Loretta Lynn can make any song sound better.
It’s the kind of thing you’re really good at as the queen of country music, and back in 1971, she included an incredible cover of John Denver’s signature song “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”
A co-write by John along with Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert, it peaked at #2 as a single on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1971, and has since been certified Platinum by the RIAA.
Loretta’s version has an awesome, twangy, bluegrass-leaning production, and of course, her Kentucky vocals sound so gritty and sincere on a song like this.
It’s easy to imagine her singing about going back home to Butcher Holler, Kentucky, and I have a feeling that might’ve been part of the inspiration behind why she included it on her 18th solo studio album, You’re Lookin’ at Country.
Of course, the title track became one of her most popular and signature songs, but I could listen to her sing this one all day long, too.
It’s one of the best covers of the song I’ve ever heard, and we all know how many there are, but Mrs. Loretta’s simply a cut above the rest and always has been:
“Take Me Home, Country Roads”
