Lauren Alaina honored Loretta Lynn with a cover of an iconic hit during her Grand Ole Opry performance on Saturday (Aug. 28).
The country superstar and Georgia native paid tribute to the country icon with a performance of her chart-topping hit “You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man).”
“As you may of heard, Opry member Loretta Lynn’s ranch, just 86 miles from here, was heavily damaged by the recent flooding,” Alaina began to tell the capacity crowd. “Miss Loretta’s ranch foreman Wayne Spears was among those who lost their lives in the flooding. The Opry established a fund to help all of those effected and you can donate by going to CMTFT.org/Opry.”
Alaina continued, “to honor Loretta and her legacy, I’m going to tell y’all a story about a little girl who loved Miss Loretta Lynn. My grandmother had passed away and my grandfather got a girlfriend and I sang in a restaurant from 6-9pm every night for tips, so that I could play softball. And my Paw-paw thought it was a good idea to bring her to see me and I never saw her again at one of my concerts and this is what I said to her.”
The country hitmaker then launched into her cover of the sassy Lynn track.
Watch Alaina’s tribute to Lynn below at the 45:20 mark.
“You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man)” is a song written and recorded by Lynn that was released as a single in May 1966. The track quickly became one of Lynn’s most recognizable hits.
Alaina’s performance helped raised funds for Tennessee flood victims and their families, which included Loretta Lynn’s ranch and the ranch’s foreman Wayne Spears, who was swept away in the raging flood waters.
Spears tragically lost his life on Saturday after being swept up in the raging flood waters at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch. The Lynn family shared the dreadful news on Sunday (Aug. 22).
“With the heaviest of hearts we are saddened to report that our beloved foreman Wayne Spears did not survive being swept up in the flood waters. Wayne has been a family friend to the Lynns and a fixture to the Ranch for decades and we are all devastated by his passing,” the statement read. “The Ranch will never be the same without him but he will always be remembered for his ready smile, kind heart, and willingness to go the extra mile for everyone around him. Eventually we’ll rebuild our community, our ranch, our lives and our homes. but only God could build a man like Wayne Spears. There’s just no replacing that. May he rest in peace.”
Lynn also shared the sad news with fans via social media, where she asked fans to please pray for Spears’ family and friends.
“There are no words at the ranch today…only tears,” she wrote. “Our ranch family is our family. We lost my amazing ranch foreman, Wayne in this devastating flood. He took such good care of things here on the ranch for us. He’s one of us and the whole Lynn family Is heartbroken.”
