Loretta Lynn, whose raw and feminist country songs influenced generations of performers, died at the age of 90. The legendary singer-songwriter died in her sleep at home in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, on October 4, her publicist said in a statement.
Lynn released 50 solo albums across a six-decade career. She grew up in Kentucky — the daughter of a coal miner, as she’d later sing on “Coal Miner’s Daughter†— before marrying and moving to Washington State, where she began performing. Shortly after writing and recording her first single, “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl,†Lynn moved to Nashville, where she found success with songs from a distinctly female perspective. Her first of 16 No. 1 country songs was “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind).†Her other hits included “Fist City†(about a cheating husband), “One’s on the Way†(about women’s parenting burdens), and “The Pill†(about birth control). Lynn had multiple songs banned from country radio — a fact that she wore with pride. Her honesty extended to songs like “Coal Miner’s Daughter,†the 1970 No. 1 that inspired an Oscar-winning 1980 movie of the same name. At the height of her solo success, Lynn recorded a series of duets with Conway Twitty, which included five consecutive No. 1 songs between 1971 and 1975.
Lynn experienced a career resurgence in the 21st century that began with the release of her first studio album in more than a decade, Still Country, in 2000. In 2004, she collaborated with Jack White on Van Lear Rose, an album of rock-inflected takes on new Lynn songs; it became one of her most acclaimed albums. Lynn’s 2016 album, Full Circle, reached her highest peak on the Billboard 200 at No. 19. In 2021, she released Still Woman Enough, featuring new songs alongside fresh takes of her classics — including collaborations with Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire, Tanya Tucker, and Margo Price. Those are just a fraction of the musicians influenced by Lynn, a list that includes the likes of Miranda Lambert, Lucinda Williams, Maren Morris, Sheryl Crow, and just about every other woman pushing the boundaries of country music.