The Boomer REport - Music Fun Facts

Loretta Lynn - 10 Fun Facts

  1. She didn’t know she was pregnant with twins – When she gave birth to her twin daughters, Loretta later confessed she had no idea she was having two babies until the moment they were delivered.
  2. She married at 15 not 13 – Despite the famous lyrics in Coal Miner’s Daughter, she was 15 when she married Oliver “Doolittle” Lynn, not 13 as often misreported (though she did become a mom shortly after).
  3. Her husband bought her first guitar – Doolittle bought Loretta a $17 Harmony guitar from Sears in 1953. She taught herself to play and began performing in small Washington honky-tonks.
  4. She recorded a response song to “Harper Valley PTA” – Called The Pill, Loretta's 1975 hit tackled birth control and women’s liberation head-on. It was banned by 60+ radio stations and still became a hit.
  5. She was the first woman to win CMA Entertainer of the Year – In 1972, Loretta broke the glass ceiling as the first female artist to win Country Music Association's top award.
  6. She wrote her own songs about taboo topics – Loretta wrote about divorce, cheating, drinking, sex, and domestic abuse at a time when women were expected to stay quiet, making her both controversial and groundbreaking.
  7. She couldn’t read music – Like many of her peers, Loretta never learned to read music, but she wrote over 160 songs, including more than 50 Top 10 hits.
  8. Her first appearance at the Grand Ole Opry was unannounced – In 1960, Loretta made her debut as a walk-on guest. By the end of the night, she had an official invitation to return.
  9. She and Conway Twitty recorded 11 albums together – Their duet career became almost as iconic as their solo work, producing hits like Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man and After the Fire Is Gone.
  10. She ran her own dude ranch – Loretta owned and operated Hurricane Mills, a ranch and tourist attraction in Tennessee that included a replica of her childhood home and hosted motocross events.