Maps of Music

Loretta Lynn Sings (1963)

Where the lyrics of Loretta Lynn Sings take you, and where it was really made.

Several songs on Loretta Lynn's debut album had first been hits for other artists, including 'Act Naturally' and 'The Minute You're Gone'.

Key places

Bradley Studios, Nashville (1963)

Recording site Nashville — Lynn recorded the album in several sessions from 1961 to 1963 at Bradley Studios, which later operated as Columbia Studio on Nashville's Music Row. The point marks the city of Nashville, not the building itself. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Loretta Lynn Sings: debut studio album by American country singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn
• Released December 9, 1963 via Decca Records
• Produced by Owen Bradley
• Twelve tracks; four singles released from the album
• Two of the singles became major hits on the Billboard country chart
• 'Success' became Lynn's first top ten hit

Background

• In 1960, Lynn had her first hit single with the self-penned 'I'm a Honky Tonk Girl'
• She then moved to Nashville, Tennessee with her family to further her music career
• Under the supervision and mentoring of The Wilburn Brothers, she signed a new contract with the larger Decca Records
• Her breakthrough success and her debut album came at Decca
• Owen Bradley helped establish Lynn's musical sound at Decca, which further raised her success in later years
• Several songs on the album were first recorded and made hits by other artists

Recording

• Songs were recorded shortly after Lynn signed with Decca
• Recorded in several sessions held between 1961 and 1963
• Sessions took place at Bradley Studios, later operating as Columbia Studio, on Nashville's Music Row
• The sessions were produced by the studio's co-founder, Owen Bradley

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Born Loretta Webb on April 14, 1932, in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, the oldest daughter in a coal miner's family.
• Married Oliver Vanetta "Doolittle" Lynn in 1948 at age 15; the marriage lasted almost 50 years until his death in 1996.
• Began singing in local clubs in the late 1950s and formed her own band, the Trailblazers.

Career

• Signed with Zero Records in 1960; her first release was "Whispering Sea" and "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl".
• Joined Decca Records through the Wilburn Brothers; joined the Grand Ole Opry on September 25, 1962.
• Scored a string of hits from the 1960s, including "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)" and "Don't Come Home A-Drinkin'".
• Wrote songs on women's issues such as birth control ("The Pill") and double standards ("Rated 'X'"), many inspired by her own marriage.
• Recorded five No. 1 duets with Conway Twitty between 1971 and 1975.
• Her 1976 autobiography Coal Miner's Daughter became a bestseller and inspired the 1980 Oscar-winning film starring Sissy Spacek.
• Named Artist of the Decade for the 1970s by the Academy of Country Music, the only woman to win this honor.
• Released Van Lear Rose (2004), produced by Jack White, which won the Grammy for Best Country Album.
• Had a stroke in 2017 and broke her hip in 2018, which ended her touring after 57 years.
• Died on October 4, 2022, at age 90, at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Billboard, in its December 1963 issue, praised both the album's material and Lynn's own singing
• Billboard said Lynn sang strongly on the album, which included songs by herself and other respected country writers
• Critics and music writers gave the album positive reviews overall

Records

• Billboard Top Country Albums: peaked at number two, charting between 1963 and 1964
• The album was the first of many Lynn albums to make the country albums list
• 'Success' (released April 1962) peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and became Lynn's first top ten single
• 'The Other Woman' (released February 1963) peaked at number 13 on the Billboard country songs chart and became Lynn's third major hit
• 'I Walked Away from the Wreck' (released November 1961) did not chart on any Billboard publication
• 'World of Forgotten People' (released October 1962) was released as a single but failed to chart

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• 'The Minute You're Gone' was first a pop hit by Cliff Richard before Lynn recorded it
• 'Act Naturally' was first a number one country hit by Buck Owens
• 'Color of the Blues' had been a hit for George Jones, and 'Lonesome 7-7203' was first cut by Hawkshaw Hawkins
• Lynn's first hit, 'I'm a Honky Tonk Girl' (1960), was her own composition
• The album's sessions were produced by Owen Bradley, co-founder of the studio where they took place

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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