Yesterday, on October 4, the legendary country singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn passed away at the age of 90. Boasting career of over six decades, including three Grammy Awards and 8 Country music awards, Lynn was a musician who touched the hearts of millions in multiple generations. Among these millions is the famed musician Jack White, someone who once collaborated with Lynn on her 2004 album, Van Lear Rose, acting as a producer and a guest vocalist. Pitchfork reports that White has offered a tribute to the late singer-songwriter on his Instagram page.
The Instagram post shows White sitting in front of a camera, reminiscing about the importance that Lynn had to him, saying “What a sad day today is. We lost one of the greats, Loretta Lynn.” He goes on to state his belief that Lynn was one of the most important musicians of the 20th century, stating that he had “said years ago that I thought she was the greatest female singer-songwriter of the 20th century. I still believe that. Loretta used to say to make it in the business, you had to either be great, different, or first, and she thought that she was just different and that’s how she made it, but I think she was all three of those things and there’s plenty of evidence to back that up too.”
White goes on to explain Lynn’s significance as someone who was willing to break down barriers and fight for women, describing her as someone with an “incredible presence and such a brilliant genius in ways that I think only people who got to work with her might know about. What she did for feminism, women’s rights in a time period, in a genre of music that was the hardest to do it in, is just outstanding and will live on for a long time. She broke down a lot of barriers for people that came after her.”
He goes on: “I learned so much from her working together on this album, Van Lear Rose, and there was times where I just had to take a pause and step outside because she was just so brilliant, I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing and hearing. I almost felt like she didn’t even realize it, you know. But she was just a genius and just brilliant at what she did and we were lucky to have her and people can learn from example the rags to riches part of it and the beautiful natural voice part of it. She was like a mother figure to me and also a very good friend at times. She told me some amazing things that I’ll never tell anybody. Rest in peace, Loretta. God bless you.”
Watch Jack White’s tribute for Loretta Lynn, as well as footage of White and Lynn winning a Grammy for Van Lear Rose, below.
In 2021, Loretta Lynn released her 50th and final studio album, Still Woman Enough. In August, Jack White released his latest album, Entering Heaven Alive.
Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat
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