(NewsNation) — Loretta Lynn is one of the most awarded women in country music and has inspired many with her true-to-life songwriting.
But she never forgot her roots as a “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” That song would send Lynn’s career into the stratosphere, later lending its title to a George Vecsey biography and Michael Apted’s Oscar-nominated film.
Lynn is celebrating her 90th birthday Thursday. Her granddaughter Tayla Lynn, a singer herself, said despite a couple of health scares, Loretta is doing great.
“She’s still up over there on that hill, writing music,” her granddaughter said.
Lynn turned to music during a rocky marriage to Oliver “Doolittle” Lynn when she was a 15-year-old. His wandering eye, heavy drinking and abuse prompted Lynn to teach herself chords on a $17 Sears Roebuck guitar and start songwriting. These would later turn into some of country music’s most iconic songs.
But back then, some of her lyrics were controversial.
Lynn’s 1975 song “The Pill,” about birth control and a woman’s reproductive choices, was banned by radio stations.
“Loretta Lynn has more banned songs than any other country artist,” Tayla Lynn said. “They tried to cancel her before cancel culture was a thing.”
Despite the backlash, Lynn became the first woman in the genre to have a certified gold record. Her fame isn’t something she talks about at home, though.
“She is so humble,” Tayla Lynn said. “But she’s also one of the wisest women I’ve ever met. So I think she probably has an inkling that she’s made a move or two in the music business.”
The Grand Old Opry in Nashville is celebrating Lynn Thursday night with her sister, Crystal Gayle and Tayla Lynn both set to sing in her honor.