RIP Loretta Lynn

  As the title of her 1970 albums said, Loretta Lynn Writes 'Em and Sings 'Em.  And she did both as well as any Country singer.  Her greatest songs, whether she wrote them or not, had a frankness about them that you rarely heard in a Country female singer-songwriter in the 60's and 70's.  Most of these were often aimed at other women.  Classic stay away from my man titles like "You Ain't Woman Enough", "You Ain't Woman Enough" and my personal fave "Fist City".  She took on issues that women talked about with "Rated X" and "The Pill".  But she also sang about her life growing up in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky with "Coal Miner's Daughter" and "Blue Kentucky Girl".  Her duets with Conway Twitty were dynamic because of the chemistry between the two.  Just listen to the half of their immortal Top 10 hit from 1978, "You're The Reason Our Kids Are Ugly". 

 Loretta was still making viable records into the 21st Century.  Her 2004 album, Van Lear Rose, was Produced by Jack White with all the songs written or co-written by Lynn. It was a critically acclaimed triumph that finished third in the Village Voice Pazz & Jop poll. She released four other fine albums after that including 2021's Still Woman Enough. 

 Loretta Lynn was the “Queen of CountryMusic”.  An inspiration to tons of female Country singers who sang frankly about their relationships, their lives growing up in a small town and what it's like to be a woman in a world that men want to dominate.