LORETTA LYNN

    Loretta was born in Butcher Holler, Kentucky. The second of Clara and Ted Webb's eight children. Just as she would later sing in Coal Miners Daughter, Loretta's father eked out a living during the Depression by working all night in the Van Leer coal mine, all day long in the field a-hoein' corn, to make a poor man's dollar.

    She met Oliver "Doolittle" Lynn aka "Mooney" for selling moonshine, a handsome 21-year-old fresh from the service who swept the young Loretta Webb off her feet. The couple married when Loretta was barely 14. Loretta "never thought of ever leavin' butcher holler" changed when Doolittle went looking for a future that didn't require him to work the mines, He found work in Custer, Washington, and Loretta joined him in 1951. The following decade found Lynn a full-time mother having four kids by the time she was 18.

    She began singing seriously in 1961. She was self taught at playing the guitar and began singing in the area. During a televised talent contest in Tacoma, hosted by Buck Owens, Loretta was spotted by Norm Burley who was so impressed he started Zero Records just to record her. Loretta and Doolittle hit the road cross-country, stopping every time they spotted a country radio station to push her first Zero release, "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl." By the time they reached Nashville, the record had reached #14 on the charts.

    Loretta found work cutting demos for Teddy and Doyle Wilburn. One of these, Kathryn Fulton's "Biggest Fool of All," caught the ear of Decca Records producer Owen Bradley. He thought the song would be perfect for Brenda Lee, but the Wilburns worked a deal... you can have the song if you record Loretta. She was in the studio cutting sides with Bradley, producer at the time not only for Lee but Patsy Cline, Bill Anderson, and Webb Pierce.