Loretta Lynn, Country Music Icon, Dead at 90

The daughter of a coal miner, Lynn reached peak success with two dozen No. 1 singles and over 45 million albums sold.

Country music singer Loretta Lynn has passed away. She was 90 years old. 

"Our precious mom, Loretta Lynn, passed away peacefully this morning, October 4th, in her sleep at home in her beloved ranch in Hurricane Mills,” the family said in a statement shared on the singer's official Facebook page. 

Lynn, who was famously born into the family of a coal miner, reached peak success with two dozen No. 1 singles and over 45 million albums sold. Some of her most popular hits include "You Ain't Woman Enough," "Don't Come Home A-Drinkin',"  "One's on the Way," "Fist City," and "Coal Miner's Daughter."

Although she saw some success in the early 1960s and held regular performances alongside Patsy Cline at the Grand Ole Opry, it wasn't until almost a decade later that Lynn topped the charts. 

In 1966, her hit "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)" made Lynn the first female country artist to write a No. 1 hit, and years later, as the '70s neared the '80s, the artist still dominated the charts, as per Lynn's website.

Then in 1980, the Oscar-winning film Coal Miner’s Daughter starring Sissy Spacek brought Lynn’s story and songs to an even wider audience and amplified her impact on several generations of songwriters and artists in various genres, including Jack White; with whom Lynn made the Grammy-winning 2004 album Van Lear Rose, as per an official statement shared with Parade.

While a new millennium was upon the star, she had no plans to retire and instead made waves in the modern American music world once again with the release of Full Circle in 2016, her first album in more than a decade. 

A powerful return-to-form, acclaimed by fans and critics alike, the album debuted at No. 4 on Billboard's country charts (which made it her 40^th Top 10 country album and her highest-charting album ever on the Billboard 200). It was nominated for Best Country Album at the 59^th Annual Grammy Awards. Loretta followed Full Circle that same year with White Christmas Blue, an album sending listeners on a seasonal trip to Lynn's hometown of Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, during Christmastime.

Then in the spring of 2021, Lynn released her 46^th studio album, Still Woman Enough, which featured the likes of Reba McEntire, Tanya Tucker, and Carrie Underwood, and peaked at No. 3 on the top UK Country Albums chart and No. 9 on Billboard's Top Country Albums. 

Her career, which spanned six decades, has been recognized as one of the most profound and earned Lynn the moniker of "The Most Awarded Lady in Country Music." She won countless Academy awards, was inducted into the 2003 class of Kennedy Center Honors, the Grammy Hall of Fame, and even received a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013.

According to the official statement, the family has asked for privacy during this time as they grieve, and an announcement regarding a memorial for the country music legend will be made in a forthcoming public announcement.

Loretta was survived by four of the six children she shared with her husband, Oliver "Doolittle" Lynn, who passed away in 1996. 

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