NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — In a career that spanned more than six decades, country music star Loretta Lynn made her mark trailblazing country music for so many women.
Lynn began writing songs in the 1950s, but her country music career truly kicked off in Nashville in the 1960s with her first of 16 No. 1 hits coming in 1967.
Later hits included "Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind)", "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)", "Fist City" and "Coal Miner's Daughter".
Many of her songs focused on women's issues, whether it be adultery, divorce, birth control or the overall double standards for men and women.
Lynn has written more than 160 songs over 60 albums, won numerous awards including multiple Grammys and as of 2022 remains the most awarded woman in country music history.
In each decade she achieved iconic success. In 1972 she was the first woman to be named "Entertainer of the Year" by the Country Music Association, in 1980, was the only woman to be named "Artist of the Decade" for the 70s by the Academy of Country Music and in 2008 was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
1960s
In February 1960, Lynn signed her first contract with Zero Records. The first song she ever wrote and recorded, "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl" was among her first releases.
This song was self-promoted by her and her husband as traveled around the country to different radio stations. By the time they hit Nashville, the song was a hit, peaking at number fourteen on Billboard charts.
As the years continued, Lynn's success only grew. In 1962, she joined the Grand Ole Opry and released a slew of singles that would begin a series of top ten singles with Decca Records.
In 1966, she released the song "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)", her biggest hit up to that point, peaking at No. 2 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles.
The following year, Lynn released "Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind)" which was her first number one country hit.
Over the course of the decade, she released 17 albums. "Fist City", which was released in 1968, peaked at No. 1, with the album title single becoming Lynn's second No. 1 hit.
1970s
In 1970, Lynn released Coal Miner's Daughter, becoming one of her signature songs. In 2001, The Recording Industry Association of America named it one of the "Top 365 Songs of the Twentieth Century".
Throughout the next ten years, Lynn would continue to release top 10 hits, including "Rated X", "The Pill" and "Hey Loretta" Songs like Rated X and The Pill covered controversial topics like divorce and birth control.
Lynn was the first woman to win the CMA award for Entertainer of the year in 1972 and would go on to become one of the most awarded musicians of all time.
In 1976, she released her autobiography, Coal Miner's Daughter, which became a No. 1 bestseller and made her the first country artist to sit on the New York Times Best Seller list. That memoir would then be made into a movie starring Sissy Spacek in 1980.
1980s
The film Coal Miner's Daughter debuted in Nashville in March 1980 and became a box office hit across the country. It received a number of awards and nominations including but not limited to seven Academy Awards nominations and a Best Actress Oscar for Spacek.
Her last top 20 hit, "Heart Don't Do This to Me" was released in 1985. Three years later in 1988, she was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
1990s
Lynn returned to country music in 1993 with Honky Tonk Angels, a trio album with Dolly Parton and Tammy Wynette. This album was nominated for a number of awards including a Grammy, CMA award and a TNN Music City News Country award.
In 1995, she taped a series titled Loretta Lynn & Friends which showcased upcoming and established artists on the Nashville Network.
2000s
In 2000, Lynn released her first album in over a decade, Still Country, which featured a song dedicated to her late husband who
died four years prior.
Her single "Country in My Genes" was the first to be released since 1993 and to chart since that time period.
In 2002, she published her second best-seller book, Still Woman Enough, her second autobiography as well which peaked in the top 10.
Two years later she published a cookbook, You're Cookin' It Country.
Over the course of the next two decades, Lynn would go on to work with a number of different artists including Jack White, Miranda Lambert, Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello and Willie Nelson just to name a few.
In 2018, she was named Artist of a Lifetime by CMT.
Along with her numerous musical achievements, she was also the recipient of Kennedy Center Honors and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
