Loretta Lynn

Loretta Lynn

   Loretta Lynn was born in Butcher Holler, Kentucky but moved to Washington with her husband at the age of thirteen. She had her first child soon after. She grew up singing in church but quit when she got married. On her eighteenth birthday her husband, Doolittle, bought her a guitar and Lynn taught herself to play. 

   In 1959 Lynn started to perform in local bars and competed in a televised talent show. The show was seen by a founder of the Canadian company, Zero Records. He arranged some recording time for her in Hollywood. In 1960, she signed with Zero Records and released her first single, "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl." Afterwards she toured around the country and by the time she reached Nashville the song hit fourteen on Billboard's Country and Western charts. This success landed her a second record deal with Decca Records and by the end of the year she was considered one of the most promising country female artist.

   In 1962, Lynn released "Success", her first of many singles to reach top ten. From then on Lynn's success only grew. She was not afraid of controversy or showing her feminist side. Her first number one hit was "You Ain't Woman Enough" which is about a woman trying to take her husband. This also made Loretta Lynn the first female country artist to get a number one hit. The next year she hit number one again with "Don't Come Home a Drinkin'." This was first of many songs to describe her marriage to Doolittle. Lynn's openness to speak of taboo topics attracted people from all over and even people who did not listen to country music. 

Don't Come Home a Drinkin'

   In 1970, "Coal Miner's Daughter", a song about Lynn's life in Butcher Holler, was released. The next year Lynn joined up with Conway Twitty and they became one of the biggest duos ever. They had a long string of number one hits including "Louisana Woman, Mississippi Man." In 1977, Lynn came out with an album that was a tribute to her late friend Patsy Cine. The album was covers of some of Cline's biggest hits that were equally successful for Lynn. Her career continued on and she kept releasing hits until 1993, when she decided to quit recording and focus on touring. She came out with a few more hits through out the years but it would never reach that of her early years.