From one country icon to another.
Randy Travis shared an absolutely beautiful and touching post to his friend, the late, great Loretta Lynn, and it’s easily one of the sweetest ones I’ve seen so far.
She sadly passed away yesterday at the age of 90, at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, and tons of country artists have been posting all sorts of wonderful things about the Kentucky native over the last day or so.
Randy, a country legend himself, shared a lengthy post, detailing his memories of arriving in Nashville in the 80’s, as he recalled opened for her on his very first tour.
He added that she actually opened a show for him back in 2013, which ultimately became his last public concert before he had a stroke later that year, hindering his ability to talk and sing and limiting him mostly to a wheelchair.
Loretta also suffered a stoke in 2017, but remained able to sing, talk and walk (with some assistance usually).
He also noted how much he’ll miss hearing her sweet voice call him “my Randy,” detailing how much she meant to him as a mentor, fellow artist, and most importantly, a friend:
“My roots in country music run deep because of my love and admiration for ‘Ms Loretta.’ She was there in the ’80s, when I arrived in Nashville, to encourage me and allow me to open for her on tour… and, she was there to open for me, in Aurora, IL, in 2013, which unknowingly was my last public concert before my stroke.
The years in between are each gifts wrapped in respect, admiration, awe and love — and we shopped for lots of dresses through those years! Whenever I heard ‘my Randy,’ I knew Loretta was near and her kind, sweet kisses left lipstick memories on my forehead and both cheeks.
I wish I could have bottled those kisses and saved them for a day like today, when I learned of her passing. An emptiness came over me as I reflected on the magnitude of Ms Loretta’s presence—in the heart and soul of country music, and the entire world–and the void now created.
If your path ever crossed with hers, you immediately felt her magic. Loretta and Doolittle ‘Doo’ represented a legacy marriage with six beautiful children as proof… and, a lot of us that Ms. Loretta took under her wing.
I thank God that my career overlapped with The Queen’s—it’s an honor and a privilege. After 90 years of teaching us how to live and love here on earth, we sing her home to heaven, with grateful hearts. Our thoughts and prayers follow the precious Lynn family down this road of loss and transition—thank you for sharing Ms Loretta with us.
We will never have another Loretta Lynn…this world isn’t good enough for two of her. – Randy Travis.”
Amen to that, Randy.
What a perfect way to describe their friendship and beautiful bond over the decades.
The world will never deserve another Randy or Loretta, if you ask me:
The pair actually teamed up to cover “Shopping For Dresses” in the early 90’s, which was originally written by Little Jimmy Dickens and Merle Haggard and recorded by Merle for his 1982 Going Where the Lonely Go record.
Their rendition was included on Randy’s 1990 duets album, Heroes and Friends:
