Kentucky Native Loretta Lynn Celebrates Birthday and 50 years in Business

2010 is turning out to be a year of celebration for Butcher Holler, Kentucky native, Loretta Lynn. Seventy-five years ago in 1935 a young child was born in the hills of eastern Kentucky.  She would then grow up through the hard times and make her way through the ranks of country music to become a legend in the music industry.  Even after all of these years, she hasn't slowed down one bit.

This year also marks 50 years in the music business.  The Coal Miners Daughter has experienced some life changing events that some of us would never dreamed of.  She was married to Oliver "Mooney" Lynn, also known as Doo, when she was 14 and soon was having children of her own.  Mooney pushed her to get in the business and with hard work and persistence, her first single, "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl," reached #14 on Billboard's charts.

Loretta Lynn has been known to sing songs that women could relate to.  She was bold and sassy and didn't care to take risks of songs that were considered indecent at the time.  It is hard to believe in this day and age of music you hear on the radio that a song called "The Pill" or anything about drinking was considered indecent. Women country music listeners, and some men, to this day still love to listen to songs such as, "You Ain’t Woman Enough (to Take My Man)," “Don’t Come Home A’Drinkin’ (with Lovin’ on Your Mind)," and “Fist City” among others that raced their way to the top of the charts.  Loretta was not afraid to stand up for herself.  To this day, she continues to influence women in country music.

She would later go on to perform award winning duets with Conway Twitty, as well as have a book and movie portraying her life called "Coal Miner's Daughter." By the time of her last major hit, ”I Lie,” in 1982, Lynn had 52 Top 10 hits and 16 #1’s. And who could not forget when asked to become a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Loretta Lynn jumped right in the arms of Johnny Cash in 1998?

In 2005, Lynn received a Grammy Award for Best Country Album for "Van Lear Rose," produced by longtime fan, Jack White of the White Stripes.  Just a couple of months ago, she received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Today she is preparing to release two more albums in the future and keeping a performance schedule just as strong as she has held in recent years.  There are several Kentucky stops, including Hullabalou Festival on July 25th, and Renfro Valley on October 8th and 9th.

Lynn has proved that she is still woman enough to be strong in the music industry even to this day.