Loretta Lynn, the renowned country singer whose life story inspired her hallmark song “Coal Miner’s Daughter” and an Oscar-winning film of the same name, is 90 years old on April 14th, 2022.
Loretta Lynn is still going strong after a long time in the music industry, and the country music industry is going all-out to honour one of its most enduring icons.
In honour of Loretta Lynn’s 90th birthday, take a look back at her tremendous career and what she’s up to now.
Lynn was the second oldest of eight children born on April 14, 1932 in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky. Her dad was a coal miner who passed away at the age of 52 from black lung disease.
She wedded her first husband, Oliver “Doolittle” Lynn, when she was 15 and he was 21 years old. She had 4 kids before the age of 20, and worked to support her family. Their tumultuous marriage is one of the most well-known in music.
Lynn later recounted in her 2002 biography Still Woman Enough that she married Doo when she was a child, and he was her life from that day forward. However, as significant as her youth and upbringing were, there was something more that kept her with Doo. He felt she was unique, more unique than anybody else on the planet, and he never allowed me to fail to remember it. That notion would be difficult to shake. Doo was her safety net, her security. Doo was a decent man who worked hard. But he was an alcoholic, and that had a long-term impact on their marriage. She was married to Doolittle Lynn for 48 years, until he died in 1996.
While her early life was sometimes difficult, which inspired much of her later lyrics, she decided to seek a career in music with the encouragement of her husband, teaching herself guitar and performing at local venues. She released her debut single, “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl,” in 1960.
That same year, she made her debut at the Grand Ole Opry. Mentors in the Nashville country music industry, most notably Patsy Cline, assisted her in launching her career. Cline was tragically killed in an aircraft crash in 1963, a misfortune that grieved her. Lynn’s 1962 single “Success” became her first Top 10 country chart success, and her debut album Loretta Lynn Sings peaked at #2 on the country album list.
She had a line of effective melodies all through the 1960s, which frequently managed themes thought about untouchable in blue grass music at that point. Her tune “Dear Uncle Sam” was disparaging of the Vietnam War, and “The Pill” handled the dubious subject of contraception.
Throughout the 1960s, she had a streak of hit songs, many of which dealt with issues that were considered taboo in country music at the time. Her song “Dear Uncle Sam” was disparaging of the Vietnam War, and her song “The Pill” addressed the contentious issue of contraception. These tunes were frequently prohibited on the radio, however it didn’t prevent Lynn from becoming one of country music’s biggest female performers.
Tayla Lynn, the performer’s granddaughter, recently expressed that Loretta Lynn has more prohibited songs than any other country musician. They attempted to cancel her before there was a cancel culture.
Lynn then recorded a portion of her most well-known tunes, including “You Ain’t Woman Enough” and “Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’ (with Lovin’ on Your Mind),” both of which charted at number one.
Her defining song, however, is her autobiographical 1970 smash “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” The melody was also the title of Lynn’s best-selling autobiography, which earned her the first country musician to top the New York Times Best Seller list and was converted into a successful film in 1980.
Loretta Lynn – Coal Miner's Daughter.Loretta Lynn – Coal Miner's Daughter.
Posted by Slave to the rhythm on Thursday, 14 April 2022
The film exposed Lynn’s biography to a global crowd and was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Actress for Sissy Spacek’s depiction as Lynn.
This was a big day for me in 1980! The movie “Coal Miner’s Daughter” debuted and, oh man, did we have a great time. It was a bigger hit than I ever dreamed, but the best thing from it has been my enduring friendship with Sissy Spacek. She’s the best. #oldfriends #movienight #CMD pic.twitter.com/ZEwjRyDfXO
— Loretta Lynn (@LorettaLynn) March 7, 2022
Lynn is still going strong after 60 years of creating songs and is considered a country icon. She has kept making music, teaming with country singers such as Willie Nelson as well as more modern artists such as Jack White. She is the recipient of three Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988. In 2013, Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Lynn had a stroke and shattered her hip in 2018, but she is returning to create new music. Nonetheless, she has frequently been the target of rumours about her deteriorating health: a story in 2019 said she was in a nursing home and on the verge of demise, which she cheerfully denied.
In reality, despite her advanced age, Lynn keeps making music, and last year, just before her 89th birthday, she published her 50th studio album. Still Woman Enough, a collection of old and new tracks, was delivered on March 19 to excellent reviews. It reached number nine on the country albums chart in the United States. Fellow country artists such as Reba McEntire and Carrie Underwood contribute vocals to the album.
Lynn, who is now 90 years old, shows no indications of slowing down her great musical profession any time soon. “She’s still up there on that hill, composing music,” granddaughter Tayla said, adding that her grandmother has always been modest about her accomplishments.
Last year, devastating floods slammed across Lynn’s native state of Tennessee, killing her longtime ranch foreman. Lynn was distraught, yet her kindred nation artists, including Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire, organised Loretta Lynn’s Friends: Hometown Rising, a benefit concert to help restore homes and businesses in the region.
In celebration of her birthday, the Grand Ole Opry will host a unique tribute performance today to commemorate one of the Opry’s “most cherished and celebrated individuals.”
Country musicians such as Gatlin Brothers, Elizabeth Cook, and Maggie Rose will play during the concert. It will also be a large family event, with two members of Lynn’s family performing: her sister, country artist Crystal Gayle, and her granddaughter Tayla Lynn.
Tayla is making her Opry debut nearly 62 years after her grandmother, playing with Tre Twitty, the grandson of Conway Twitty, the country musician who was a regular partner of Loretta Lynn. Conway Twitty passed away in 1993.
Loretta Lynn celebrates her birthday today! At 90, she is still going strong – we wish the diva the best and many happy years to come!
