Country star Loretta Lynn dies at 90 – was she really a coal miner’s daughter?

On Oct. 4 at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tenn., Loretta Lynn, a legendary figure in country music, died at the age of 90. She passed away peacefully by natural causes, as announced by her family.

Lynn was one of the most influential and iconic figures in country music history, known for her trailblazing honesty and storytelling songwriting. She often navigated the road less traveled, tackling in her music subjects like infidelity, birth control, and female empowerment. She was fearless in her fight against the patriarchal attitudes that heavily plagued country music in the post-war era. Her groundbreaking album Coal Miner’s Daughter told her own life story and became one of her most recognizable singles to date, as well as the title of her best-selling 1976 autobiography and the Academy Award-winning film starring Sissy Spacek.

Lynn’s influence extended beyond music; she was also a powerful advocate for women’s rights and working-class Americans. In 2013 President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, making her the second country music artist in history to receive the nation’s highest civilian honor. In a career that spanned over five decades, Lynn released more than 50 studio albums and charted more than 40 singles. 

She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008. In 1972 she became the first woman ever to be named entertainer of the year at the Country Music Association; in 1975 she did the same at the Academy of Country Music.

Was Loretta Lynn really a coal miner’s daughter?

In her famous song “Coal Miner’s Daughter” Lynn sings “We were poor but we had love. That’s the one thing that daddy made sure of.” The song set the stage for her success, doubling as the title of her autobiography and the motion picture film that eventually landed Sissy Spacek an Academy Award; it’s only natural, then, to wonder whether the country legend was indeed a coal miner’s daughter.

As it turns out, she was. Lynn was born in the middle of the Great Depression and spoke freely about the poverty she and her family experienced because of it. Her father, Melvin Webb, worked in road construction during the time, and then in the late ’30s — as the economy improved — began work as a coal miner.

Her husband, Oliver Lynn, also became a coal miner. He gifted Lynn her first guitar as a present after hearing her sing along to the radio. The pair had 4 children by the time Lynn was 18 years old. In her autobiography Lynn credited him with setting her career in motion. “It wasn’t my idea,” she wrote. “He told me I could do it. I’d still be a housewife today if he didn’t bring that guitar home and then encourage me to be a singer.”

Oliver Lynn passed away in 1996 after years of battling diabetes and heart complications. He and Loretta Lynn had six children in total together, however two of them , Jack Benny and Betty Sue died in 1984 and 2013, respectively. Oliver and Loretta Lynn are survived by their daughters, Peggy Lynn, Patsy Lynn Russell, Clara Marie Lynn, and son Ernest Ray Lynn, as well as several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Loretta Lynn’s death leaves a void in country music that will be impossible to fill. She was a true pioneer who paved the way for countless other artists, both male and female. Just months before her passing, Dolly Parton and other famous country singers wished her a happy 90th birthday. Her impact on the genre — and on the world — is immeasurable. She will be deeply missed.