Loretta Lynn to Receive Tennessee Arts Commission Award

Loretta Lynn has been announced as the recipient of one of the 2015 Tennessee Governor's Arts Awards.

Lynn, B.B. King and Cormac McCarthy will be honored with Distinguished Artist Awards. The Tennessee Arts Commission presents the honor to artists from the state who show "exceptional talent and creativity” and have made an impact in the arts on a state or national level.

Also taking home awards will be gospel artist Dr. Bobby Jones and opera singer Mary Costa. Woodworker Bill Henry and broom maker Jack Martin will receive Folklife Heritage Awards, which honor exceptional work within art forms "rooted in the traditional or ethnic cultures of Tennessee."

All of the awards winners will be honored during a ceremony on March 17 at the Tennessee governor's mansion. More information about the Tennessee Arts Commission can be found on the commission's website.

Lynn has been in the country music industry for over 50 years and sold over 48 million albums worldwide, but the 82-year-old singer isn't retiring yet. Last year, she signed a multi-album deal with Legacy Recordings, to release songs that she has recorded over the past seven years at Cash Cabin Studio in Hendersonville, Tenn.

According to a press release, the project “travels back and explores Loretta’s musical history, from the Appalachian folk songs and gospel music she learned as a child, to new interpretations of her classic hits and country standards, to songs newly written for the project."

In June, Lynn will be inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame.