LEGENDS OF THE LONGHORN
Loretta Lynn
We all know the saying about how those who follow the rules rarely make history, right? That is exactly what Loretta Lynn did. A woman who would not be told to sit pretty and smile. As the first woman to be named Entertainer of the Year by the Country Music Association and Artist of the Decade by the Academy of Country Music, she didn’t make history by following the status quo. The Kentucky “Coal Miner’s Daughter” might have come from a traditional Southern home, but once she was in the spotlight of country music, she had no issue writing and singing about topics that were seen as taboo at the time. With songs like “The Pill,” “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ On Your Mind),” and “Fist City,” Loretta Lynn was a champion of women’s self-expression.
It makes perfect sense that a legendary woman in country music, who did not play by the rules, had a particular fondness for the Longhorn Ballroom's progressive programming. Lynn’s sometimes “controversial” lyrics were more than welcome at the venue, where she famously filmed her segment of the primetime ABC TV Special ‘Country Gold - The First 50 Years.’ She opened her set by paying homage to her upbringing with “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” Later in the performance, she honored another legendary woman of country and past Ballroom performer by covering Patsy Cline’s “She’s Got You.” The 3-time Grammy Award-winning artist was a regular performer at the Longhorn for over three decades, loving the space for being a place where she could freely perform without being put in a box.
