Loretta Lynn has seen much success in her 60-plus-year country music career, but it certainly wasn’t handed to her. It wasn’t until she was in her 20s that Lynn even owned a guitar; after purchasing one for $17 in 1953, she taught herself to play the instrument — the beginnings of a legend.
Lynn was born in Butcher Holler, Ky., a coal-mining community in the Appalachian Mountains; she was the second child and first daughter of Clary and Ted Webb. She married Doolittle Lynn at the age of 15, moved to Custer, Wash., and, by the age of 19, was a mother of four.
Since cutting her first record, “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl,” in 1960, Lynn has sold more than 45 million albums worldwide and is one of the most-awarded female country recording artists. She became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1960, and, in 1972, Lynn became the first female CMA Entertainer of the Year. She was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983, the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame in 2008, and was honored at the CMA Awards in 2010.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The “Coal Minor’s Daughter” hitmaker is still at it, with a forthcoming record, Wouldn’t It Be Great, due out as soon as she can properly promote it (Lynn is recovering from a 2017 stroke and a broken hip she suffered in early 2018). In her words, “I’m just letting everybody know that Willie ain’t dead yet and neither am I, and I can’t wait to see all of you on the road!”
Click through the photo gallery above to see some of Lynn’s best live shots from throughout the decades.
This Article Was Originally Posted at www.TheBoot.com
