Maps of Music
On the Road with Loretta and the Coal Miners (1976)
Where the lyrics of On the Road with Loretta and the Coal Miners take you, and where it was really made.
This album by Loretta Lynn's touring band never reached a national chart and produced no radio singles, yet it was sold at her own concerts and in exclusive music stores.
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Overview
- On the Road with Loretta and the Coal Miners: studio album by Loretta Lynn's touring band, the Coal Miners
- Released in 1976 via Loretta Lynn Enterprises, Inc.
- Eleven tracks in total
- Sold at Lynn's own concert performances and at exclusive music stores
- Issued as a vinyl LP: five songs on side one, six songs on side two
Background
- By the mid-1970s, Loretta Lynn was a successful recording artist and concert attraction
- Between 1966 and 1970 she acquired 13 top ten hits on the Billboard country chart
- After many years under the supervision of The Wilburn Brothers, she began touring independently with her own band, the Coal Miners
- This album is the first release by her touring band
Recording
- Recorded circa 1975
- Seven tracks feature lead accompaniment from the Coal Miners
- Two tracks feature Lynn's son, Ernest Ray Lynn, on lead vocals
- Lynn's solo contributions include "Love Is the Foundation" and her cover of Doris Day's "Secret Love"
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Tracklist
| 1 | Love Is the Foundation | 2:26 |
| 2 | Pickin’ Shovel | 2:17 |
| 3 | Movin’ On | 2:28 |
| 4 | Blue Eyes Cryin’ in the Rain | 2:19 |
| 5 | Bloody Mary Morning | 2:25 |
| 6 | Secret Love | 3:10 |
| 7 | Six Days on the Road | 2:22 |
| 8 | For a Minute There | 2:31 |
| 9 | Trixie Delaney | 2:48 |
| 10 | Will You Be There | 2:47 |
| 11 | It’s Dyn-O-Mite | 1:44 |
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
- Released in 1976 via Loretta Lynn Enterprises, Inc.
- The label was not only a record company but was also responsible for other copyrighted works by Lynn
- According to the liner notes, the company had an office located in Nashville, Tennessee
- Liner notes written by Oliver "Doolittle" Lynn, Lynn's husband and president of Loretta Lynn Enterprises
- Sold at Lynn's own concert performances as well as exclusive music stores
- Issued as a vinyl LP, containing five songs on side one and six songs on side two
- Eleven tracks in total, performed by members of the Coal Miners touring band
- Dave Thornhill served as bandleader and guitarist, Ken Riley played drums, and Gene Dunlap played piano
Records
- Did not reach any peak position on national publication charts, notably Billboard
- Did not spawn any singles to radio
- Before this release, Lynn had acquired 13 top ten hits on the Billboard country chart between 1966 and 1970
- Marks the first album release by her touring band
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Trivia
- Lynn named her own touring band the Coal Miners when she began touring independently
- Two tracks on the album are sung by her son, Ernest Ray Lynn
- Her husband, Oliver Lynn, wrote the liner notes
- Lynn's cover of Doris Day's "Secret Love" is among her solo contributions
- The album was sold only at her concerts and at exclusive music stores
Sources: en.wikipedia.org