SHEESH.
Ashley McBryde has some serious pipes.
During the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s “BIG NIGHT at the Museum” special in 2020, which included performances by Miranda Lambert, Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris and more, Ashley played one of Loretta Lynn’s signature songs, “You’re Lookin’ At Country.”
The Hall of Fame gathered all of the aforementioned artists together in the middle of the COVID pandemic to raise money for the museum, which had been closed for over six months at the time. All of the featured artists played with instruments from members of the HOF, like Jimmie Rodgers and Johnny Cash, just to name a couple.
Ashley played her tune with Loretta’s 1956 J-50 Gibson guitar that Loretta’s late husband, Doolittle Lynn, purchased for her in 1961.
“You’re Lookin’ At Country” was written by Loretta, and eventually became the title track to her 1971 album of the same name, peaking at #5 as a single on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs later that year.
At the time the song came out, the subject matter was a huge departure from the Kentucky native’s previous releases, which focused much more on cheatin’ men and and drunk husbands.
She told Jimmy Guterman in the liner notes for the 1994 box set Honky Tonk Girl: The Loretta Lynn Collection that she had to write it as a love song, even though it really wasn’t, because if she didn’t, she wouldn’t sell any records:
“I had to write ‘You’re Lookin’ At Country’ as a love song or it wouldn’t sell.
But it wasn’t a love song. I got the idea from looking at my land. I wanted to write what I saw.”
Miss McBryde did a mighty fine job on this cover, per the usual, and I’m sure Loretta would agree that she crushed it:
“You’re Lookin’ At Country”
