About Me
-Born Loretta Webb to Melvin "Ted" and Clara Webb on April 14, 1935 in Butcher Holler, Kentucky. -She grew up in Butcher Holler, a section of Van Lear a mining community in Johnson County, Kentucky. Her father Ted was a coal miner, store keeper and farmer. - She was married to Oliver Vanetta Lynn (commonly known as "Doolittle", "Doo", or "Mooney" 'on account of he used to sell moonshine') on January 10, 1949, a few months before she turned 14. -Lynn moved to Washington, Kentucky with her husband at the age of 14. Shortly thereafter, in an effort to break free of the coal mining industry, the couple moved across the country to Custer, Washington. The Lynns had four children by the time Loretta was 17 and she was a grandmother at age 29. -Lynn always had a passion for music; before getting married, she regularly sang at churches and in local concerts. After she got married, she stopped singing in public, wishing rather to focus on her family life. Instead, she passed her love of music on to her children, often singing to them around the house. When Loretta was 18, Doolittle bought her a guitar, which she taught herself to play. -Loretta's break came when she won a local talent competition and was noticed by Buck Owens, who invited her to be on his television show. That performance led to a deal with Zero Records. In 1960, Lynn recorded "I'm A Honky Tonk Girl." The record was taken to radio station owners and disc jockeys by the Lynn couple themselves, since Zero Records didn't have the money to promote it. The family then moved to Nashville to promote it. The song was a hit even before they arrived there, peaking at #14 on the charts. -Loretta Lynn has written over 160 songs and earned eight BMI awards. She has released 70 albums and has had 17 number 1 albums and 27 #1 singles on the country chart. -With the benefit of membership in the Grand Ole Opry in 1962 and inclusion in the weekly nationally syndicated The Wilburn Brothers television Show (1960-1974), Loretta soon became the number one female recording artist in country music. -She is one of only five solo female artists (with Reba McEntire, Barbara Mandrell, Dolly Parton, and Shania Twain) to win the Country Music Association's highest honor, "Entertainer Of The Year". -Loretta owns her own ranch in Hurricane Mills, TN. The ranch is billed as "The 7th Largest Attraction in TN". It includes an RV Park, Log Cabin Rentals, Swimming Pool, Gift Shops, 'Western Store', Grist Mill Museum, Food Service Facilities, Loretta's Fan and Doll Museum, Recording Studio, Concert Pavilion, tours of Lynn's Plantation Home, Simulated Coal Mine, and 18,000 square ft "Coal Miner's Daughter Museum".
