|
Loretta Lynn has become a
legend in her time, and is still going strong. She is one of
the truly classic country singers, without a doubt. Born
April 14, 1945 in Butcher Holler, Kentucky, in the heart of
coal mining country, she married Mooney at age 13, and by the
time she celebrated her 17th birthday, Loretta had
4 children. At this time, she and Mooney, whose nickname was
“Moonshine,” for obvious reasons, moved to Custer, Washington,
where she worked as a waitress for 50 cents an hour. Mooney
listened to her sing to their children, was impressed and
bought her a guitar and urging Loretta to practice singing
with it. In 1959, she signed a contract with Zero Records,
which released her debut single, “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl,” in
1960. The honky tonk ballad became a hit thanks to the
insistent, independent promotion of Loretta and her husband.
If you saw the movie
depicting the story of Loretta Lynn’s success in the Country
Music business, you recall that she and Mooney drove all over
the country promoting her first record. All the effort paid
off. The song reached number 14 on the charts and attracted
the attention of the Wilburn Brothers, who hired Loretta to
tour with them in 1960. They also persuaded her to move to
Nashville. After arriving in the big city, she was signed to
a recording contract with Decca Records. Her first recording
for Decca in 1962, simply entitled “Success,” went straight to
number 6, and Loretta began to gain the reputation of
Country’s foremost honky tonk singer.
To millions of people
around the world, Loretta Lynn became the “Queen of Country
Music” in the 1960’s, replacing Kitty Wells who held that
distinction in the Fifties. It wasn’t easy to reach the
national public in those days. Exposure in the early days of
television was hard to come by. One had to rely on getting to
the Dee Jays by mail, telephone and by personal visitation.
To promote her first record, Mooney mailed copies to radio
stations around the country, and they traveled 80,000 miles,
living on bologna and cheese-and-crackers and stopping at
radio stations. When she hit the charts, she drew the
attention of the Grand Ole Opry and became a member in 1961.
Loretta Lynn’s
accomplishments are legendary. She recorded 70 albums, 17 of
which went to #1. She has had 80 chart hits, including 55 top
ten singles and 27 #1 singles. She has won more awards than
any female artist in country music history: 21 CMA, ACM and
Grammy awards to date, along with a host of others. Loretta
Lynn was the first woman to be named Entertainer of the Year
by both the CMA and the ACM.
In the early Sixties,
Loretta Lynn’s popularity expanded rapidly with the syndicated
television show done with the Wilburn Brothers, The Grand Ole
Opry, personal appearances, and of course the steady flow of
hit recordings. An ever-increasing fan base gobbled her
records up. Hits in those early years were “The Other Woman,”
“Wine, Women And Song,” “Happy Birthday,” “Blue Kentucky
Girl,” and “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ With Lovin’ On Your
Mind,” released in 1966.
Loretta began early in
life to write songs, and she was good at it, too. She got her
early inspiration from reading Country Song Roundup, which
printed lyrics to the hits of the day. She often wrote songs
reflecting the combative side of love, songs like “Fist City”
and “You Ain’t Woman Enough To Take My Man.” Loretta didn’t
shy away from a topic because of its controversial nature.
She wrote a song called, “The Pill,” which was very well
received by many in the feminist movement, but banned by some
radio stations.
At the height of her
success, Loretta was traveling half a million miles a year by
bus. When she wasn’t traveling, she was anchored at the estate
in Hurricane Mills, which she and Mooney had bought on a whim
in 1966. It had come with the entire town, including a
gristmill, post office, and general store, and eventually
became another aspect of her life to share with fans when she
opened it to tourists in 1975.
Like many country
music singers, Loretta loved to sing duets, and recorded many
songs with Ernest Tubb and Conway Twitty. “After The Fire Is
Gone” was one of the biggest hits she had with Conway, a song
that gave them Duo Of The Year by CMA.
Loretta’s impact on
our society has never been confined simply to country music.
She is one of a handful of country artists to have a major
impact on modern culture--and she did it without a conscious
attempt at a “crossover.” Her autobiography, Coal Miner’s
Daughter, became a #1 New York Times best seller and then a
critically acclaimed movie. She has sung for royalty and
called presidents by first name; named one of the ten most
admired women in the world by the Ladies Home Journal; the
first country entertainer ever to appear on the cover of
Newsweek; and has been featured on many of the nation’s top
television shows, including “The Ed Sullivan Show” “The Muppet
Show,” “The Today Show,” “The Tonight Show,” a Barbara Walters
special, and many others. Her A&E “Live By Request” special
was their fourth highest-rated ever. She has sung with both
Conway Twitty and Luciano Pavarotti, and she has received an
honorary doctor of arts degree from the University of
Kentucky.
Of course Her
signature hit was “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”
Happy Birthday,
Loretta!
(Gleaned from many
sources)
Dusty Owens
TCM Radio News
|
