Country music icon Loretta Lynn passed away on Tuesday, October 4, 2022.
As the country music community continues to mourn the loss of the legendary artist and performer, here’s a look back on Lynn’s final performance of her career.
On Monday, April 1, 2019, fans, country music artists, and rock stars gathered at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena ahead of Lynn’s 87th birthday (April 14). The evening was a celebration of the Kentucky native’s life and career with an all-star concert.
Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, George Strait, Miranda Lambert, Pistol Annies, Kacey Musgraves, Crystal Gayle, Dennis Quaid, Alan Jackson, Tanya Tucker, Brandi Carlile, Little Big Town, Cam, Keith Urban, Lee Ann Womack, Brandy Clark, Tayla Lynn, Cam, Martina McBride, Jack White, and Margo Price were among the artists who took the stage to perform in celebration of Lynn.
Urban made headlines when he jumped out of a giant birthday cake, fulfilling the promise he made when the show was announced earlier that year.
The grand finale featured Lynn performing her iconic hit, “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” alongside a slew of country music stars on the Bridgestone Arena stage.
Loretta Lynn’s appearance at the birthday celebration marked her first major public performance since she suffered a stroke in May of 2017. This was the last time Loretta would perform publicly before her 2022 death.
Country music icon and Grand Ole Opry member, Loretta Lynn died at the age of 90 years old at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee in the early morning hours of Tuesday, October 4.
Hours after Lynn’s passing, her family shared the following statement.
“Our precious mom, Loretta Lynn, passed away peacefully this morning, October 4th, in her sleep at home at her beloved ranch in Hurricane Mills,” the Lynn family said.
Lynn, who was born on April 14, 1932, in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, is known as the Queen of Country Music after forging a path as a singer, songwriter, and entertainer while balancing her role as a wife and mother.
Over the course of her iconic 60-year career, Lynn earned a staggering 51 Top 10 hits and 16 No.1 hits to her name, including “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “Fist City” and “Don’t Come Home A’ Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind).” She has also sold over 45 million albums worldwide.
Lynn has also garnered every accolade available in music from GRAMMY awards to induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. She has won four GRAMMY awards, seven American Music Awards and eight Country Music Association awards. She was the first woman to ever win the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music Awards for Entertainer of the Year.
She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988, the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in 2008, and was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors in 2003 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013.
Lynn’s death comes just days after she celebrated her 60th anniversary as a member of the Grand Ole Opry. She joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1962.
Lynn was predeceased by her husband of 48 years Oliver Vanetta “Doolittle” Lynn, her daughter Betty Sue Lynn and son Jack Benny Lynn.
The legendary country singer is survived by her daughters Patsy Lynn Russell, Peggy Lynn, Clara (Cissie) Marie Lynn and her son Ernest Ray Lynn as well as grandchildren Lori Lynn Smith, Ethan Lyell, Elizabeth Braun, Tayla Lynn, Jack Lynn, Ernest Ray Lynn Jr., Katherine Condya, Alexandria Lynn, Jasyntha Connelly, Megan Horkins, Anthony Brutto, Jason Lynn, Wesley Lynn, Levi Lynn, Emmy Rose Russell, David Russell, Lucca Marchetti and step grandchildren David Greer, Jennafer Russell, Melody Russell and Natalie Rapp, and her great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers the family asks for donations to be made to the Loretta Lynn Foundation. Information about a memorial service/celebration of life will be made available at a later date. For more information, visit LorettaLynn.com.
