Loretta Lynn (April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer-songwriter born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, to a coal miner father. One of eight children, she grew up in poverty in rural Appalachia. At 15, she married Oliver "Doolittle" Lynn, and they had six children. Her husband encouraged her musical talent, leading her to start singing professionally in the late 1950s. Lynn’s breakthrough came with her 1960 single "I’m a Honky Tonk Girl," and she rose to fame with hits like "Coal Miner’s Daughter," "You Ain’t Woman Enough," and "Fist City," known for their raw honesty about working-class life, love, and women’s struggles.
She released over 60 albums, earning 16 No. 1 country hits and three Grammy Awards. Her 1976 autobiography, *Coal Miner’s Daughter*, became a bestselling book and inspired an Oscar-winning 1980 film. Lynn faced personal challenges, including her husband’s infidelity and alcoholism, and the loss of two children. Despite these, she performed into her 80s, becoming a Country Music Hall of Fame member and a trailblazer for women in country music. She passed away at 90 in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.
