Loretta Lynn - Songs, Age & Children (2023)

Who is Loretta Lynn?

Loretta Lynn became a country chart staple after cracking a Top 10 with the aptly named "Success." She wrote tracks that were often autobiographical and authentic, penning the #1 song "Coal Miner's Daughter", later publishing a book of the same name, and seeing her life story depicted in an Oscar-nominated film. In the 1960s and 1970s, Lynn had a string of hits, including the chart-topping "Fist City", "Women of the World (Leave My World Alone), "One's on the Way", "Trouble in Paradise", and " She's Got You."', as well as a number of popular collaborations with Conway Twitty. A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Lynn reinvigorated her career in 2004 with the Grammy-winning songwriterVan Lear Pink, produced by Jack White, followed by the 2016 albumfull circle.

Early life

Lynn was born Loretta Webb on April 14, 1932 in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, and grew up in a small cabin in a poor coal mining community in the Appalachian Mountains. The second of eight children, Lynn began singing in church at a young age. Her younger sister, Brenda Gail Webb, also developed a love of singing and later went on to perform professionally as a singer.Kristall Gayle.

In January 1948, just months before her 16th birthday, she married Oliver Lynn (also known as "Doolittle" and "Mooney"). (Through her later autobiography and subsequent reports, for some time Lynn was reported as 13 at the time of her marriage, although official birth documentation confirmed her exact age.) The following year, the couple moved to Custer, Washington, where Oliver was in hopes of creating better opportunities. Over the next few years, he worked in logging camps and Lynn did odd jobs and took care of their four children - Betty Sue, Jack Benny, Ernest Ray and Clara Marie - all born when she turned 20.

But Lynn never lost her love of music and with her husband's encouragement, she started performing at local venues. His talent soon landed him a contract with Zero Records, which released his first single "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl" in the early 1960s. To promote the song, the Lynns traveled to various radio stations across the country, urging them to to touch her. Their efforts paid off when the song became a minor hit later that year.

Lynn settled in Nashville, Tennessee around the same time and began working with Teddy and Doyle Wilburn, who owned a music publishing company and billed themselves as the Wilburn Brothers. In October 1960, she performed at the legendary country venue Grand Ole Opry, which led to a contract with Decca Records. In 1962, Lynn scored her first big hit with "Success", which reached the top 10 on the country charts.

Country-Star

During her early days in Nashville, Lynn befriended the singer.Patsy Cline, which helped her navigate the complicated world of country music. However, their blossoming friendship ended in heartbreak when Cline died in a plane crash in 1963. Lynn later recountedweekly entertainment, "When Patsy died, my God, I not only lost my best friend, but also a great person who cared for me. I thought someone was surely going to whip me now.”

But Lynn's talent would help her. her first album,Loretta Lynn sings(1963) reached No. 2 on the country chart, followed by a string of top 10 country hits, including "Wine, Women and Song" and "Blue Kentucky Girl". Lynn was soon recording her own material alongside standards and works by other artists, and developed a knack for capturing the everyday struggles of wives and mothers while infusing them with her own personal wit. She hasn't shied away from controversial subjects either, as evidenced by her handling of the Vietnam War on the hit single "Dear Uncle Sam", in which she sang as the terrified lover of a recruit she doesn't want sent to war. . At home, Lynn gave birth to twin daughters Peggy Jean and Patsy Eileen in 1964.

In 1966, Lynn had her biggest hit single with the second track "You Ain't Woman Enough" from the album of the same name. She followed with her first No. 1 hit, "Don't Come Home a Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind)", in 1967, one of many Lynn songs featuring a confident but good-natured female perspective. That year, she was named Singer of the Year by the Country Music Association. In 1968, her classic "Fist City", a lyrical wife-to-wife discussion about her husband, also topped the country music charts.

'Coal Miner's Daughter': Nr. 1-Hit and Bestseller

Based on her own personal experiences growing up poor but happy, Lynn released what is perhaps her best-known song, "Coal Miner's Daughter", in 1970, which quickly became a No. 1 hit. Along with Conway Twitty, Lynn earned his first Grammy Award in 1972 for the duet After the Fire Is Gone. The song was one of many successful collaborations between Lynn and Twitty, including a collection that included "Lead Me On", "Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man", and "Feelins". With songs that explored romantic - and sometimes adulterous - relationships, they won CMA Vocal Duo of the Year four years running, from 1972 to 1975.

In her own right, Lynn continued to produce hits with Top 5 songs like "Trouble in Paradise", "Hey Loretta", "When the Tingle Becomes a Chill", and "She's Got You". She also managed to provoke controversy when she wrote about the changing times of female sexuality with 1975's "The Pill", which some radio stations refused to play. Lynn became known for sassy and imaginative song titles like "Rated 'X'", "Somebody Somewhere (Don't Know What He's Missin' Tonight)" and "Out of My Head and Back in My Bed" - all reaching #1 .

In 1976 Lynn published her first autobiography,the miner's daughter. The book became a bestseller and publicly revealed some of the ups and downs of her professional and personal life, most notably her tempestuous relationship with her husband. In 1980, a film adaptation of the book starring the lead role was released.Sissy Spaceklike loretta youTommy Lee Joneslike your husband. Spacek won an Academy Award for the role, and the film itself was nominated for seven Academy Awards.

recognition and tragedy

In the 1980s, as country music moved closer to mainstream pop and away from a more traditional sound, Lynn's dominance of the country charts began to wane. Despite this, her albums remained popular and she had some success as a spokesperson for a shortening company while appearing on the television series.The Dukes of Hazzard,FantasiainselEsledgehammer show. In 1982, Lynn had her most notable hit of the decade with "I Lie".

However, the singer had to deal with a personal tragedy during this period, when her 34-year-old son, Jack Benny Lynn, drowned after trying to cross a river on horseback. Lynn herself was briefly hospitalized from exhaustion before learning of her son's death.

Lynn was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988 and soon began to retire from work to care for her husband, who was suffering from heart problems and diabetes. She took her time to work it out.Dolly Partonand Tammy Wynette on the 1993 albumHonky-Tonk-Engel, and in 1995 she starred in a limited television series,Loretta Lynn and friends, while playing some tour dates. Lynn's husband died in 1996, marking the end of their 48-year marriage.

"Still Country" and later years

In 2000, Lynn released the studio albumstill country. Although the set received strong reviews, it failed to match its previous success in terms of sales. Lynn was also exploring other outlets at this time and wrote the 2002 memoirstill woman enough. She also struck up an unlikely friendship with Jack White of the alternative rock band The White Stripes. Lynn performed with the band in 2003 and White eventually produced their next album,Van Lear Pink(2004).

A critical and commercial success,Van Lear Pinkbreathed new life into Lynn's career. "Jack was a kindred spirit," explained Lynnvanity fairMagazine. White was equally effusive in his praise: "I want as many people on Earth to hear her as possible because she is the greatest singer-songwriter of the last century," he said.weekly entertainment. The couple won two Grammy Awards for their work, for Best Country Vocal Collaboration for the song "Portland, Oregon" and for Best Country Album.

After the success ofVan Lear Pink, Lynn participated in several shows every year. She had to cancel some tour dates in late 2009 due to illness, but returned in January 2010 to perform at the University of Central Arkansas. Her son Ernest Ray performed on the show, as did her twin daughters Peggy and Patsy—known as Lynns. Not long after, Lynn was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as a tribute album of covers of her songs by a variety of artists, including the White Stripes,hill of faith,KinderrockESheryl Crow. In 2013 she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom fromBarack Obama.

Amid these accolades and others, Lynn was struck by tragedy again in July 2013 when her eldest daughter, Betty Sue, died at the age of 64 from complications from emphysema. But Lynn, then 80, persevered and was released in March 2016.full circle, which was produced by his daughter Patsy and John Carter Cash, the only childJohnny CashEJune Carter. The album debuted at number 4, returning Lynn to her familiar spot at the top of the country charts. Coinciding with the album, the documentaryLoretta Lynn: Still a Mountain Girlaired on PBS.

In 2019, Lynn's life is once again shown on the small screen. This time in the Lifetime moviePatsy & Loretta, which explores the close friendship and bond between the two singers.

health problems

On May 4, 2017, the 85-year-old country legend suffered a stroke at his home and was hospitalized in Nashville. A statement about Lynnofficial sitesaid she is receptive and hopes for a full recovery, although she is postponing upcoming shows. In October of that year, Lynn made her first public appearance since being hospitalized, when she introduced a longtime friend.Alan Jacksonno Country Music Hall of Fame.

In January 2018, it was revealed that Lynn broke her hip in a fall on New Year's Day at her home. Family members revealed that she was fine and managed to put a little humor into the situation, citing Lynn's energetic new puppy as the cause of the incident.