Sad news, Country legend Loretta Lynn passed today at her home in Tennessee. She was 90 years old.
Loretta was born Loretta Webb on April 14th, 1935 in Butcher Holler, Kentucky. She had 7 brothers and sisters and wasn’t the only musical sibling in the family. Her brother Jay Lee Webb and sister Peggy Sue were both part of a band they created, but eventually struck out on their own. Loretta's baby sister, Crystal Gayle, was quite successful in the ‘70s and ‘80s recording pop-crossover hits including the number-one “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue.”
In 1948, at the very young age of 13, Loretta married Oliver Vanetta Lynn, or “Doolittle.” By the time Loretta was 18, they had four children. The couple's twin girls later became the duo The Lynns.
Her hubby Doo gave Loretta her first guitar when she was 18, and she immediately taught herself to play. She began performing at local clubs before catching the attention of a promoter at Zero Records, which recorded her first single, “Honky Tonk Girl,” in 1960. It became a hit thanks in large part to Doo’s support and independent promotion. He believed in Loretta's so much, he drove her to radio stations across the country to encourage them to play the song. “Honky Tonk Girl” also caught the attention of the Wilburn brothers, who took her on tour and encouraged her to move to Nashville.
Loretta had strong feminist views and created hits from those feelings, “You Ain’t Woman Enough,” “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind),” “Fist City” and “The Pill.” In 1971 she created music with the late Conway Twitty and became one of the most successful duos in history. They created legendary hits together, “After the Fire Is Gone,” “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man” and “Feelin’s.”
Loretta’s life and early success were documented in the 1976 autobiography Coal Miner’s Daughter, named after her number-one hit. Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones played Loretta and Doo, earning Sissy an Oscar for Best Actress. Loretta was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988 and she received critical acclaim for the CD Van Lear Rose, produced by Jack White of The White Stripes.
She is survived by four children; Cissy, Ernest, Peggy and Patsy, named after Patsy Cline.