ROOTS of Country Music

Antioch, TN 37013

Lynn, Loretta

The Professional Work of Loretta Lynn

(born Apr. 14, 1934)

Career Highlights

No. 17 All-Time Country Music Artist

Barn Dance Affiliate: Louisiana Hayride

Grand Ole Opry Member -1962

Film, Night Club, Radio & TV

Ernest Tubb’s Midnight Jamboree, 3
Gilley’s Club, 2
Hee Haw, 4
Nashville Now, 4
Pop Goes the Country, 4
The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, 4
The Johnny cash Show, 4
The Porter Wagoner Show, 4
The Wilburn Brothers Show, 4

1-Film, 2-Night Club, 3-Radio, 4-TV

Billboard Chart Data

No. 1 Singles: 16
Top-10 Singles: 51
Crossover Singles: 0
Charted Singles: 77
Chart Active Years: 1960-1993

Awards

Country Music Association

Country Music Hall of Fame -1988
Female Vocalist of the Year (1967, 1972, 1973)
Entertainer of the Year (1973)
Vocal Duo (1973, 1974, 1975) with Conway Twitty

Academy of Country Music

1971 Top Vocal Duo with Conway Twitty
1974 Top Vocal Duo with Conway Twitty
1975 Album of the Year with with Conway Twitty - Feelin's
1975 Top Vocal Duo with Conway Twitty
1976 Top Vocal Duo with Conway Twitty

Billboard Top-10 Singles

Success -1962
Before I'm Over You -1963
Wine, Women And Song -1964
Happy Birthday
Blue Kentucky Girl -1965
The Home You're Tearin' Down
Dear Uncle Sam -1966
You Ain't Woman Enough To Take My Man
Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' (With Lovin' On Your Mind)
If You're Not Gone Too Long -197
What Kind Of Girl (Do You Think I Am?)
Fist City -1968
You've Just Stepped In (From Stepping Out On Me)
Your Squaw Is On The Warpath
Woman Of The World (Leave My World Alone) -1969
To Make a man (Feel Like a Man)
I Know How -1970
You Wanna Give Me a Lift
Coal Miner's Daughter
I Wanna Be Free -1971
You're Lookin' At Country
One's On The Way*
Here I Am Again -1972
Rated "X"
Love Is The Foundation -1973
Hey Loretta
They Don't Make 'Em Like My Daddy -1974
Trouble In Paradise
The Pill -1975
Home
When The Tingle Becomes A Chill
Somebody Somewhere (Don’t Know What He's Missin' Tonight) -1976
She's Got You -1977
Why Can't He Be You
Out Of My Head And Back In My Bed
We've Come a Long Way, Baby -1978
I Can't Feel You Anymore -1979
I've Got a Picture of Us on My Mind
I Lie -1982

*Biggest Chart Single

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------No. 1 & Top-10 Duets With Conway Twitty

After The Fire Is Gone* -1971
Lead Me On*
Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man*1973
As Soon As I Hang Up The Phone*1974
Feelins'*1975
The Letter -1976
I Can't Love You Enough -1977
From Seven Till Ten -1978
You Know Just What I'd Do -1979
It's True Love -1980
Lovin' What Your Lovin' Does To Me -1981
I Still Believe In Waltzes

*No. 1 Single

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Coal Miner's Daughter: The Loretta Lynn Story

Loretta Lynn is one of the classic country female singers who ruled the charts, racking up over 70 hits as a solo artist and a duet partner. Lynn helped forge the way for strong, independent women in country music. As told by her song (and movie and book), Loretta Lynn is a coal miner's daughter, born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, in 1935. As a child, she sang in church and a variety of local concerts. In January 1949, she married Oliver "Mooney" Lynn. She was 13 years old at the time. Following their marriage, the couple moved to Custer, Washington (WA), where they raised four children.

Loretta Lynn began singing in local clubs in the Tacoma WA area in 1959 and later formed her own band, The Trailblazers, which included her brother Jay Lee Webb. Lynn appeared in a televised Tacoma, Washington talent contest, hosted by Buck Owens, which was seen by Canadian Norm Burley, one of the founders of Zero Records.

Zero Records president, Don Grashey arranged a recording session in Hollywood, California (CA) where four of Lynn's own compositions were recorded. The songs were I'm A Honky Tonk Girl, "hispering Sea, Heartache Meet Mister Blues and New Rainbow. Her first release featured Whispering Sea and I'm A Honky Tonk Girl. Musicians backing her on the single included Muddy Berry (drums), acoustic guitarist Speedy West, Harold Hensley (fiddle), Al Williams (bass guitar) and guitarist Roy Lanham. With Zero's initial support, Lynn went on to become one of country music’s greats.

Loretta Lynn signed her first contract on February 1, 1960, with Zero Records and she recorded her first release that same month. The material was recorded at United Western Recorders, in Hollywood, CA and engineered by Don Blake and produced by Grashey.

The Lynns toured the country to promote the release to country stations, while Grashey and Del Roy took the music to KFOX in Long Beach, CA. When the Lynns reached Nashville, Tennessee (TN) the song was a hit, climbing to No. 14 on Billboard's C & W Chart and Lynn began cutting demo records for the Wilburn Brothers' Publishing Company. Through the Wilburns, Lynn was able to secure a contract with Decca Records. From the onset of her career fans took notice and rallied behind her all the way, with the first Loretta Lynn Fan Club formed in November 1960. By the end of the year Billboard magazine listed Loretta Lynn as the No. 4 Most Promising Country Female Artist.

Lynn's relationship with the Wilburn Brothers and her appearances on the Grand Ole Opry, beginning in 1960, helped her become the number one female recording artist in country music.

Although Kitty Wells had become the first major female country vocalist during the 1950s, by the time Lynn recorded her first record, only three other women - Patsy Cline, Skeeter Davis, and Jean Shepard; had become top stars. By the end of 1962, it was clear that Lynn was on her way to becoming the fourth. Lynn credits Cline as her mentor and best friend during those early years, and as fate would have it, Lynn would follow her as the most popular country vocalist of the early 1960s and 1970s.

During the mid-1960s to the early-1970s, Loretta Lynn recorded and toured with Ernest Tubb. Their first collaborative album was in 1965 titled Mr. & Mrs. Used to Be. This album only generated one single, as compared to their followup album, which spawned two singles. The single, Sweet Thang peaked outside the country top-40 and wasn't as successful as their other duet singles they recorded in the past.

The album's new songs included compositions written by Lynn titled Let's Stop Where We Are and Bartender. The album also included Love is No Excuse, a song written by Tubb's son, Justin Tubb that was originally a duet hit for Jim Reeves and Dottie West in 1964. The duo would record one last album the next year before Lynn would go on to record with Conway Twitty and Tubb's career would decline in success.

Between 1966 and 1970, Lynn racked up 13 top-10 hits, including four number one hits; Don't Come Home a Drinkin', Fist City (1968), Woman of the World and the autobiographical Coal Miner's Daughter (1970).

In 1971, she began a professional partnership with Conway Twitty. As a duo, Lynn and Twitty had five consecutive number one hits between 1971 and 1975; After the Fire Is Gone (1971), Lead Me On (1971), Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man (1973), As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone (1974) and Feelins' (1974). The hit streak kick-started what would become one of the most successful duos of country history. For four consecutive years (1972-1975), Lynn and Twitty were named the Vocal Duo of the Year by the Country Music Association. In addition to their five number one singles, they had seven other top-10 hits between 1976 and 1981.

Throughout her career, Loretta Lynn racked up 51 top-10 chart singles, including 16 that went to No. 1. Loretta Lynn was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Loretta Lynn Billboard Top-10 Discography (1961-1981)

Sep. 8, 1961

Bradley Film & Recording Studio; Nashville, Tennessee USA

Producer: Owen Bradley

Session Personnel: Loretta Lynn (vocal), Cecil Bower (violin), Harold Bradley (6-stribg electric bass guitar), Floyd Cramer (piano), Murrey "Buddy" Harman Jr. (drums), Don Helms (steel guitar), Tommy Jackson (violin), Thomas Grady Martin (electric guitar), Bob Moore (acoustic bass guitar), Teddy Wilburn (guitar)

Success

Sep. 5, 1962

Bradley Film & Recording Studio; Nashville, Tennessee USA

Producer: Owen Bradley

Session Personnel: Loretta Lynn (vocal), Harold Bradley (6-stribg electric bass guitar), Floyd Cramer (piano), Murrey "Buddy" Harman Jr. (drums), Don Helms (steel guitar), Jack Pruett (electric guitar), Bob Moore (acoustic bass guitar), Teddy Wilburn (guitar), probably the Jordanaires on backing vocals

Before I'm Over You

Feb. 26, 1964

Bradley Film & Recording Studio; Nashville, Tennessee USA

Producer: Owen Bradley

Session Personnel: Loretta Lynn, Jordanaires (vocals), Harold Bradley (6-stribg electric bass guitar), Floyd Cramer (piano), Murrey "Buddy" Harman Jr. (drums), Don Helms (steel guitar), Jerry Kennedy (guitar), Thomas Grady Martin (electric guitar), Bob Moore (acoustic bass guitar)

Wine, Women and Song

Oct. 14, 1964

Bradley Film & Recording Studio; Nashville, Tennessee USA

Producer: Owen Bradley

Session Personnel: Loretta Lynn, Jordanaires (vocals), Harold Bradley (6-stribg electric bass guitar), Floyd Cramer (piano), Murrey "Buddy" Harman Jr. (drums), Don Helms (steel guitar), Harold Morrison, Wayne Moss (guitar), Roy Huskey Jr. (acoustic bass guitar)

Happy Birthday
Blue Kentucky Girl -1965

Mar. 4, 1965

Columbia Studio; Nashville, Tennessee USA

Producer: Owen Bradley

Session Personnel: Loretta Lynn, Jordanaires (vocals), Harold Bradley (6-stribg electric bass guitar), Floyd Cramer (piano), Murrey "Buddy" Harman Jr. (drums), Don Helms, Harold Rugg (steel guitar), Thomas Grady Martin (electric guitar), Wayne Moss (guitar), Roy Huskey Jr. (acoustic bass guitar)

The Home You're Tearin' Down

Nov. 11, 1965

Columbia Studio; Nashville, Tennessee USA

Producer: Owen Bradley

Session Personnel: Loretta Lynn, Jordanaires (vocals), Harold Bradley (6-stribg electric bass guitar), David Briggs (piano), Ray Edenton (acoustic guitar), Murrey "Buddy" Harman Jr. (drums), Harold Rugg (steel guitar), Thomas Grady Martin (electric guitar), Joe Zinkan (bass guitar)

Dear Uncle Sam -1966
You Ain't Woman Enough To Take My Man

Oct. 5, 1966