Born in 1932, Loretta Lynn quickly established herself as a force to be reckoned with in the country music world. Releasing 60 albums and over 160 writing credits, Mrs. Lynn’s legacy is one that will not soon be forgotten. Loretta once said, “to make it in this business, you either have to be first, great, or different. And I was the first to ever go into Nashville, singin’ it like the women lived it.”
In 1960, at just twenty-eight years old, Loretta released her first single, “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl” and received her first Billboard Award as #4 Most Promising Female Artist. The very next year, she won that very same award. Her first Billboard was the beginning of what would eventually turn into Ms. Lynn being the most awarded female country artist ever; winning over 50 different nominations including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019 (the first female to ever win) and a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013 (only the second country music singer to ever receive the honor).
“Before I was singing, I cleaned house; I took in laundry; I picked b“Before I was singing, I cleaned house; I took in laundry; I picked berries. I worked seven days a week. I was a housewife and mother for 15 years before I was an entertainer. And it wasn’t like being a housewife today. It was doing hand laundry on a board and cooking on an old coal stove. I grew a garden and canned what I grew. That’s what’s real. I know how to survive.”
Growing up in a remote part of the Appalachians in Kentucky, Loretta was the daughter of a coal miner. Growing up in poverty in a mountain cabin alongside seven brothers and sisters, music was a constant in her home. Loretta recalls, “I thought everybody sang, because everybody up there in Butcher Holler did. Everybody in my family sang. So I really didn’t understand until I left Butcher Holler that there were some people who couldn’t. And it was kind of a shock.”
At just 15 years old, Loretta married Oliver “Doolittle” Lynn. Lovingly referred to as “Doo,” her husband was also just a kid- a 21-year-old war veteran with a bit of a reputation. Eventually, the couple moved away from Kentucky to the opposite side of the country to the far northwest corner of Washington state. Within the first six years of marriage, Loretta and Doo had four kids and two more, twins, on the way. Feeling isolated from everything she had ever known and the stress of raising six children, Loretta turned to music as her creative outlet.
One day, Doo heard Loretta singing during chores and decided that she was just as good as anyone he had heard on the radio. Wanting to support his wife, he purchased a guitar and encouraged her to learn how to play and write songs. Not knowing that there were unspoken boundaries to what country music songs talked about, Loretta wrote about her life and real experiences she had up to that point. Her songs were straightforward and raw, unlike any other songs at that time. Doo continued to push Loretta in her musical endeavors and assisted in her pursuit of performing at area nightclubs where she was eventually seen by executives from Zero Records. Soon after her discovery, Loretta was recording her first song which quickly put her on the map.
With more than 60 years of recording and touring, Loretta Lynn has been hailed as the Queen of Country Music. The self-taught guitarist and singer became, to this day, one of the most distinctive performers in Nashville throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s. “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “Don’t Come Home A’ Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind)” and “Louisianna Woman, Mississippi Man” (featuring Conway Twitty) are just three of 24 country No. 1 singles Loretta gained throughout her career.
Loretta Lynn will forever be remembered as an amazing sister, wife, mother, and one of the most influential female country artists in the history of the genre.
In Memory of Loretta Lynn 1932-2022
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