Women in Country: The Queen of Country Music Loretta Lynn

March is Women’s History Month, so in celebration, each week we’ll take a look at some of the many women who broke barriers in the industry and helped pave the way for female artists today. This week we take a look at the first woman to ever win the coveted Entertainer of the Year award at the Country Music Association awards, Loretta Lynn.  

Loretta didn't have to go far for inspiration for her songs, married at 13, she had 4 children by the time she was 17 and had to deal with her husband Doolittle's infidelities. She taught herself how to play the guitar, signed her first record deal in 1960, and went on to have 27 number one hits. She was groundbreaking as a songwriter, tackling topics that weren't really sung about at the time like drinking ('Don't come home a Drinkin' with lovin' on your mind'), birth control ('The Pill'), divorce ('Rated X'), and female rivals 'You ain't Woman Enough to Take my Man',

As stated on her website, she refused to be any man's doormat. Fellow Opry member, Patsy Cline, helped her dress and taught her how to put on make-up and be stage ready. She was right there when the women's lib movement started and she gave it a voice.

She was also very proud of where she came from, her hit 'Coal Miner's Daughter' was the inspiration for the movie about her life starring Sissy Spacek, who won a Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Loretta and Tommy Lee Jones, who played her husband.

In a career that has spanned sixty years, according to Wikipedia, she's written over 160 songs, released sixty albums, and sold more than 45 million records worldwide. Loretta has won four Grammy awards, seven American Music Awards, eight BMI awards, thirteen Academy of Country Music Awards, and eight CMA awards.

She's had 27 number one hits, is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Songwriter's Hall of Fame, received Kennedy Center Honors in 2003, and was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013.

Loretta has a rose named after her and she just released her first studio album in ten years, 'Full Circle'. She was also recently featured on the PBS series 'American Masters' on March 4.

Thank you Loretta for not only sharing your talents with the world, but for giving women everywhere a voice, and for reminding us that it's there to be used.