Loretta Lynn

Biography

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×Blue Kentucky Girl14 June 1965 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracksA1Blue Kentucky Girl2:42A2Then and Only Then2:24A3I Still Miss Someone2:13A4Night Girl2:45A5Love’s Been Here and Gone2:34A6Farther to Go2:23B1The Race Is On2:25B2I Won’t Forget You2:04B3Two Steps Forward2:11B4Send Me a Pillow That You Dream On1:59B5Beginning of the End2:24B6Today2:01", "Love Is The Foundation×Love Is the Foundation13 August 1973 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1Love Is the Foundation2:31A2What Sundown Does to You2:13A3I Love You, I Love You2:38A4Just to Satisfy (The Weakness in a Man)2:40A5There’s More to Leaving Than Just Saying Goodbye2:32A6Satin Sheets2:32B1Why Me2:38B2Five Fingers Left2:09B3I Gave Everything2:51B4Hey Loretta2:51B5You’re Still Lovin’ Me2:48", "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×Fist City29 April 1968 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1Fist City2:10A2Jackson Ain’t a Very Big Town2:16A3You Didn’t Like My Lovin’1:52A4I’ve Got Texas in My Heart2:14A5You Never Were Mine2:09A6Somebody’s Back in Town2:34B1A Satisfied Mind2:42B2How Long Will It Take2:23B3I Don’t Wanna Play House2:32B4I’m Shootin’ for Tomorrow1:55B5What Kind of Girl (Do You Think I Am?)2:49", and "Coal Miner's Daughter". The 1980 musical film Coal Miner's Daughter was based on her life, in which actress Sissy Spacek portrayed Lynn.
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. 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.

Early life and career

Lynn was born Loretta Webb on April 14, 1932, in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, the oldest daughter and second child of 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. Lynn had one older sibling, Melvin "Junior" Webb (1929–1993), and six younger siblings: Herman Webb (1934–2018), Willie "Jay" Lee Webb (February 12, 1937 – July 31, 1996), Donald Ray Webb (1941–2017), Peggy Sue Wright (née Webb; born March 25, 1943), Betty Ruth Hopkins (née Webb; born 1946), and Crystal Gayle (born Brenda Gail Webb; January 9, 1951). The family claims Cherokee heritage on Lynn's mother's side, but they have not been officially recognized by the tribe. Lynn was named after the film star Loretta Young.

Loretta's father, Ted, died at age 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.
Through her matriline, Lynn was a distant cousin of country singer Patty Loveless.

1960–1966: Early country success

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.
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. Musicians who played on the songs were steel guitar player Speedy West, fiddler Harold Hensley, guitarist Roy Lanham, Al Williams on bass, and Muddy Berry on drums. 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".
The Lynns toured the country to promote the release to country stations, while Grashey and Del Roy took the music to KFOX in Long Beach, California. 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. 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.
Lynn's relationship with the Wilburn Brothers and her appearances on the Grand Ole Opry, beginning in 1960, 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.
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."
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×Mr. And Mrs. Used to Be19 August 1965 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracksA1Mr. And Mrs. Used to Be2:41A2I’ll Just Call You Darling2:25A3I Reached for the Wine2:39A4My Past Brought Me to You (Your Past Brought You to Me)2:45A5Are You Mine2:41A6Our Hearts Are Holding HandsB1Keep Those Cards and Letters Coming In1:55B2Just Between the Two of Us3:51B3We’re Not Kids AnymoreB4Love Was Right Here All the Time2:30B5Two in the Cold2:36B6A Dear John Letter2:37", peaked within the Top 15. The pair recorded two more albums, Singin' Again (1967) and If We Put Our Heads Together×If We Put Our Heads Together1969 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1Who’s Gonna Take the Garbage Out2:21A2Holding On to Nothing2:35A3Somewhere Between2:49A4Chased You Till You Caught Me2:22A5Let’s Wait a Little Longer3:23A6Won’t You Come Home (and Talk to a Stranger)2:25B1Let the World Keep On a Turnin’2:14B2If We Put Our Heads Together (Our Hearts Will Tell Us What to Do)3:17B3That Odd Couple2:03B4Touch and Go2:52B5I Won’t Cheat Again on You (If You Won’t Cheat on Me)2:46 (1969). In 1965, her solo career continued with three major hits, "Happy Birthday", "Blue Kentucky Girl×Blue Kentucky Girl14 June 1965 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracksA1Blue Kentucky Girl2:42A2Then and Only Then2:24A3I Still Miss Someone2:13A4Night Girl2:45A5Love’s Been Here and Gone2:34A6Farther to Go2:23B1The Race Is On2:25B2I Won’t Forget You2:04B3Two Steps Forward2:11B4Send Me a Pillow That You Dream On1:59B5Beginning of the End2:24B6Today2:01" (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×Songs From My Heart15 February 1965 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracksA1Happy Birthday2:01A2When Lonely Hits Your Heart2:37A3You’ve Made Me What I Am2:44A4Once a Day2:20A5You’re the Only Good Thing2:35A6It Just Looks That Way2:05B1I Don’t Believe I’ll Fall in Love Today2:28B2Half a Mind2:29B3Oh, Lonesome Me2:45B4Boy Like You2:18B5When Dreams Go Out of Style2:22B6Wound Time Can’t Erase2:35 and Blue Kentucky Girl.
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. 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.

1967–1980: Breakthrough success

In 1967, Lynn released the single "Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind)", It was her second No. 1 country hit.
Lynn's next album, Fist City×Fist City29 April 1968 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1Fist City2:10A2Jackson Ain’t a Very Big Town2:16A3You Didn’t Like My Lovin’1:52A4I’ve Got Texas in My Heart2:14A5You Never Were Mine2:09A6Somebody’s Back in Town2:34B1A Satisfied Mind2:42B2How Long Will It Take2:23B3I Don’t Wanna Play House2:32B4I’m Shootin’ for Tomorrow1:55B5What Kind of Girl (Do You Think I Am?)2:49, 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×Your Squaw Is on the Warpath24 February 1969 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1Your Squaw Is on the Warpath2:02A2Living My Lifetime for You2:24A3Barney1:50A4Sneakin’ In2:25A5You’ve Just Stepped In (From Stepping Out on Me)2:17A6Taking the Place of My Man2:41B1Kaw‐Liga2:45B2Let Me Go, You’re Hurtin’ Me2:35B3Harper Valley P.T.A.3:10B4I Walk Alone2:54B5He’s Somewhere Between You and Me2:54, 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.
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×Love Is the Foundation13 August 1973 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1Love Is the Foundation2:31A2What Sundown Does to You2:13A3I Love You, I Love You2:38A4Just to Satisfy (The Weakness in a Man)2:40A5There’s More to Leaving Than Just Saying Goodbye2:32A6Satin Sheets2:32B1Why Me2:38B2Five Fingers Left2:09B3I Gave Everything2:51B4Hey Loretta2:51B5You’re Still Lovin’ Me2:48", 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. 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.

Professional partnership with Conway Twitty

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×Lead Me On3 January 1971 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1Lead Me On2:24A2When I Turn Off My Lights2:14A3The Never Ending Song of Love2:20A4Playing House Away From Home2:34A5You’re the Reason2:47A6How Far Can We Go2:15B1You Blow My Mind2:35B2Easy Lovin’2:40B3Black Street Affair3:05B4I Wonder If You Told Her About Me2:30B5Get Some Loving Done2:07" (1971); "Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man×Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man9 July 1973 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man2:29A2For Heavens Sake2:38A3Release Me2:56A4You Lay So Easy on My Mind2:47A5Our Conscience You and Me2:23A6As Good as a Lonely Girl Can Be2:53B1Bye Bye Love2:54B2Living Together Alone2:14B3What Are We Gonna Do About Us2:47B4If You Touch Me (You’ve Got to Love Me)2:08B5Before Your Time2:48" (1973); "As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone" (1974); and "Feelins'" (1974). For four consecutive years, 1972-75, 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.
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×I Wanna Be Free3 May 1971 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1I Wanna Be Free2:16A2Help Me Make It Through the Night2:28A3See That Mountain2:35A4When You Leave My World2:59A5Put Your Hand in the Hand2:27A6If I Never Love Again (It’ll Be Too Soon)2:30B1Me and Bobby McGee2:38B2When You’re Poor2:10B3Rose Garden2:26B4Drive You Out of My Mind2:41B5I’m One Man’s Woman2:41", "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. 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.

Tribute album for Patsy Cline, other projects, and honors

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×Out of My Head and Back in My Bed13 February 1978 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Out of My Head and Back in My Bed2:40A2Three Riddles3:09A4Spring Fever2:40A5The Dead Is a’Risin’2:24A6Old Rooster2:26B1Black Eyed Peas and Blue-Eyed Babies2:27B2You Snap Your Fingers (and I’m Back in Your Hands)2:39B3His Lovin’ Told Me He Was Gone2:31B4I’m Gonna Do Somebody Right2:22B5God Bless the Children2:28".
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.

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.
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. 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×Fist City29 April 1968 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1Fist City2:10A2Jackson Ain’t a Very Big Town2:16A3You Didn’t Like My Lovin’1:52A4I’ve Got Texas in My Heart2:14A5You Never Were Mine2:09A6Somebody’s Back in Town2:34B1A Satisfied Mind2:42B2How Long Will It Take2:23B3I Don’t Wanna Play House2:32B4I’m Shootin’ for Tomorrow1:55B5What Kind of Girl (Do You Think I Am?)2:49", and "Coal Miner's Daughter".
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 widened 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").
Country music radio stations often refused to play her music. In a 1987 interview, Lynn said eight of her songs had been banned.
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×Van Lear Rose27 April 2004 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Van Lear Rose3:502Portland, Oregon3:493Trouble on the Line2:214Family Tree3:045Have Mercy2:356High on a Mountain Top2:447Little Red Shoes3:358God Makes No Mistakes1:459Women’s Prison4:1710This Old House1:5711Mrs. Leroy Brown3:3912Miss Being Mrs.2:5113Story of My Life2:40, released in 2004, was produced by the alternative rock musician Jack White. Lynn and White were nominated for five Grammys and won two.
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. 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.

1980–1989: Movie and popularity

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×Naked in the Rain1980 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksANaked in the Rain2:39BI Should Be Over You by Now3:26", and "Somebody Led Me Away". Lynn's last Top 10 record as a soloist was 1982's "I Lie×I LieDecember 1981 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1I Lie3:032If I Ain’t Got It (You Don’t Need It)2:293There Stands the Glass2:204I Wanted You to Leave (Until You Left Me)3:015Stronger Than You Ever Thought I’d Be3:116Step Right Up and Break My Heart2:167Save Me2:538Going’s Been Coming3:009Where Love Goes When It’s Gone2:4410A Motel Match2:20", but her releases continued to chart until the end of the decade.
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×Just a WomanJuly 1985 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Stop the Clock1:53A2Heart Don’t Do This to Me2:40A3Wouldn’t It Be Great2:57A4When I’m in Love All Alone4:20A5I Can’t Say It on the Radio2:47B1I’ll Think of Something2:44B2Adam’s Rib2:23B3Take Me in Your Arms (and Hold Me)2:49B4Just a Woman3:01B5One Man Band2:30 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×Who Was That StrangerApril 1988 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Who Was That Stranger2:092Your Used to Be3:083Married Ladies2:424You’re Gonna Catch Heaven When I Get You Home2:265Mountain Climber1:596Fly Away3:067Walk on Water3:008Elzie Banks2:489Still in the Ring2:5410Survivor2:38 would be her last solo album for MCA, which she parted ways with in 1989. She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988.

1990–2004: Return to country and second autobiography

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. 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.
In 1995, Loretta was presented with the Pioneer Award at the 30th Academy of Country Music Awards. 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×Still Country12 September 2000 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1On My Own Again4:062God’s Country2:363Table for Two3:364Working Girl3:355I Can’t Hear the Music3:426Country in My Genes3:117Hold Her3:248Don’t Open That Door3:209Somewhere Someone’s Falling in Love3:0310The Blues Ain’t Workin’ on Me3:06, 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.

2004–2022: Late career resurgence

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. Rolling Stone voted it the second best album of 2004, and it won the Grammy Award for Best Country Album of the Year.
Late in 2010, Sony Music released a new compilation album, Coal Miner's Daughter: A Tribute to Loretta×LorettaFebruary 1980 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1I’ve Got a Picture of Us on My Mind2:44A2Naked in the Rain2:39A3Sweet, Sweet Daddy2:22A4It’s Too Late to Love Me Now3:28A5You’re a Cross I Can’t Bear3:03B1I’ve Been Lonely So Long3:10B2It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels2:52B3I Should Be Over You by Now3:26B4The Fool Wouldn’t Listen2:53B5Pregnant Again3:35 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, and at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival on June 11, 2011. In 2012, Lynn published her third autobiography, Honky Tonk Girl: My Life in Lyrics. She also contributed "Take Your Gun and Go, John" to Divided & United: Songs of the Civil War, released on November 5, 2013.
In November 2015, Lynn announced the completion of a new album, Full Circle×Full Circle4 March 2016 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Whispering Sea (introduction)0:552Whispering Sea2:163Secret Love3:204Who’s Gonna Miss Me?2:445Black Jack David2:096Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven2:537Always on My Mind3:278Wine Into Water3:219In the Pines3:0710Band of Gold2:5211Fist City2:1612I Never Will Marry3:3713Everything It Takes3:0114Lay Me Down2:50. Released in March 2016, the album debuted at No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 200 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.
Lynn's holiday album White Christmas Blue×White Christmas Blue7 October 2016 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1White Christmas Blue2:482Country Christmas2:243Winter Wonderland2:254Away in a Manger2:515Blue Christmas2:526To Heck With Ole Santa Claus2:157Frosty the Snowman2:038Oh, Come All Ye Faithful3:329Jingle Bells2:4710White Christmas2:5611Silent Night3:4212’Twas the Night Before Christmas3:06 was released in October 2016. In December of the same year, Full Circle was nominated for Country Album of the Year in the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.
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. Lynn was named Artist of a Lifetime by CMT in 2018. On October 19, 2019, Lifetime aired the movie Patsy & Loretta which highlighted the friendship of Lynn and Patsy Cline.
On March 19, 2021, Lynn released her 50th studio album Still Woman Enough×Still Woman Enough19 March 2021 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Still Woman Enough3:372Keep on the Sunny Side2:553Honky Tonk Girl2:324I Don’t Feel at Home Any More2:035Old Kentucky Home2:276Coal Miner’s Daughter Recitation2:077One’s on the Way2:418I Wanna Be Free2:159Where No One Stands Alone2:4710I’ll Be All Smiles Tonight3:3811I Saw the Light3:0612My Love2:4413You Ain’t Woman Enough2:17, the fourth album of her deal with Legacy Recordings. Recorded in sessions at Cash Cabin Studio 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.

Marriage

On January 10, 1948, 15-year-old Loretta Webb married 21-year-old Oliver Vanetta Lynn Jr. (August 27, 1926 – August 22, 1996), better known as "Doolittle", "Doo", or "Mooney". They had met only a month earlier. The Lynns left Kentucky and moved to the logging community of Custer in northwest Washington when Lynn was seven months pregnant with their first child. The happiness and heartache of her early years of marriage helped inspire Lynn's songwriting. 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. Lynn stated that 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".
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.

Children

Loretta and her husband had six children. Their eldest daughter, Betty Sue, was born on November 26, 1948, and died of complications associated with emphysema on July 29, 2013. Their 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. 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. 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.
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. She tied for fourth place alongside Triston Harper one week before the Finale.

Loretta Lynn's Ranch

Lynn owned a ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, known as Loretta Lynn's Ranch. Billed as "the seventh largest attraction in Tennessee", 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.
The centerpiece of the ranch is its large plantation home which Lynn once resided in with her husband and children. Having built a modern home behind it, Lynn 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.
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.

Politics

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×Wings Upon Your Horns5 January 1970 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1Wings Upon Your Horns2:35A2When I Reach the Bottom (You’d Better Be There)2:20A3This Stranger (My Little Girl)3:35A4I Only See the Things I Want to See2:16A5If You Handle the Merchandise2:22A6I’m Dynamite2:50B1Big Ole Hurt2:25B2I’d Rather Be Gone2:32B3You Wouldn’t Know an Angel (If You Saw One)2:55B4I’ll Still Be Missing You2:30B5Let’s Get Back Down to Earth2:01", 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.
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. In 2002's Still Woman Enough, she discussed her longtime friendship and support for Jimmy Carter. She endorsed and campaigned for George H. W. Bush in the presidential election in 1988.
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."
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."
While a recognized "advocate for ordinary women", Lynn often criticized upper-class feminism for ignoring the needs and concerns of working-class women. She rejected being labeled a feminist, 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."
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."
Lynn allowed PETA to use her song "I Wanna Be Free×I Wanna Be Free3 May 1971 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1I Wanna Be Free2:16A2Help Me Make It Through the Night2:28A3See That Mountain2:35A4When You Leave My World2:59A5Put Your Hand in the Hand2:27A6If I Never Love Again (It’ll Be Too Soon)2:30B1Me and Bobby McGee2:38B2When You’re Poor2:10B3Rose Garden2:26B4Drive You Out of My Mind2:41B5I’m One Man’s Woman2:41" in a public service campaign to discourage the chaining of dogs outdoors in the cold.

Health and death

Over the years, Lynn suffered from various health concerns, including pneumonia on multiple occasions and a broken arm after a fall at home.
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.
Lynn died in her sleep at her home in Hurricane Mills on October 4, 2022, at age 90. A family representative told the website TMZ that she died of natural causes. She was buried three days later on her Hurricane Mills ranch beside her husband Doolittle.

Awards and achievements

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. 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).

1970s – 1990s

In 1972, Lynn was the first woman named "Entertainer of the Year×Entertainer of the Year26 February 1973 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1Rated “X”2:37A2’Til the Pain Outwears the Shame2:40A3Ruby, Madge and Mable2:37A4Legend in My Mind2:52A5Ain’t It Funny2:43A6Yesterday Will Come Again Tonight2:45B1Hanky Panky Woman2:46B2I’m All He’s Got (but He’s Got All of Me)2:27B3I’m Paying for My Raising2:00B4Possessions2:29B5I Need Someone to Hold Me (When I Cry)2:23" 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 and the Country Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1999. She was also the recipient of Kennedy Center Honors, an award given by the President of the United States, in 2003. Lynn is ranked 65th on VH1's 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll and was the first female country artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1977. In 1994, she received the country music pioneer award from the Academy of Country Music.

2000s

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.
A BMI affiliate for more than 45 years, Lynn was honored as a BMI Icon at the BMI Country Awards on November 4, 2004.
In March 2007, Lynn was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music during her performance at the Grand Ole Opry.
Lynn was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York City in 2008.

2010s

Loretta Lynn was honored with multiple awards in 2010 as the music industry celebrated her 50th year as a country artist. She received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award on January 30, 2010.
Lynn was honored for 50 years in country music at the 44th Annual Country Music Awards on November 10, 2010. That same year, Lynn was presented with a new rose, the "Loretta Lynn Van Lear", named in her honor. In the same month, Sony Music released a tribute CD to Lynn titled Coal Miner's Daughter: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn. 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.
Lynn marked her 50th anniversary as a Grand Ole Opry member on September 25, 2012, and her 60th anniversary in 2022.
Lynn was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama in 2013.
Miranda Lambert presented Lynn with the Crystal Milestone Award from the Academy of Country Music. Lynn also received the 2015 Billboard Legacy Award for Women in Music.
In 2016, she was the subject of an American Masters profile documentary Loretta Lynn: Still a Mountain Girl on PBS.
Lynn was named Artist of a Lifetime in 2018 by CMT.

2020s

The Ryman Auditorium honored Lynn with a statue installation on its Icon Walk in a ceremony held October 20, 2020. Lynn was the first woman represented on the Icon Walk, joining previously honored Bill Monroe and Little Jimmy Dickens.
Recognizing Lynn as a songwriter, the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame inducted her in 2022, stating "she shook up Nashville by writing her own songs, many of which tackled boundary-pushing topics drawn from her own life experiences as a wife and mother". Rolling Stone ranked Lynn at number 132 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time in an issue published the next year.