Country music lost one its most groundbreaking artists on October 4th, 2022. That woman was the queen of country music herself Ms. Loretta Lynn. Born on April 14th, 1932 in Butchers Hallow, Kentucky, Loretta Lynn's story is one of triumph, perseverance, and dedication. She was the oldest of 3 siblings. Her father Ted worked as coal miner and a substance farmer. Her father died at the age of 52 from a stroke which left Loretta's mother becoming a single mother raising 3 kids. This would become autobiographical when she released her biggest hit "Coal Miner's Daughter" which was released in 1971. In 1980, her life would bought to the big screen with the autobiographical movie Coal Miners Daughter in 1980 starring Sissy Spacek as the queen of country herself. At age 15, she married Oliver (Dolittle) in January of 1948. Loretta began singing as early as the late 1950s when she won a talent contest hosted by Bakersfield legend Buck Owens in Tacoma, Washington. In 1960, she cut her first record "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl and that rerecording blew the floodgates wide open. Since the inception of country in the late 1900s, country music was dominated by male artists. Fellow trendsetter Kitty Wells had her breakthrough hit "It wasn't God who made Honky Tonk Angels" in 1952 which covered taboo topics, but it was Loretta's song that emphasized those struggles and cute deep. From songs like "I'm A Honky Tonk Girl', "You Ain't Woman Enough" and "Don't Come Home A Drinking (with loving on your mind) became feminist anthems and paved the way for artists like Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert. Loretta made her debut at the Grand Ol Opry at the age of 28 in 1960. On September 25th, 1962 Loretta was inducted into The Grand Ol Opry and thus began her lifelong residents at the iconic venue. Outside of her own recordings, Loretta was known to collaborate with a wide range of artists including her long working friendship with Conway Twitty. In 2004, Loretta Lynn was introduced to a new generation of fans thanks to the admiration of Jack White formerly of The White Stripes. Their collaboration led to Van Lear Rose and the smash it "Portland, Oregon". Collaborations didn't stop there. In 2016, Loretta released her Full Circle and released the country gem "Everything it Takes" with rocker Elvis Costello and the ballad "Lay Me Down" with fellow country legend Willie Nelson. Loretta Lynn died peacefully in her sleep at the age of 90. Trailblazers come once in a lifetime and Loretta Lynn was undoubtably just that. May the queen of country rest in blissful peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment