The world of country music pays tribute to Loretta Lynn, the coal miner’s daughter
Country music singers, celebrities and fans shared their stories and feelings about Loretta Lynn, the coal miner’s daughter and one of the Queens of country, who passed away at the age of 90 on Tuesday.
Lynn’s family shared the news of her death on Twitter Tuesday. “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 post said on Twitter.
From humble beginnings to Queen of Country
Lynn was born Loretta Webb in 1933 in Van Lear, Kentucky, a mining town in the Appalachian mountains. She had seven brothers and sisters who were raised by their father who worked as a coal miner, shopkeeper amongst other odd jobs. Those difficult times were reflected in her songs and she became known as the “Coal Miner’s Daughter” thanks to the popularity of her song by the same name released in 1970. In 1980 a film about her life with the same titled premiered and she published her memoirs in 2010 again with the same title.
In the 1950s she moved to Washington state with her husband to look for work and that’s when she began to learn how to play the guitar. Her husband encouraged her to take up a career in music and she formed a band and began playing in local radio stations and music halls. She went on to sign her first contract and in the late 1960s moved to Nashville, Tennessee. The rest is history.
The country music community shared their feelings on social media
Lynn influenced generations of country singers and many of them gave stories on how she impacted their lives. Big names in the music industry like Dolly Parton, Sheryl Crow, Carrie Underwood and Margo Price paid homage to the late singer:
Other celebrities and well-known entertainers, journalists and writers such as Dan Rather, Blake Shelton, Stephen King, Barack Obama, etc, wanted to say goodbye to Lynn on social media and shared their feelings about one of the most influential country singers of all time: