I am a Country and Western fan and while I appreciate many of the really old pieces and musicians, I generally prefer the changes that came about around the 1980s. I do also appreciate the pioneers of the genre and there is no denying Loretta Lynn was of a special stature. And like so many of the few that actually made it to super stardom, she came from impoverished beginnings and a hard early life. “The Coal Miner’s Daughter” released her first song in 1960 and when I checked on a couple of the sites announcing her death they summed up her major awards. “Lynn was the first woman ever named entertainer of the year at the genre’s two major awards shows, first by the Country Music Association in 1972 and then by the Academy of Country Music three years later.”

“Throughout her career, Loretta won three Grammy Awards of 18 nominations, scored 24 number-one hit single and 11 number-one albums, and was named the Academy of Country Music’s Artist of the Decade. Four years before her death, Loretta was presented with the Artist of a Lifetime award at CMT Artists of the Year ceremony in 2018.”

She did have a stroke a few years ago and passed at home in Tennessee peacefully this week at age 90. She influenced stars like Dolly Parton, Reba McIntire, and the newer generation of Carrie Underwood. Aside from her musical talent, she was known for the lovely dresses she always wore, good works she did within different communities, and bringing her life into focus with the autobiography of, “Coal Miner’s Daughter”, later made into an Oscar-winning movie. We lifted a toast to her at a luncheon yesterday and I’m sure that has already been repeated millions of times around the world.