Loretta Lynn was a real one. One of the greatest and truest songwriters to ever grace this Earth, Lynn passed away today at 90 years old. "Our precious mom, Loretta Lynn, passed away peacefully this morning, October 4th, in her sleep at home at her beloved ranch in Hurricane Mills," her family shared on Instagram. It's no surprise that the internet is flooded with loving words from Dolly Parton, Miranda Lambert, H.C. McEntire, Carole King, Margo Price, and many more. Even if you weren't one of the many musicians—from Jack White to Sheryl Crow—whose music (or life) wouldn't be the same if not for Lynn's legacy, her story is equally as inspirational and unforgettable as her music.
Lynn was the daughter of coal miner Ted Webb and his wife Clary. One of her hit songs "Coal Miner's Daughter" tells her life story of growing up in poverty with a loving family. She met Oliver Vanetta "Doolittle" Lynn when she was 15 years old and was married and pregnant with her first child a year later. She would go on to have six children, and be encouraged by Doolittle to pursue songwriting before recording her first song "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl" in 1960.
Lynn penned songs around her own personal hardships—spanning her upbringing and relationship with Doolittle—with the same ferocity and openness as those that tackled taboo topics like contraception, divorce, and the grief of losing a lover during the Vietnam War. Her song "The Pill" was banned from many radio stations at the time of its 1975 release. She performed music with other icons such as Frank Sinatra, Patsy Cline, Conway Twitty, Dolly Parton, and was even planning to work with Elvis before his untimely death.
As she grew older, her respect for sharp songwriting never withered. "This is what's wrong with the music business today: They're saying do 'La, la la.' Who's gonna remember that stuff?" she asserted in a 1997 interview. "Not me. Are you? You're gonna remember 'Don't Come Home Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind).' If they want me to write, they're going to have to take it like I write."
Below are a handful of Loretta Lynn classics.
