Icon Loretta Lynn, who became one of the pioneers to shape the reality of women performing and writing country music died today at her home in Tennessee, she was 90 years old. Born Loretta Webb the performer grew up in a remote coal mining community in the Appalachian Mountains of eastern Kentucky. When she was barely a teenager Lynn started a family of her own with a 21-year-old former soldier named Oliver Lynn who is better known as “Mooney” or “Doolittle.”
The biggest song of Lynn‘s entire career is “Coal Miner’s Daughter” which describes her tough background. As country music frequently described the hardship from man’s view point, Lynn was not afraid of telling the world about her shame she had endured in her marriage or the double standards of what Lynn saw when other women were facing divorce, pregnancy and birth control, throughout her 60 year career.
51 of Lynn‘s tunes were the top 10 country hits on the Billboard charts, including “Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind)” and “Fist City.” In 1972, she became the first woman named Entertainer of the Year by the Country Music Association. By 1980 Lynn’s influences have reached a new generation of fans when an Oscar-winning film was made about her life, called Coal Miner’s Daughter. Lynn’s music and outlook have impacted many generations of songwriters across different music genres including Jack White, with whom she made the album Van Lear Rose in 2004.
“I like real life, because that’s what we’re doing today and I think that’s why people bought my records, because they’re living in this world. And so am I. So I see what’s going on, and I grab it.” said Lynn
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