Loretta Lynn

Early life and career

Lynn was born Loretta Webb on April 14, 1932, in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, the oldest daughter and second child of Clara Marie "Clary" (née Ramey; May 5, 1912 – November 24, 1981) and Melvin Theodore "Ted" Webb (June 6, 1906 – February 22, 1959). Ted was a coal miner and subsistence farmer. Lynn had one older sibling, Melvin "Junior" Webb (1929–1993), and six younger siblings: Herman Webb (1934–2018), Willie "Jay" Lee Webb (February 12, 1937 – July 31, 1996), Donald Ray Webb (1941–2017), Peggy Sue Wright (née Webb; born March 25, 1943), Betty Ruth Hopkins (née Webb; born 1946), and Crystal Gayle (born Brenda Gail Webb; January 9, 1951). The family claims Cherokee heritage on Lynn's mother's side, but they have not been officially...

1960–1966: Early country success

Lynn began singing in local clubs in the late 1950s. She later formed her own band, the Trailblazers which included her brother Jay Lee Webb. Lynn won a wristwatch in a televised talent contest in Tacoma, Washington, hosted by Buck Owens. Lynn's performance was seen by Canadian Norm Burley of Zero Records, who co-founded the record company after hearing Loretta sing.

2004–2022: Late career resurgence

In 2004, Lynn released Van Lear Rose, the second album on which Lynn either wrote or co-wrote every song. Produced by Jack White of The White Stripes, the album featured guitar and backup vocals by White. The collaboration garnered Lynn high praise from the mainstream and alternative rock music press, such as Spin and Blender. Rolling Stone voted it the second best album of 2004, and it won the Grammy Award for Best Country Album of the Year.

Coal Miner's Daughter

"Coal Miner's Daughter" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn. Considered Lynn's signature song, it was originally released as a single in 1970 and became a number one hit on the Billboard country chart.

It was later released on an album of the same name. Produced by Owen Bradley, the song tells the story of Lynn's coal-mining father in rural Kentucky during the Great Depression.

Background and composition

The music and lyrics of "Coal Miner's Daughter" had been written entirely by Loretta Lynn. She composed the song in 1969, a year before its official recording. While writing the lyrics, Lynn composed the melody at the same time. The melody had originally been written in a bluegrass style, which matched the style of music she was raised singing. According to Lynn, she had trouble rhyming some of the song's words. "I had to match up words like “holler” and “daughter” and “water.” But after it was done, the rhymes weren't so important," Lynn wrote in her 1976 autobiography. Lynn spent several hours writing the remainder of the song. When it was completed, a total of nine verses were composed.

Recording

Lynn recorded the song upon the encouragement of her longtime record producer, Owen Bradley. However, Bradley disliked that Lynn's original written version contained ten verses. Fearing the song would be as long as Marty Robbins' hit "El Paso," Bradley told her: "There’s already been an ‘El Paso,’ there didn't need to be another one." Before recording, she removed extra verses of the song related to further mentions of her father and life in rural Kentucky. Lynn also removed lines related to her mother killing a pig during an annual "hog-killing day." In total, four verses were removed from the original composition. Lynn later recalled removing the verses: " I cried the whole time. And I have lost those verses, I do not remember them. I...

Critical reception

"Coal Miner's Daughter" has received a positive reception from critics since its original 1970 release. In 1971, Billboard magazine praised the song for retaining "true country flavor." Cary O'Dell of the Library of Congress called it Lynn's "most autobiographical song" and commented on its importance to the country music genre. "It is perhaps one of country music’s most autobiographical songs ever, a major achievement for a genre which often specializes in memoirs set to music, Parton’s 'Coat of Many Colors' being a prime example," he wrote. Mary A. Bufwack and Robert K. Oermann found the song to be a symbol of Lynn's pride in being a working class person. "She stuck out her chin to defend poor folks culture...Like the lady, herself,...

Release and chart performance

"Coal Miner's Daughter" was released as a single to radio one year after its recording. It was issued to via Decca Records as a seven inch vinyl single on October 5, 1970. Included on the B-side was the track, "The Man of the House." The song became a number one hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart later that year, spending one week at the position. It was Lynn's fourth number one single in her career and one of 16 chart-topping hits. The single also peaked at number 83 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her first entry on that chart. Over the decade, Lynn would reach the Hot 100 three more times. "Coal Miner's Daughter" also charted on the RPM Country Singles chart in Canada, reaching the number one position as well. In 1971,...