From Butcher Holler to the Grand Ole Opry to the Country Music Hall of Fame, Loretta has completed her earthly journey. Lynn passed away at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, on October 4th, 2022.
Born Loretta Webb in a one-room rural Kentucky cabin in 1932, Lynn was one of eight siblings and the daughter of a coal miner – a fact that led to her signature song, 1970’s “Coal Miner’s Daughter”. Loretta got her first guitar in 1953 and started a band with her brother Jay Lee, Loretta and the Trailblazers. She began writing her own songs and her debut single, I’m a Honky-Tonk Girl, was released in 1960. She and Oliver marketed the single by themselves driving from one country radio station to another. “Because we were too poor to stay in hotels, we slept in the car and ate baloney and cheese sandwiches in the parks … we were on the road three months.” The song was a success, reaching the Country Top 20, and led to her being signed by a major label, Decca.
