A sad day for country music.
Country music icon, and one of the greatest pioneers for female artists in country music, Loretta Lynn, passed away this morning in her home in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee at the age of 90.
Although she’s gone, we will forever be thankful for Lynn’s heart and soul she gave to the country music industry over her 60 year career, and her legacy will live on forever.
And how could it not?
The Butcher Hollow, Kentucky native racked up a whopping 51 top 10s, multiple Grammy Awards, and was the first female to win the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music awards for Entertainer of the Year.
One of my more recent memories involving the icon, was when Carrie Underwood put together one of the most incredible Loretta Lynn covers I’ve ever heard, at the ACM Awards back in 2020.
In celebration of the 95th anniversary of the Grand Ole Opry, Carrie Underwood honored trailblazing female Opry members, including a performance of Loretta’s “You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man).”
She also performed Patsy Cline’s “Crazy,” Barbara Mandrell’s “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool,” Dolly Parton’s “Why’d You Come In Here Lookin’ Like That,” Reba McEntire’s “The Night the Lights Went Out In Georgia,” and Martina McBride’s “A Broken Wing.”
“You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man)” is the title-track off Lynn’s 1966 You Ain’t Woman Enough album, and is about a woman who Lynn met backstage before one of her concerts.
The woman talked about how another woman had tried to steal her husband from her, and in response, Lynn replied:
“Honey, she ain’t woman enough to take your man.”
Sure enough, the song peaked at number two on the US Hot Country Singles chart in ’66.
Check it out:
On Loretta’s most recent album, she teamed up with Reba & Carrie for the title track, “Still Woman Enough”
