Loretta Lynn- Biography
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Loretta Lynn is a country music singer-songwriter best known for songs like ‘Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind),’ ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter,’ and ‘Fist City.’ She has played an essential role in music, making significant contributions to American country music. She has been dubbed the “First Lady of Country Music” due to her powerful influence over the genre. She is also often regarded as ‘Country Music’s First Girl Singer.’
Loretta has published more than 160 songs and 60 albums during her lengthy and famous career. She has sold over 45 million records worldwide. Lynn has 11 number one albums and 24 number one singles on country charts to date. She has also garnered numerous honors, including the ‘Academy of Country Music Award and the ‘Country Music Association Award.’
Loretta Lynn- Birth, Age, Ethnicity, Siblings, Education
Loretta Lynn was born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, to Melvin ‘Ted’ Webb and Clara ‘Clary’ Marie on April 14, 1932. She was the couple’s second of eight children. Her father worked as a coal miner, a farmer, and a storekeeper. She was one of seven siblings. Loretta began singing at a young age while growing up in Butcher Hollow, a coal mining hamlet. She, like the majority of her siblings, sought a career in music.
Career She relocated to Washington State with her spouse and family in search of better job prospects. In 1953, she was given a Harmony guitar, which she taught herself to play. Three years later, after considerable prodding from her husband, she began to consider music as a professional choice. She began to hone her guitar talents and accepted a singing position with Pen Brother’s band, ‘The Westerners,’ at the ‘Delta Grange Hall.’
In 1959, she and her brother Jay Lee Webb started their own band, the ‘Trailblazers.’ She then competed in a televised talent show, which she eventually won. Her performance in the talent show landed her a deal with ‘Zero Records.’ Her songs, ‘I’m A Honky Tonk Girl,’ ‘Whispering Sea,’ ‘Heartache Meet Mister Blues,’ and ‘New Rainbow,’ was recorded and released by the firm. She promoted the tracks by visiting several radio stations and playing country music.
Loretta Lynn- Relationship, Married Life
She married Oliver Vanetta Lynn at the tender age of 15 after dating him for a month. Six children were born to the couple. Doolittle, Doo, and Mooney were all nicknames for Oliver Vanetta Lynn. Their marriage lasted nearly 50 years until Mooney died in 1996.
She has had a number of health problems. In 2013, she suffered a personal tragedy when her eldest daughter Betty Sue died of emphysema complications. Lynn had previously lost her son Jack Benny Lynn in 1984. Lynn suffered a stroke in May 2017 at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. She slipped and shattered her hip the next year.
Loretta Lynn- Professional Career
In the late 1960s, she relocated to Nashville and began cutting demo records for Wilburn Brothers’ Publishing Company. While working with the Wilburn’s, her career took another leap forward when she signed a contract with ‘Decca Records.’ She quickly rose to the top of the country music female singer chart. ‘Success’ was the title of her debut single released by ‘Decca Records.’ The song went on to become a major smash, peaking at number six on the Billboard list.
Her following single, ‘Before I’m Over With You,’ reached number four on the Billboard list. She added to the success of her earlier efforts with other successful songs like ‘Wine, Women, and Song.’ In 1964, she collaborated with Ernest Tubb on the album ‘Mr. and Mrs. Used To Be.’ The album peaked at number 15 on the music charts. Because of the success of their debut album, they went on to release two additional albums, ‘Singin’ Again’ and ‘If We Put Our Heads Together.’
Meanwhile, she continued her solo career, delivering popular songs including “Happy Birthday,” “Blue Kentucky Girl,” and “The Home You’re Tearing Down.” She later released two albums, ‘Songs From My Heart’ and ‘Blue Kentucky Girl.’ The majority of the albums’ songs were included on lists of the “Top 10 Country Hits.” She released the single ‘You Ain’t Woman Enough’ in 1966. The song was a big hit, reaching number one on the ‘Cash Box’ chart. It solidified her place as the top female country music artist.
‘Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin (With Lovin’ on Your Mind),’ ‘Fist City,’ ‘What Kind of a Girl (Do You Think I Am),’ ‘Your Squaw Is on the Warpath,’ and ‘Woman of the World (Leave My World Alone)’ were among her successful singles and albums during the next few years. Throughout the 1970s, she had several hit singles, including ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter.’ It reached number one on the ‘Billboard Country’ charts and sold over 5 million copies. It was also number 83 on the ‘Billboard Hot 100’ chart.
She worked with Conway Twitty on several big tracks in 1971. They went on to become one of country music’s most successful duos, winning the ‘Vocal Duo of the Year’ title four times in a row. ‘Rated X,’ her most controversial hit, was released in 1973. Despite the controversy, the song reached number one on the ‘Billboard Country Chart.’ She followed it up with the album ‘Love is the Foundation,’ which included singles such as ‘Love Is The Foundation’ and ‘Hey Loretta.’ Her first book, an autobiography titled ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter,’ was published in 1976. The book debuted on the ‘New York Times’ best-seller list. The book was so popular that it was converted into an ‘Academy Award-winning film of the same name.
The next year, she and Twitty released an album named ‘Dynamic Duo.’ They quickly followed with five number one songs and seven top ten successes. The same year, she issued a tribute album named ‘I Remember Patsy’ in honor of her friend and country-pop singer Patsy Cline. Her career extended well into the 1980s, with singles such as ‘Pregnant Again,’ ‘Naked in the Rain,’ ‘Somebody Led Me Away,’ and others. She followed up with two studio albums, ‘Loretta’ and ‘Lookin’ Good.’ In the latter half of her career, she released one of her final solo singles, ‘Heart Don’t Do This to Me,’ in 1985.
On the popular country music chart, the single peaked at No. 19. She contributed her voice to K.D. Lang’s album ‘Shadowland,’ along with other country musicians and vocalists, in 1987. They released a single called ‘Honky Tonk Angels Medley.’ The record was certified gold, and she was nominated for a Grammy Award.
The next year, she recorded her final solo album, ‘Who Was That Stranger,’ for a major label. Following that, she began to devote much of her time to touring rather than recording or marketing her singles. She returned to the music world in 1993, after a two-year absence, with a smash CD. The CD reached number six on the Billboard Country chart and number 68 on the Billboard Pop chart. It sold over 800,000 copies and received gold certification in the United States and Canada. She then went on hiatus and did not release any further albums.
Following her husband’s death in 1996, she returned to the music world, releasing her comeback album ‘Still Country’ in 2000. She followed it up with the release of her first song in a decade, ‘Country in My Genes.’ The song reached number one on the ‘Billboard Country Chart.’ ‘Still, Woman Enough,’ her second autobiographical work, was released in 2002. This, like its predecessor, was well received and became a ‘New York Times bestseller, ranking in the top ten. She released her next album, ‘Van Lear Rose,’ two years later. The album was a huge success in the music industry, with ‘Rolling Stones magazine naming it the second-best album of the year.
She performed in the ‘Nelsonville Music Festival’ in Nelsonville in 2010. The CD ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn’ was released by ‘Sony Music’ the same year as a tribute to her. The album was a huge success, making her the first female country recording artist in six decades to chart records. Lynn released her third autobiography, ‘Honky Tonk Girl: My Life in Lyrics,’ in 2012. She published albums such as ‘Full Circle,’ ‘White Christmas Blue,’ and ‘Wouldn’t It Be Great’ between 2016 and 2018.
Achievements & Awards
- She has received multiple prizes for her unwavering dedication to music, including ‘Grammy Awards,’ ‘American Music Awards,’ ‘Broadcast Music Incorporated Awards,’ ‘Academy of Country Music Awards,’ ‘Country Music Association Awards,’ and ‘Music City News Awards.’
- Lynn is a member of numerous Halls of Fame, including the ‘Country Music Hall of Fame,’ the ‘Gospel Music Hall of Fame,’ and the ‘Songwriters Hall of Fame.’ She also has a star on the ‘Hollywood Walk of Fame.’
- She was honored with the ‘Kennedy Center Honors’ in 2003. She received the ‘Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award’ in 2010. President Barack Obama awarded her the coveted ‘Presidential Medal of Freedom’ in 2013.
- Lynn got the ‘Billboard Legacy Award’ for ‘Women in Music’ in 2015.
- CMT awarded her ‘Artist of a Lifetime’ in 2018.
Trivia
- This female American musician is commonly referred to as the “First Lady of Country Music” and “Country Music’s First Girl Singer.”
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