Loretta Lynn was one of the most iconic country singers of all time, but she was just a nervous 28-year-old when she made her debut on the Grand Ole Opry on Oct. 15, 1960.
Lynn had only recently released her first single, “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl,” which she and her husband, Oliver “Doolittle” Lynn, had been self-promoting by mailing out copies to radio stations and then stopping by those stations in person as they drove to Nashville from their home in Washington State. They arrived in Nashville the night before Lynn’s scheduled Opry debut, which she didn’t even know was on the books. The couple slept in their car the night before her first performance on the hallowed stage.
“He’d parked it in front of the Grand Ole Opry, and I didn’t know he’d done that,” Lynn recalled to Nashville’s Tennessean newspaper in 2014. “I woke up and seen the Grand Ole Opry, so I could not believe I was sleeping over from the Grand Ole Opry, but that’s where we were, sleeping in the car.”
Lynn performed “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl” on the Opry that night, but would later confess she remembered very little about that show.
“The first memory I have of the Grand Ole Opry was, when I went out to sing, I remember patting my foot, and that’s it,” she told the Tennessean. “I don’t remember even singing. Now, I was so excited, I don’t remember singing, but I remember patting my foot. I went offstage and thought, ‘I forgot to listen to myself sing!’” she recalled.
Opry management liked Lynn’s debut performance so much that she soon followed it with a record-setting 17 subsequent performances, according to Rolling Stone. She and her husband moved her family to Nashville, where she began to record for Decca Records and build one of the most impactful careers in country music history. Lynn was formally inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry just two years after her debut, in September of 1962.
Loretta Lynn died on Oct. 4, 2022, at the age of 90, leaving behind one of the deepest musical legacies in country music history.
PICTURES: See Inside Loretta Lynn’s Historic First Nashville Home
Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker
PICTURES: Look Inside Loretta Lynn’s Luxurious Nashville Home
Loretta Lynn’s luxurious former home outside of Nashville is for sale, and pictures show a property that’s a perfect mix of classy and cozy. The country queen’s 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom, 3,409-square-foot home in a rural community outside of Nashville is listed for sale for $799,000, and that price includes a residence that is “finished to a T,” according to its listing. The beautiful home sits on more than five acres of rural land directly on the river, offering direct access for canoeing and kayaking. The rural property is just two minutes from I-40, offering an easy commute into Nashville, and it also offers easy access to schools, stores, dining options and more amenities that are just minutes away.
Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker
10 Stunning Facts About Loretta Lynn’s Life and Career
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
PHOTOS: Loretta Lynn, Through the Years
Scroll through the photos below to see highlights from Loretta Lynn’s incredible life and career.
Sterling Whitaker is a Senior Writer and Senior Editor for Taste of Country. He focuses on celebrity real estate, as well as coverage of Yellowstone and related shows like 1883 and 1923. He’s interviewed cast members including Cole Hauser, Kelly Reilly, Sam Elliott and Harrison Ford, and Whitaker is also known for his in-depth interviews with country legends including Don Henley, Rodney Crowell, Trace Adkins, Ronnie Milsap, Ricky Skaggs and more.