Loretta Lynn is famous for her lyrics, which were often autobiographical and authentic.
Her No. 1 song was “Miner's Daughter”, which everyone knew at one time or another.
And then she published a book with the same name and showed her life story, after which she was nominated for an Oscar.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Lynn had numerous hits, including “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 many popular tracks in collaboration with Conway Twitty.
In the realm of country music, Lynn confirmed her career in 2004 with Jack White's Van Lear Rose Grammy award and then in 2016 for Full Circle.
early life; brothers and sisters
Loretta Webb was born on April 14, 1932 in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky. Lynn grew up in a small cabin in the poor Appalachians, where coal is mined.
The second of eight children, Lynn began singing in church at a very young age.
Her younger sister, Brenda Gale Webb, also developed a love for singing, and then began to perform professionally under the pseudonym Crystal Gale.
In January 1948, she married Oliver Lynn (a.k.a. "Doolittle" and "Mooney") a few months before her 16th birthday. (At that time, few people were interviewed and more recently it became known that Lynn was 13 years old at the time of her marriage, the official documentation of her birth eventually confirmed this exact age.)
The following year, the couple moved to Custer, Washington, where Oliver hoped to find a better job.
Over the next few years, he worked at logging camps, while Lynn did various jobs and looked after her four children - Betty Sue, Jack Benny, Ernest Ray and Clara Marie - all born by the time she was 20 years old.
But Lynn never lost her love for music, and with the encouragement of her husband, she began performing at local venues.
Her talent soon landed her with Zero Records, with whom she released her first single "I'm Honky Tonk Girl" in early 1960.
To promote the song, Lynn traveled to various country radio stations, urging them to play her track. These efforts paid off when the song became a minor hit that same year.
Settling in Nashville, Tennessee around the same time, Lynn began working with Teddy and Doyle Wilburn, who owned a music publishing company and acted as the Wilburn Brothers.
In October 1960, she performed at the legendary country-style Grand Ole Opry, which led to a contract with Decca Records.
In 1962, Lynn had her first hit, "Success", which hit the top ten on the country charts.
country star
During her early days in Nashville, Lynn befriended singer Patsy Cline, who helped her navigate the tricky world of country music.
However, their nascent friendship ended in heartbreak when Kline died in a 1963 plane crash.
Lynn later told Entertainment Weekly, "When Patsy died, God, not only did I lose my best friend, but I also lost a wonderful person who cared for me. I thought, now someone will beat me for sure.”
But Lynn's talent helped her cope. Her first album, Loretta Lynn Sings (1963), reached number two on the country charts and was followed by top ten country hits including "Wine, Women and Song" and "Blue Kentucky Girl".
Soon recording her own material alongside standards and other artist's work, Lynn developed a talent for supporting the daily struggles of wives and mothers by giving them her own wit.
She always remained tough and serious, never lost heart, which she tried to show to other women. Meanwhile, in 1964, Lynn gave birth to twin daughters, Peggy Jean and Patsy Eileen.
In 1966, Lynn released her highest charting single to date with the No. 2 track "You Ain't Woman Enough" from the album of the same name.
In 1967 she had another hit "Don't return home, drink!" (with love on your mind)", one of Lynn's many songs featuring an assertive yet humorous female nature.
That same year, she was named Female Vocalist of the Year by the Country Music Association.
In 1968, her melodic song "Fist City". This song is like a letter from a woman to a man, with its own special story. It also reached the top of the country music charts.
'Coal Miner's Daughter' hit number 1
Based on her personal experience (life seemingly poor.. but happy!) in 1970, Lynn released perhaps her most famous song, 'Coal Miner's Daughter', which quickly became a No. 1 hit.
Teaming up with Conway Twitty, Lynn received her first Grammy Award in 1972 for the duet "After The Fire Is Gone". The song was one of Lynn and Twitty's successful collaborations, among compilations that included "Lead Me On", "A Woman From Louisiana, A Man From Mississippi" and "Feelins".
Performing songs that conveyed romantic and sometimes very tender relationships, they won the CMA Vocal Duo of the Year award for four years in a row, from 1972 to 1975.
Lynn herself continued to release hits with Top 5 hits such as "Trouble in Paradise", "Hey Loretta", "When Tingle Gets Cold" and "She's Got You".
She also managed to create controversy when she wrote about the changing times for female sexuality since 1975's "The Pill", which some radio stations refused to play.
Lynn became known for her cheeky, inventive song titles such as "Rated 'X", "Somebody Somewhere" and "Out of My Head and Back in My Bed" - all of which reached #1.
In 1976 Lynn published her first autobiography 'Coal Miner's Daughter'. The book became a bestseller, publicly revealing some of the ups and downs in her professional and personal life, especially her tumultuous relationship with her husband.
A film adaptation of the book was released in 1980, starring Sissy Spacek as Loretta and Tommy Lee Jones as her husband. Spacek won an Oscar for his performance, and the film was nominated seven times for an Oscar.
Difficult period in life
In the 1980s, as country music shifted to mainstream pop and moved away from a more traditional sound, Lynn's dominance on the country charts began to wane.
However, her albums remained popular and she enjoyed some success as an actress.
She has appeared in The Dukes of Hazzard, Fantasy Island, and The Muppets. In 1982, Lynn sang the biggest hit of the decade with "I Lie".
However, the singer had to deal with personal tragedy during this time when her 34-year-old son Jack Benny Lynn drowned after attempting to cross a river on horseback.
Lynn herself was briefly hospitalized due to exhaustion before learning of her son's death.
Beginning in 1988, Lynn began cutting back on her work in order to care for her husband, who was suffering from heart disease and diabetes.
But she still tried to stay afloat, releasing the 1993 album Honky Tonk Angels, and in 1995 starred in the TV series Loretta Lynn & Friends, playing several concerts in parallel.
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 album Still Country. Despite many positive reviews, the album did not reach the success that it had before.
Lynn explored other newspapers around this time, writing her 2002 memoir Still Enough Women.
She also struck up an unlikely friendship with Jack White of the alternative rock band The White Stripes. Lynn performed with the group in 2003 as White finished work on his next album, Van Lear Rose (2004).
Van Lear Rose, a commercial and critical hit, brought new life to Lynn's career. "Jack was a kindred spirit," Lynn explained to Vanity Fair.
White was just as eloquent in his praise: "I want as many people on Earth as possible to hear her because she's the greatest singer-songwriter of the last century," he told Entertainment Weekly.
The pair have received two Grammy Awards for their work, Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for "Portland, Oregon" and Best Country Album.
Following the success of Van Lear Rose, Lynn continued to play numerous shows each 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 at the concert, as did her twin daughters, Peggy and Patsy, known as Lynns.
Shortly thereafter, Lynn was awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award as well as an album featuring cover versions of her songs by various artists including the White Stripes, Faith Hill, Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow.
In 2013, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama.
Amid this and other accolades, tragedy struck Lynn again in July 2013, when her eldest daughter, Betty Sue, died from complications of emphysema at the age of 64.
But Lynn, then in her 80s, persevered, and in March 2016 she released a full album, which was recorded by her daughter Patsy and John Carter Cash, the only child of Johnny Cash and June Carter.
The album debuted at number 4, returning Lynn to her usual spot at the top of the country charts.
The documentary "Loretta Lynn: Still a Mountain Girl" was released simultaneously with the album. The film aired on PBS.
In 2019, Lynn's life will once again be shown on the small screen. This time in the movie "Lifetime" and "Patsy and Loretta", which tells about the close friendship and connection between the two singers.
Health problems
On May 4, 2017, the 85-year-old village legend suffered a stroke at her home and was hospitalized in Nashville.
A statement on Lynn's official website said she is responsive and expects a full recovery, although she will be postponing upcoming shows.
In October of that year, Lynn made her first public appearance since her hospitalization when she inducted longtime friend Alan Jackson into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
In January 2018, it was announced that Lynn had broken her hip on New Year's Eve Fall at her home. Finding that she was doing well, the family members were able to humorously spin the situation around, citing Lynn's energetic new puppy as the reason.
