Loretta Lynn has died at the age of 90.
The country music icon – who sold more than 45 million albums during her career – died at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, on Tuesday
The country music icon – who sold more than 45 million albums during her career – died at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, on Tuesday
Lynn emerged from humble beginnings in life to become one of the most celebrated country stars of all time, topping the US country charts 16 times and earning 18 Grammy nominations.
The singer was born in a one-room cabin in rural Kentucky and was one of eight siblings.
At the age of 15, she married 21-year-old Oliver Lynn and the couple remained together for 48 years, despite his struggles with alcoholism.
Lynn began writing her own songs when she was a housewife and she eventually released her debut single I’m a Honky-Tonk Girl in 1960.
The country music legend and her husband – who died in 1996 – actually marketed the single themselves, driving to several radio stations in order to generate interest in the track.
Lynn’s music often touched on her background in Kentucky and her biggest hits included The Pill, Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind) and You’re Looking at Country.
The singer – who was the daughter of a coal miner – also wrote the song Coal Miner’s Daughter in 1970.
Lynn won a host of awards during her career, too.
In 1972, she became the first woman to win the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year accolade. She was also named the Entertainer of the Year by the Academy of Country Music in 1975.
Lynn’s most recent album Wouldn’t It Be Great was released in 2018, while her biography, Coal Miner’s Daughter, inspired an acclaimed biopic of the same name.
The country star is survived by four of her six children – Clara, and Ernest, and twins Peggy and Patsy.
Source: Asia One
