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The country music industry is mourning the loss of Loretta Lynn, one of the biggest trailblazers of the genre who died on Tuesday morning (October 4) at her Tennessee ranch. She was 90.
Many fans and fellow artists have shared emotional, heartfelt tributes as they remembered the country legend and her decades-long career. Garth Brooks reflected on his friendship with Lynn, which he shared in a written piece for Billboard. He said that Lynn’s name “is as powerful today as it ever was,” and she had a knack for telling her truth in a way that strongly resonated with her audiences (including with “The Pill,” “Fist City,” “You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man)” and other songs).
As Brooks reflected on memories with Lynn, he recalled the Grammy Salute to Country Music in 2010, when Lynn received the Lifetime Achievement Award. She asked Brooks to be her date for the evening — after asking his wife, country superstar Trisha Yearwood, if it was OK — and he drove her tot he historic Ryman Auditorium in a truck. There, they performed the classic Loretta Lynn/Conway Twitty duet, “After the Fire Is Gone.” Brooks admitted he was “scared to death” playing the Ryman stage for the first time with Lynn, but said watching her was “magic.”
“She handled [the evening] with all the grace, style and elegance, while pretty much carrying me because she knew so much more about being spectacular than I will ever know. It was quite possibly one of the most fun nights of my life.”
“I don’t know what it is,” Brooks concluded his heartfelt piece, as told to Melinda Newman. “I can just tell you that there was a bond with that woman that I’m sure everyone that ever met her felt, that she made you feel like you were so special. I just loved her. And she had me convinced that she loved me right back.”