Country music icon Loretta Lynn has died at the age of 90. The country music superstar’s family shared that Lynn passed peacefully in her sleep from natural causes early Tuesday morning at home in rural Tennessee. In a statement to the Associated Press, the family wrote: “Our precious mom, Loretta Lynn, passed away peacefully this morning, October 4th, in her sleep at home in her beloved ranch in Hurricane Mills,” adding that a memorial for the beloved songwriter will be announced later. In lieu of flowers the family asks for donations to be made to the Loretta Lynn Foundation.
Lynn amassed 51 Top 10 hits over the course of her 60-year career, and broke down barriers for women with songs like “Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind),” “Fist City” and “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” Thanks to the Oscar-winning 1980 film Coal Miner’s Daughter starring Sissy Spacek, Lynn’s story and songs were brought to a wider audience. Lynn joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1962, won four Grammy awards, seven American Music Awards and eight Country Music Association awards. She was the first woman to win the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music awards for Entertainer of the Year, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008, and was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors in 2003 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013. In total Lynn sold over 45 million albums worldwide.
Lynn was pre-deceased by her husband of 48 years Oliver Vanetta “Doolittle” Lynn, her daughter Betty Sue Lynn and son Jack Benny Lynn. She is survived by her daughters Patsy Lynn Russell, Peggy Lynn, Clara (Cissie) Marie Lynn and her son Ernest Ray Lynn, as well as multiple grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
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