xiii.
  68. ^ Notice of death of Betty Sue Lynn Archived April 8, 2019, at the Wayback Machine, musicrow.com, July 2013. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
  69. ^ "Betty Sue Lynn Dead: Loretta Lynn's Oldest Daughter Dies In Tennessee". HuffPost. July 30, 2013. Archived from the original on April 7, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  70. ^ "A Stricken Coal Miner's Daughter Mourns the Drowning of Her Favorite Son". Peoplemag. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
  71. ^ "A Stricken Coal Miner's Daughter Mourns the Drowning of Her Favorite Son". People. Vol. 22, no. 7. August 13, 1984. Archived from the original on March 16, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  72. ^ a b Weaver, Emily (October 5, 2022). "Loretta Lynn's Children: Everything to Know". People.
  73. ^ "Loretta Lynn's granddaughter Emmy Russell auditions for American Idol inspired by legacy". The Tennessean. February 25, 2024.
  74. ^ "Eamon's tour rockin' good". Daily Mirror. April 13, 2006. Retrieved October 11, 2022 – via The Free Dictionary.
  75. ^ a b "Loretta Lynn official website". LorettaLynn.com. Archived from the original on April 15, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  76. ^ "Loretta Lynn Ranch". Loretta Lynn Ranch. Archived from the original on September 14, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  77. ^ Tuttle, Andrew (July 28, 2014). "A Bit of Loretta Lynn's Motocross History". MotoSports.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  78. ^ a b Lynn, Loretta (September 21, 2010). Loretta Lynn: Coal Miner's Daughter. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
  79. ^ Nash, Alanna (November 4, 2010). "The Once and Future Queen of Country". USA Weekend. Retrieved January 4, 2016. [dead link‍]
  80. ^ Nash, Alanna (November 8, 2010). "The Once and Future Queen of Country". USA Weekend. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020 – via Lorettalyn.com.
  81. ^ Rodenberg, Shawna Kay (June 17, 2021). "Maybe Dolly Is the Goal, but Loretta Is the Truth". Elle. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
  82. ^ Seifert, Erica J. (2012). The Politics of Authenticity in Presidential Campaigns, 1976–2008. McFarland. pp. 108–109. ISBN 9780786491094.
  83. ^ Kilian, Pamela (2003). Barbara Bush: Matriarch of a Dynasty. Macmillan. p. 111. ISBN 9780312319700.
  84. ^ Weinraub, Bernard (September 29, 1988). "Campaign Trail; Country Singers Stand by Their Man". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 19, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  85. ^ Harris, Keith (October 4, 2022). "Loretta Lynn, 'Coal Miner's Daughter' Country Music Icon, Dead at 90". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  86. ^ Sullivan, James (August 10, 2013). "Loretta Lynn on the Presidential Medal of Freedom". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  87. ^ Loretta Lynn, Still Woman Enough: A Memoir (New York: Hyperion, 2002)
  88. ^ Flitter, Emily (January 9, 2016). "Country musician Loretta Lynn to Trump: Call me". Reuters. Archived from the original on January 9, 2016.
  89. ^ "Loretta Helps Furry Friends" Archived September 6, 2012, at archive.today. LorettaLynn.com. October 24, 2005.
  90. ^ "Country Superstars Pipe Up for Dogs in New PETA Ads". HelpingAnimals.com. 2006. Archived from the original on February 6, 2006. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  91. ^ "LYNN IN HOSPITAL". Orlando Sentinel. February 8, 1989.
  92. ^ "Loretta Lynn Hospitalized with Pneumonia, Cancels Shows". Billboard. Associated Press. October 24, 2011.
  93. ^ Thanki, Juli (May 5, 2017). "Loretta Lynn hospitalized after stroke". USA Today. Archived from the original on May 6, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  94. ^ "Loretta Lynn In 'Great Spirits' After Breaking Hip in Fall at Home". People. Archived from the original on January 20, 2018. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  95. ^ @LorettaLynn (October 4, 2022). "A statement from the family of Loretta Lynn. "Our precious mom, Loretta Lynn, passed away peacefully this morning, October 4th, in her sleep at home at her beloved ranch in Hurricane Mills." The family of Loretta Lynn" (Tweet). Archived from the original on October 4, 2022 – via Twitter.
  96. ^ Morris, Chris (October 4, 2022). "Loretta Lynn, Feisty First Lady of Country Music, Dies at 90". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022.
  97. ^ Black, Lauren Jo (October 8, 2022). "Loretta Lynn Laid To Rest On Her Tennessee Ranch: 'I Love You Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow And Always'". Country Now.
  98. ^ "About Loretta Lynn: Still a Mountain Girl". American Masters. PBS. January 11, 2016. Archived from the original on July 26, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  99. ^ Smith, Steve (December 11, 2015). "Steve Smith: Is Rush done after Peart's retirement; Ringo's memorabilia fetches record prices". Los Angeles Daily News. Archived from the original on October 7, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  100. ^ "Johanna's Vision". WordPress. Archived from the original on April 15, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  101. ^ "County Gospel Music Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on July 8, 2011.
  102. ^ 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll Archived May 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. VH1. Retrieved February 4, 2007.
  103. ^ "Hollywood Walk of Fame directory Archived January 4, 2019, at the Wayback Machine". Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved February 4, 2007.
  104. ^ "AWARD TAKES LORETTA LYNN BY SURPRISE". Orlando Sentinel. May 26, 1995.
  105. ^ "40 Greatest Women of Country Music". Twin Music. Archived from the original on August 2, 2013. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  106. ^ "Shania Twain, Toby Keith, Casey Beathard Lead Winners at 2004 BMI Country Awards". bmi.com. November 7, 2004. Archived from the original on November 2, 2010. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
  107. ^ "Honorary doctorate for Loretta Lynn". USA Today. February 14, 2007. Archived from the original on April 14, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  108. ^ "Lifetime Achievement Award". Recording Association online. Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  109. ^ "Country Music Awards". TV Guide. November 4, 2010. Archived from the original on April 19, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
  110. ^ "New Rose Named for Loretta Lynn". Article. Sony Music Nashville. Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
  111. ^ Pacella, Megan (September 26, 2012). "Loretta Lynn Celebrates 50 Years at the Grand Ole Opry". Taste of Country. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  112. ^ Rutland, Joe (September 25, 2022). "Loretta Lynn Reflects on 60th Anniversary of Joining the Grand Ole Opry". Outsider. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  113. ^ Lynn awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom Archived January 29, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, White House. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
  114. ^ "Loretta Lynn on Her Medal of Freedom: 'Isn't That Something?'". Rolling Stone. August 10, 2013. Archived from the original on September 18, 2021. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  115. ^ "Academy of Country Music Special Awards". Academy of Country Music Special Awards. Academy of Country Music. Archived from the original on February 21, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
  116. ^ "Billboard Women in Music 2015: Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez, Missy Elliott & More Are Celebrated". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 2, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
  117. ^ "Loretta Lynn: Still a Mountain Girl". American Masters. PBS. March 2016. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  118. ^ Shelton, Caitlyn (October 20, 2020). "Loretta Lynn statue unveiled on the Ryman's Icon Walk". WZTV. Archived from the original on October 22, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  119. ^ "The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time". Rolling Stone. January 1, 2023. Retrieved April 24, 2023.

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Lynn, Loretta; et al. (2002) [1993], Still Woman Enough: A Memoir, Hyperion, ISBN 0-7868-6650-0.

Further reading

[edit]
  • In the Country of Country: A Journey to the Roots of American Music, Nicholas Dawidoff, Vintage Books, 1998; ISBN 0-375-70082-X
  • Are You Ready for the Country: Elvis, Dylan, Parsons and the Roots of Country Rock, Peter Dogget, Penguin Books, 2001; ISBN 0-14-026108-7
  • Dreaming Out Loud: Garth Brooks, Wynonna Judd, Wade Hayes and the changing face of Nashville, Bruce Feiler, Avon Books, 1998; ISBN 0-380-97578-5
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Loretta Lynn.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Loretta Lynn.
Awards
Preceded by AMA Album of the Year (artist)
2004 		Succeeded by
Preceded by AMA Artist of the Year
2004 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Loretta_Lynn&oldid=1258084786"