Loretta Lynn

Loretta Lynn (nee Webb) was born in Butcher Holler, Ky., a coal-mining community in the Appalachian Mountains, in 1932. She was the second of eight children, and at the young age of 15, she married Oliver "Doolittle" Lynn, a man six years her senior and who became instrumental in helping launch Lynn's successful country music career. After moving to Washington State, Lynn worked odd jobs while raising her children, all while teaching herself to play guitar and dreaming of a life in music; the now-country icon began performing at various clubs and bars, started her first band and, in 1960, recorded her first record, 'I'm a Honky Tonk Girl'. When she relocated to Nashville, Lynn signed to Decca Records and released a long string of hit albums and singles; she also became a trailblazer by releasing several controversial (for her era) songs, including "You Ain't Woman Enough (to Take My Man)," "Rated X" and "The Pill." In 1972, Lynn became the first woman to receive a CMA for Entertainer of the Year; she was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 1962, and into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988. To date, Lynn has sold more than 45 million albums.

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