[music playing]
- To my friends, thank you for giving me such a great laugh.
I have never taken it or you for granted.
Because of you, my kids didn't have to grow up poor the way
I did.
As a mother, I didn't have to go to bed heartbroken.
What you gave to me allowed me to give them a better life.
I hope you know what a gift that is.
I have shared my story so many times through my songs,
through my books, through my movie.
I have tried to give back to you as much as I could,
even though I know I can't.
I could never repay you for the life and the love
that you have given to me.
Thank you.
I've traveled all over the world,
but I've never got to see much.
That is except for you, my fans, my friends.
I want you to know that I saw, and I
remember every one of you.
I Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I love you.
Your friend, Loretta Lynn.
[music - "how great thou art"]
- [vocalizing]
(SINGING) Oh, Lord, my God.
When I in all some wonder, considered all the words
thy hands have made.
I see the stars.
I hear the rolling thunder.
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
When Christ shall come with shouts of acclimation
and take me home.
What joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow in humble adoration
and there proclaim my God how great thou art.
Then sings my soul my savior God to thee.
How great thou art.
How great-- come on.
--thou art.
- Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our host
for this evening, Jenna Bush Hager.
- Wow, wow, wow.
Wynonna, the Gaithers, and Larry Strickland,
how great y'all are.
What a beautiful way to start this incredible evening.
I know, like most of you all, this is an incredible honor
to be here tonight to celebrate the life,
music, and legacy of the queen of country
music, Miss Loretta Lynn.
Y'all, Loretta was so loved.
Thousands started lining up in the rain to be here
at 4:00 AM inside the Opry.
They're all here tonight.
And of course, there are so many
of y'all watching from home.
Like all of y'all, I absolutely adored her.
Through three generations and for over 30 years,
she was a precious family friend.
She once did her best to help me
learn how to play the guitar.
During this session, she said now, Jenna, come on,
use your middle finger.
I said, well, Loretta, you know I've used
that once or twice before.
She said, honey, that's why I'm telling you to use it.
I know it's strength.
She was hilarious and gutsy.
She's the only person I know who got away with calling
my dad little George.
Well, at least to his face.
Born in Butcher Holler, Kentucky in 1932,
raised in the poverty of Appalachia,
this tiny woman with a huge, one-of-a-kind voice helped
define modern country music.
She was a culture shifting icon who wore sparkly ball gowns
and wrote and sang some of the most real, raw, timeless songs
in country music history.
Little girls, y'all can clap.
Little girls who became women, many of whom
are here in this room tonight, watched and wanted
to be just like her.
All that grace and talent and willingness
to speak the truth.
Loretta became a member of the Grand Ole Opry
in 1962, saying, "the greatest moment of my life
was when they inducted me into the Grand Ole Opry."
Well, tonight, even after she is gone,
she fills it once again.
What a privilege for all of us that tonight some
of our dearest friends, the biggest names in country music
and her beloved family have come here together to share
stories and share her music.
Loretta once told me that her greatest regret
was that her beloved daddy didn't get to hear her
sing Coal Miner's Daughter.
But her faith totter that one day she would sing it to him.
She would sing it with him.
And so tonight, with Loretta's family,
we celebrate the original Coal Miner's
Daughter, Miss Loretta Lynn.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Keith Urban.
- Thank you, Jenna.
Good evening, everybody.
It's an honor to be here tonight,
and I'm very, very grateful that I get a chance to show
my respects to Miss Loretta.
I was her date for the 2005 CMT Awards.
And that was one of the most memorable evenings
that I would ever get with somebody like Miss Loretta.
That was in 2005.
In 2018, I got this call that I want to share with you.
- Hi, Keith.
This is Loretta, and I'm having a birthday.
And I want to see your butt there.
- [laughing]
So you bet I was there.
I came running then.
I came running tonight.
I will always come running for Miss Loretta.
[MUSIC - YOU'RE LOOKIN' AT COUNTRY"]
(SINGING) Well, I like my loving done country style.
And this little girl to walk a country
mile, to show her a good old slow talking country boy.
I said a country boy.
I'm about as old fashioned as I can be.
And I hope you're liking what you see.
Because if you looking at me, you're looking at country.
You don't see no city when you look at me,
because country is all I am.
I love running barefooted through the old cornfields,
and I love that country ham.
Yes, I do.
Well, you say I was made just to fit your plans.
But there's a barnyad shovel fit your hands.
Because if you're looking at me, you're looking at country.
Hey.
Well, at least your country is a little green.
But there's a lot of country that you ain't seen.
I'll show you around if you show me a wedding band.
I said a wedding band.
When it comes to love, well, I'm not about that country
folks sure know where it's at.
Because if you're looking at me--
sing it to me.
- (SINGING) You're looking at country.
- Ah.
Whoo.
Oh, you don't see no city when you look at me
'cause country is all I am.
Love her running barefooted through the old cornfields,
and I love that country ham.
Well, you say I was made just to fit your plans,
but there's a barnyad shovel fit your hands.
Because if your eyes are on me, you're looking that country.
Up there on that screen, yeah, you're looking at country.
God bless you, Loretta.
Thank you.
- Loretta Lynn's voice rose from
the poverty-stricken hills of Kentucky out of the home
of her loving parents.
- My mama told me she thought that I was born singing.
[MUSIC - LORETTA LYNN, "VAN LEAR ROSE"]
One of my fondest memories was sitting
on my daddy's knee listening to the stories that he told.
- They brought home a Philco radio,
and I would curl up in front of that radio
every Saturday night.
And when Ernest Tubb would sing, I'd cry.
[MUSIC - LORETTA LYNN, "VAN LEAR ROSE"]
This here's the Van Lear Rose.
- Sparks flew when teenage Loretta
met Oliver Doolittle Lynn, and the two married a month later.
Feeding herself and her four children was still a struggle,
even after Doo move the family to Washington
for a better future.
But Doo had an idea.
- Doo said, Loretta, I listen to the girl singers in the car
all the time.
You're a better singer than they are.
I'm going to put you out there to work.
He got the $17 guitar.
I learned myself how to play it.
Then he'd come in one night, and he said,
well, you're about ready now.
I'm going to get you a job.
(SINGING) And now I'm a honky tonk girl.
- American music was changed forever.
- Loretta Lynn.
I mean, where the hell do you even begin?
I, uh-- well, it began for me being
a nine-year-old down in Texas.
And some of the first songs I ever learned
were "Fist City" and "You Ain't Woman
Enough To Take My Man," which is funny
coming from a nine-year-old.
But I have so many treasured memories
of getting to be around her.
You know, opening for her back in the day,
bringing a serious sparkly country moment to the CMAs.
But my favorite moments were just quietly getting
to sit and talk with her honestly about ghosts
and spirits and fried chicken and so many very fun
real things.
Loretta was such a brave woman and a creative.
And I truly believe that I would not
be where I am if Loretta hadn't made it easier for me
and paved the way.
I am so, so grateful for just simply
getting to exist in the same time that Loretta did.
And
I'm so fortunate that we have this legacy
that she left behind, and it's going to last forever.
But I'm sending all my love.
I wish I could be there.
- Please welcome, Barbara Mandrell.
- I'm here with you tonight at the Grand Ole Opry House.
And people are watching from all over the world
for one reason--
we all love Loretta Lynn.
Loretta stole my heart.
We worked on many TV shows together,
and she was always so very kind and sweet to me.
And when I received her autobiography
Coal Miner's Daughter, I started reading that.
And I was just absolutely captured
by the extraordinary life that she led.
I watched the movie Coal Miner's Daughter 11 times.
Most of those times I was watching it
in my state room on my tour bus after leaving
my concert at night.
A couple of places in that movie
made me cry every time I saw them.
There was only one Loretta.
Even though she was a megastar and an iconic talent,
she was also kind and generous and loving.
I admire, adore, and love Loretta Lynn
with my whole heart, as I know you do too.
My friends, here's the wonderful Tanya Tucker.
[music - "blue kentucky girl"]
(SINGING) You left me for the bright lights of the town.
A country boy set out to see the world.
Remember when those city lights shine down.
The big old moon shines on your Kentucky girl.
I swear, I love you by the moon above you.
How bright is it shining in your world?
Some morning when you wake up all alone.
You just come on home to your blue Kentucky girl.
Now you sing with me.
Don't wait to bring great riches home to me.
I need no diamond rings or fancy pearl.
Just bring yourself, that's all I'll ever need.
Well, that's good enough for this blue Kentucky girl.
Well, I swear I love you by the moon above you.
And how bright is it shining in your world?
Some morning when you wake up all alone.
Well you can come on home to your blue Kentucky girl.
You better come on home to your blue Kentucky girl.
- I was, uh, so fortunate to have become such good friends
with Miss Loretta in sadly what was to be
the last chapter of her life.
So many great stories from her coming out to my farm
and sitting around the studio, writing songs to even showing
up at my saloon parties on property
and being so gracious with her time with everyone and
taking pictures.
And I'll always cherish the time I had with her
and just admire her so much as a lady, as a songwriter,
as a mother and grandmother, and as somebody who
was such a dear friend to me.
I'll sign off by saying, Loretta, I love you.
Rest in peace.
Or let me say it like you always said to me and probably
so many people here.
I love you, honey.
God bless you.
- Please welcome Faith Hill and Tim McGraw.
- Here.
Here we are.
My friendship with Loretta Lynn began about 200 feet
behind this stage in the Ole Opry House studio
C. That's where Loretta filmed her nightly talk
show Loretta Lynn and Friends.
And where this young singer with big dreams
got to sit talk, laugh, and sing with the fourth force
of nature.
And national treasure, that is Loretta Lynn.
Now almost 30 years later, it is our honor and privilege
to be here as close to where our dear friendship began
and to celebrate this extraordinary woman
and her remarkable life.
- You know what, I think of Loretta,
I think of growing up in stark Louisiana
in the '70s and '80s when her voice and her music are part
of the soundtrack of my life.
I grew up hearing her songs on the radio sung
by every female singer in every local cover band
and in between innings at Little League games
on the stereo at my house.
Just everywhere I turned, I heard Loretta Lynn.
- Whoo.
In the '60s and the '70s, Loretta
wrote and sang songs that shocked a whole lot of people.
You know, sometimes that's just what truth does, right?
You got to tell it, though.
- Loretta made it clear she was writing
songs about women for women.
- Time-- yes.
Time and time-- yes.
Time and time again, women came up to her
and said with real appreciation,
you're singing my life about my life.
They thanked her for giving them a voice,
giving their lives a place in country music.
Loretta was unabashedly honest about hardships and joys
of being a wife and mother, a woman living life,
loving, lying, cheating, having babies, not having babies.
She sang about it all.
We women, you know, women kind of
know about that sort of thing.
So in case anybody wants to know the truth about things.
She was fierce, and she was proud of who she was,
where she came from, and how she lived her life.
- She inspired women to simply be who they were,
feel what they felt, stand up for themselves,
and know they were not alone.
Her trailblazing directly impacted
women's lives, my wife's life, my daughter's lives.
- And she didn't just push boundaries
for women in country music.
She shredded them, OK?
Yeah.
Yeah, she did.
She gave us this bold new space to find our own way to dream
and to soar in the music we make and careers and our lives
that we have.
She was always good, kind, and supportive of all of us.
Every single person in this room
has a story I'm sure they could share.
And she was so dang wise and funny.
No, we all good.
We good.
I am honored to have been in your presence, Loretta.
I am grateful to have--
have so many memories with you.
I am proud to be a woman in country music.
I am proud to be a mom.
I am proud to have had the privilege--
[humming]
Glory.
To have had the privilege of following for so many of us,
of following you down the musical path
you blazed for all of us.
- I just want to say thank you, Loretta.
Thank you.
- And now ladies and gentlemen, welcome Darius Rucker.
- 1, 2, 3, 4.
[music - "fist city"]
- (SINGING) You've been making your braggs
around town that you've been loving my man.
But the man I love, when he picks up trash,
he puts it in the garbage can.
And that's what you look like to me.
And what I see is pity.
You better close your face and get out of my way
if you don't want to go to fist city.
If you don't want to go to fist city,
you better detour around my town.
Because I'll grab you by the hair of the head
and lift you off the ground.
I ain't saying my man a saint, 'cause he ain't and that
don't cat around with a kitty.
But I'll tell you, gal to lay off of my man
if you don't want to go to fist city.
Come on, tell me what you told my friends if you
think you're brave enough.
And I'll show you what a real woman is since you
think you're hot stuff.
You'll bit off more than you can chew
if you get too cute or witty.
You better move your feet if you don't want to eat a meal
that's called fist city.
If you don't want to go to fist city,
you better detour around my town.
'Cause I'll grab you by the hair of the head
and lift you off the ground.
I ain't saying my man is a saint 'cause he ain't, and he
don't cat around with a kitty.
Oh, you hear to lay off of a man
if you don't want to go to fist city.
You better move, you better move your hand
and lay off of my man if you don't want to go to fist city.
[MUSIC - LORETTA LYNN, "YOU AIN'T WOMAN ENOUGH"]
'Cause you ain't woman enough to take my man.
- I always wrote about life/ If you write life,
somebody is going to like it.
- As a songwriter, Loretta Drew most of her inspiration
from her relationship with her husband.
- Every time I get mad at him over something,
well, I could write a hit song.
That's the way that I got him back, was write about it
and sing it to him.
(SINGING) I'm here to tell you gal to lay off of my man
if you don't want to go to fist city.
I recorded songs that the other girls wouldn't sing.
I think I got eight band, but they all went number one.
(SINGING) You set this chicken your last time 'cause now
I've got the pill.
I felt like I was singing about people
sitting out there listening.
- Writing about her daily struggles
made Loretta's work groundbreaking
and gave generations of women permission
to speak their truth.
- I am so grateful to Loretta Lynn for being an example
for all songwriters everywhere, but most specifically female
songwriters getting to say things that might
make people uncomfortable.
She was so ahead of her time.
And the way that she exercised brutal, truthful, fearless
honesty every time she sat down to write a song
is something that I think changed music forever
and paved the way for every songwriter
that is trying to be truthful and honest today.
- Ladies and gentlemen, Martina McBride.
- As I stood backstage this evening,
my mind went to a Saturday night
in 1995, when Loretta inducted me into the Grand Ole Opry.
It was the start of our friendship.
I know a lot has been said and will be said tonight
about her huge and important career, that the women
of country music absolutely could not be who we are today
if she hadn't gone first.
I mean, we may still be here, but maybe not
writing our own songs or singing about topical issues.
She really blazed that trail and did it as only
she could by telling her story and making it
relatable to millions of women who
could see themselves in her.
I want to add a little bit more to the story of who she was
because this music icon was also the most
down-to-earth girlfriend.
And that's what she called us, her girlfriends.
The reason I make a special note of this
is because it always just astonished me
that Loretta Lynn, one of my heroes,
would think of me that way.
I remember one time she called to tell me
she'd been on her treadmill singing "Independence Day"
and reaching for those high notes.
I'm trying to hit those high notes, she'd say.
She'd always say, I love you, honey.
Come see me anytime.
She also used to say to me, Martina, you
and me on a tour together.
I said, yes, ma'am.
That would be amazing.
She said, we'd tired up, wouldn't we?
We did end up doing some shows together,
and I treasure those moments.
She was funny and fun.
She was wise.
She was a brilliant songwriter and a big powerful singer
and storyteller.
She was so real and just always, Loretta.
She shared her heartache, her feistiness, her spirituality,
her childhood, her love for doing her kids,
and her stories with all of us and with the world.
Well, maybe some stories she didn't share with the world.
But as I read the tributes to her life in the past weeks,
I've heard so many other women in country music who
have similar things to say about her impact on them,
not just her music, not just their music,
but them personally.
She paid attention to our careers.
She made us feel like we were special to her
and like she was in our corner.
And I feel that part of her legacy is that it's up to us
now to mentor and to make sure we all know we have
each other's backs, and that the ones coming up the ladder
feel our support too, that we are available.
And we can now say, I love you, honey.
Come see me any time.
And now, please welcome, Alan Jackson.
- Thank you all so much Hi.
Loretta.
Loretta was always very sweet to me.
And for a lot of years there, from time I first
stepped on this opera stage 30 something years ago probably--
and I never told her this, but she
reminded me a lot of my mama.
Yeah, they looked a little alike,
but their personalities were a lot alike.
They were both real outgoing, tell
you exactly what's on their mind,
but very sweet and genuine.
Both came from real hard, humble backgrounds.
They both married a man when they
were very young, 16 years old or so and stayed with them
their whole life.
And they love Southern gospel music.
And when my mama passed away, I wrote a song for her.
And when they asked me to sing for Loretta tonight,
I just felt like the words felt right.
And the family was kind enough to let me sing
this song for her tonight.
So for Loretta, it's just for you.
"Where Your Heart Has Always Been."
[MUSIC - "WHERE YOUR HEART HAS ALWAYS BEEN"]
(SINGING) The morning light was soft and low.
The clouds had left an early snow.
A peaceful sound was calling low.
It's time to go.
Then God reached out his tender hand
and gently pulled her home with him,
and brushed away the sorrow from her soul within.
And I could hear the roses sing.
A bluebird slowly claps its wings.
The sun seems brighter than it's ever been.
And now she's dancing in the wind with her true love again.
Where her heart has always been.
Oh, play a fiddle for me.
[fiddle playing]
And I could hear the roses sing.
A bluebird softly claps its wings.
The sun seems brighter than it's ever been.
Now she's dancing in the wind with her true love again.
Where her heart has always been.
The morning light was soft and low.
The clouds had left an early snow.
- Well, hey, to all of Loretta's friends
and all Loretta's family.
And I consider myself part of the family.
I've loved Loretta since we were both new in Nashville.
We kind of grew up together.
We used to talk about our lives and how similar we grew up,
had a lot of laughs, shed a lot of tears over things
that we remembered about our childhood
and about our parents.
And we loved country music.
And we often talked about how we were so happy that we grew
up the way we did so we could write
all those wonderful songs about our lives.
I mean, what song could be better
than "Coal Miner's Daughter"?
We know that Loretta is resting in peace.
She left a wonderful legacy.
She left a wonderful memory she was the best friend
that anybody could ever have and one
of the greatest artists ever.
So go ahead and celebrate her knowing
I'm right there with you.
- Please welcome Hoda Kotb.
- Well, hello, everybody.
What a thrill it is to be here.
I need more Kleenexes.
This is the most beautiful celebration of Loretta Lynn.
I was born in Norman, Oklahoma.
I grew up in Morgantown, West Virginia and Virginia.
I was raised in a world where country music was big,
and there was a whole lot of love for Loretta Lynn.
You know what Miss Loretta did throughout her career?
She told the truth.
And because she told the truth, women like us thought
we could tell the truth too.
She had her first number one record in 1967.
She won her first Grammy in 1972.
In the '70s and '80s, her song "Coal Miner's Daughter"
became a life-changing record and autobiography and an
Academy Award winning movie.
She made the gold album Honky Tonk Angels with Dolly Parton
and Tammy Wynette in the '90s.
Indeed.
She won the Grammy for Best Country Album in 2005.
And just last year, she released Still Woman Enough,
her 50th studio album, her 60th, counting her 10 duet
albums with Conway Twitty.
Decades and decades of making great country music.
Right now, what do you say we take it back to 1967?
Here to perform Loretta's very first number one record,
please welcome, George Strait.
- Thank you so much.
I'm really happy to be a part of this celebration
of life and memorial for Miss Loretta Lynn tonight.
Such an icon in the music that we all love,
and that's country music.
She was a trailblazer, barrier breaker, original, beautiful,
kind, sweet, and one hell of a songwriter,
singer, and entertainer.
I'm so glad to have gotten to know her,
and I will miss her dearly.
God bless your family that's here tonight.
And God bless Loretta Lynn.
Here's one of her many smashes.
[MUSIC - "DON'T COME HOME A DRINKING"]
- (SINGING) Well, you thought I'd be waiting up
when you came home last night.
You've been out with all the boys,
and you ended up half tight.
For liquor and love, they just don't mix.
Leave the bottle or me behind.
And don't come home a-drinking with loving on your mind.
No, don't come home a-drinking with loving on your mind.
Just stay out there on the town and see what you can find.
'Cause if you want that kind of love,
then you don't need none of mind.
Well, don't come home a-drinking
with loving on your mind.
You never take me anywhere because you're always gone.
And many a night, I've laid awake
and cried here all alone.
Then you come in kissing on me.
It happens every time.
No, don't come home a-drinking with loving on your mind.
Just stay out there on the town and see what you can find.
'Cause if you want that kind of love,
well, you don't need none of mind.
So don't come home a-drinking with loving on your mind.
No, don't come home a-drinking with loving on your mind.
- Loretta Lynn has always been my hero.
She was a woman that I looked up to, not only because
of her performances and her saying,
but because of the way she conducted herself
and how she treated people, which I always thought
was the best in the world.
I appreciate the family so much for sharing
their mama, their grandma, their sister with us.
We love Loretta.
I've always loved Loretta, and I always will.
- (SINGING) Hey, Louisiana woman.
- Mississippi man.
- We'll get together every time we can.
The Mississippi River can't keep us apart.
- There's too much love in this Mississippi heart.
- Too much love in this Louisiana heart.
- Loretta Lynn's effortless partnership with Conway Twitty
made them one of country music's most iconic duos
of all time.
With more than 13 singles, 10 studio albums,
20 awards, and countless fans.
- Me and Conway never had an argument the whole 20 years
we had a business together.
I've had other artists call up and asked to record with me
and do it and say, she's got a singing partner.
- She brought her signature sass to the Honky Tonk Angels
when she teamed up with Dolly and Tammy Wynette.
[MUSIC - DOLLY PARTON, LORETTA LYNN,
AND TAMMY WYNETTE, "SILVER THREADS AND GOLDEN NEEDLES"]
Silver threads and golden needles cannot
mend this heart of mine.
- (SINGING) Well, Portland, Oregon, and sloe gin fizz.
If it ain't love, then tell me what is.
Uh-huh.
- And her Grammy-winning work with producer and rocker Jack
White introduced her authentic depth and brilliance
to a whole new audience-- a testament
to her timeless voice.
- (SINGING) And a pitcher to go.
Ooh.
- Ladies and gentlemen, Little Big Town.
[music - "let her fly"]
- (SINGING) There's a wreath on the door.
She don't live here no more.
As of today, she flew home.
And we all gathered here in sorrow and tears.
It won't be the same with her gone.
There's a place on the hill that's
peaceful and still, where's she'll
sleep beside Daddy again.
The whole family tree is shedding it's leaves,
but we'll all meet in heaven again.
Oh, she's an angel.
Let her fly, let her fly.
She's gone home to glory to her home in the sky.
When God sees her coming, heaven's choir
will smile and sing, oh, she's an angel.
Let her fly.
Oh, she's an angel.
Let her fly.
- (SINGING) She used to rock me when I was a child.
Sing "Rock of Ages" and "In The Sweet Bye and Bye."
Her life wasn't easy, oh, but how hard she tried.
You know she's an angel, Lord let fly.
Oh, she's an angel.
Let her fly.
She's gone home to glory to her home in the sky.
When God sees her coming, heaven's choir will smile
and say, oh, she's an angel.
Let her fly.
Oh, she's an angel.
Let her fly.
Oh, she's an angel.
Let her fly.
- Please welcome Margo Price.
- Loretta's influenced generations
of singers and songwriters.
We've all discovered her in our own way.
One of my favorite stories is about a little nine-year-old
boy in Detroit, Michigan.
He watched the movie Coal Miner's Daughter
and was mesmerized by it all--
the music, the singer, and the story.
This film opened up a young rock and roller fans eyes
to the beauty of country music.
20 years later, he was part of the stripped down rock
duo, The White Stripes.
In 2001, their album White Blood Cells
became their breakthrough.
It went gold, charted singles in the US and the UK,
and set them up to win some MTV Music Awards
and was dedicated to Loretta Lynn.
Then as only Loretta could, she invited the White Stripes
to her home for chicken and dumplings
and asked Jack White to produce a new album for her.
The album Van Lear rose is their masterpiece, a country
music album so good it hurts.
Somehow the match-up just worked.
In 2005, Van Lear Rose won the Grammy for Best
Country Album of the year.
They had this glorious, creative, deep,
and trusting friendship.
Jack knew she was a national treasure.
He was wise enough to sit down with her,
turn the camera on and let her talk,
knowing he was recording music history.
Here's a moment he wanted to share--
the story behind one of the first songs Loretta
ever wrote.
- Thank you for doing that song with me at the Bridgestone
Arena show we did.
That's one of my favorite things you've ever written.
And when I first got that, I got a hold of your Zero 45,
your very first record.
And you think-- and that maybe one of the first songs
you ever wrote, right?
- I think it might be the first one.
- Really?
- Yeah, because it's a waltz.
And when I wrote the song, [inaudible] do my fishing.
And I was sitting up in the branches of tree, fishing.
And I wrote the song.
And it's probably my first song.
- You were up in the tree?
- I was up in a tree.
I was fishing down.
- And you do it-- you can still do it D?
We're all right we're doing it in D, the original?
- Yeah.
If I sung out, you couldn't stand it in here.
- Oh, sing out loud, please.
- Oh, lower D?
That's a two.
- I'll give you D.
[GUITAR PLAYING "WHISPERING SEA"]
- (SINGING) I sat down by the sea, and it whispered to me.
It brought back an old love affair that used to be.
It told me that you had found someone new
and left me to cry over you.
Whispering sea, rolling be why don't you listen to me cry?
I cry as though my heart has broke in two.
Oh, how I love him so.
No one will ever.
No one, but the drifting, whispering sea.
Well, I thought I'd left behind all his love, but I was blind.
I should have known that there was no use to pretend.
I thought a new love I would find,
that it never crossed my mind.
But the whispering sea, it talked to me.
Whispering sea, rolling by, why don't you listen to me cry?
I cry as though my heart has broke in two.
Oh, how I love him so.
No one will ever know.
No one but the drifting, whispering sea.
Was that the way I cut it?
- It was the way you cut it, yeah.
It's beautiful.
Thank you for doing that.
- Mercy me.
- That song means a lot to me.
I've been playing that song ever since the first time
I heard it.
I've been playing it probably once a week.
- You're kidding.
- It's hard to pick up a guitar and not try to play that one.
[music - "van lear rose"]
- (SINGING) One of my fondest memories
was sitting on my daddy's knee, listening to the stories
that he told.
He'd pulled out some old photographs,
like a treasured memory from the past
and say, child, this here's the Van Lear Rose.
Oh, how it would bring a smile, when he talked
about her big blue eyes and how her beauty
ran down to her soul.
She'd walk across the coal miner's yard.
The miners would yell loud and hard as they dream of who
would hold the Van Lear Rose.
She was the belle of Johnson County.
Ohio river to Big Sandy.
A beauty to behold, like some diamond in the coal.
All the miners, they would gather around
and talk about the man that came to town.
Right under their nose, stole the heart
of the Van Lear Rose.
Now the Van Lear Rose could have had her pick and all
the fellas that figured rich until this poor boy caught
her eye.
His buddies, they'd all laugh and say, you're dreaming, boy.
She'll never look your way.
You'll never ever hold the Van Lear Rose.
She was the belle of Johnson County.
Ohio river to Big Sandy.
A beauty to behold like a diamond in the coal.
All the miners, they would gather around
and talk about the man that came to town.
Right under their nose stole the heart
of the Van Lear Rose.
Then one night in mid-July underneath
that old Kentucky sky.
Well, that poor boy won that beauty's heart.
Then my daddy would look at my mommy and smile
as he brushed the hair back from my eyes.
And he'd say, your mama, she's the Van Lear Rose.
She was the belle of Johnson County.
Ohio River to Big Sandy.
A beauty to behold like a diamond in the coal.
All the miners, they would gather around
and talk about the man that came to town.
Right under their nose, stole the heart
of the Van Lear Rose.
Yeah, right under their nose, stole the heart
of the Van Lear Rose.
- The first time I ever met Loretta,
first time I ever saw Loretta, she was coming out
of the back of a music venue.
And the back door opened and out came this gorgeous woman.
And she was so mad.
Her band was following behind her, and she was saying,
bam, bam, bam.
I couldn't hear nothing but them
goddamn drums beat in my ear.
And I had been going there to see
her to tell her that I didn't think I could do her film.
But when I laid eyes on her, I just--
well, I was thunderstruck.
Loretta has had a major impact on my career.
But all my life, as a friend, she's just--
she always said, Sissy, we were twins in another life.
And I laughed about that then, but I know that you--
I believe that you travel through time and space
with soulmates, family members, people that you--
that means something to you that you love.
And Loretta was like my sister.
Sometimes she was like my mother.
She was my girlfriend.
Loretta, I'm going to try to behave
myself so that some day, I'll be up there with you.
And we can pin those lyrics to your songs
on all the lampshades around the room and get our guitars
and sing as we walk from lampshade to lampshade.
I love you.
I love your family.
I got to know you from the inside out by playing you.
And it was the greatest gift.
Thank you for the legacy.
You were an angel.
I love you.
- Please welcome, Sheryl Crow.
- Well, before I go to that, I'm
just amazed at how many people Loretta has brought together.
She's so much bigger than country music
here and Jack White up there.
And obviously, I'm here.
She's just so much bigger than any genre.
It's such a privilege to be here with you tonight
and to join all of you remembering
and celebrating Loretta Lynn.
I feel really fortunate to have gotten to record with Loretta.
I got to perform live with her on a couple of occasions,
and I got to make a music video for "Coal Miner's Daughter"
with her and Miranda Lambert.
But what I loved most about Loretta
was not her incredible storytelling
or the fierce and brave songs that she wrote.
What I loved about Loretta was I got to witness her
on her ranch, taking time to walk out and meet her fans
and sign autographs and take pictures.
She loved her fans so much that she
invited them into her world.
And I love that about her.
A little over six years ago, Loretta and Willie Nelson,
two dear friends, recorded together
for the very first time.
Their iconic soul-stirring voices
created a haunting and beautiful
recording of "Lay Me Down."
What a beautiful tribute to her that tonight,
Loretta's granddaughter and Willie Nelson's son
will sing "Lay Me Down."
So please welcome, Emmy Russell and Lukas Nelson.
- Hello, everybody.
Well, I'm Emmy.
Thank you all for being here.
You know, this is the first time
I'm singing since Mema got kind of sick back in when I was 18.
I'm 23 now.
And she always stood in the corner
and called me on on stage.
And I'd sing a song, one original song, and one song
that everybody knew.
And it's the first time that she's not here to look
at me with her proud eyes.
And it's just special.
And thank you for listening, so.
[music - "lay me down"]
(SINGING) I raised my head, and I
set myself in the eye of a storm,
in the belly of a whale.
My spirit stood on solid ground.
I'll be at peace when they lay me down.
- (SINGING) And when I was a child,
I cried until my needs were satisfied.
My needs have grown up, pound for pound.
I'll be at peace when they lay me down.
When they lay me down someday, my soul
will rise and fly away.
This old world will turn around.
I'll be at peace when they lay me down.
This life isn't fair, it seems.
And it's filled with tears and broken dreams.
There are no tears where I am bound.
I'll be at peace when they lay me down.
When they lay me down someday, my soul
will rise and fly away.
This old world will turn around.
And I'll be at peace when they lay me down.
When they lay me down someday, my soul
will rise and fly away.
This old world will turn around.
I'll be at peace when they lay me down.
When I was a child, I cried.
Thank you so much.
- Loretta was absolutely such a hero in so many ways.
She is the reason that all of us girls have a voice today.
She's such a big part of that reason for blazing a trail
and for not being afraid and always being brave and always
being exactly true to who she was,
and singing about her real life and not being ashamed to show
the flaws and all.
So I'm so thankful that I got to spend
a little time with her.
And I can't wait til we meet again one day.
- How beautiful has tonight been.
Well, let's go back to 1975.
In 1975, 60 radio stations banned our next Loretta song--
"Preachers."
Y'all know the one.
"Preachers" even preached about it.
And let's just say, they weren't team Loretta.
Opry executives talked about not
letting her perform it here.
Legend has it she said, if you ban it, I'll quit the Opry.
And yet it was one of the biggest records of her career.
And it resonated so strongly that it made the pop charts.
Here to perform a song that resonates today,
please welcome, Margo Price.
[music - "the pill"]
- (SINGING) You wined me and dined me when I was your girl,
promised if I'd be your wife, you'd show me the world.
But all I've seen of this whole world
is a bed and a doctor bill.
I'm tearing down your brooder house
because now I've got the pill.
All these years, I've stayed at home
when you've had all your fun.
Every year that it's gone by, another baby's come.
There's going to be some changes made
right here on nursery hill.
You've set this chicken your last time 'cause now
I've got the pill.
This old maternity dress I got is going in the garbage.
The clothes I'm wearing from now on
won't take up so much yardage.
Miniskirts, hot pants, and a few little fancy frills.
Yeah, I'm making up for all those years
since I've got the pill.
I'm tired of all you crowing how you and your hens
play while holding a couple in my arms and others on the way.
This chicken's done.
Tore up her nest, and I'm ready to make a deal.
And you can't afford to turn it down since I've got the pill.
This incubator is overused because you kept if filled.
The feeling good comes easy now since I've got the pill.
It's getting dark.
It's roosting time.
Tonight's too good to be real.
Oh, but, daddy, don't you worry none
'cause mama's got the pill.
Oh, daddy, don't you worry none 'cause mama's got the pill.
- One of the things we all agree on around the world
is everybody loved Loretta.
Loretta was one of those rare people that
could walk to anybody's house and knock on the door
and be welcomed in as an honored guest.
At our house, her name is spoken love and reverence.
Connie has never wavered in her statement
that Loretta is her favorite country
girl singer of all time.
And when it comes to country music songwriting and singing,
well, Loretta Lynn was as good as it gets.
Standard that everybody else can go up to.
Ernie, Patsy, Peggy, Crystal, Peggy Sue, all the kids
and grandkids, extended family, you have our love, my prayers.
And God bless you in the days ahead.
Thank you for sharing Loretta Lynn with us for so long.
- Please welcome back Darius Rucker.
- Loretta's songs blazed straight through
conservative country radio stations
of the '60s and the '70s.
"The Pill," "Fist City."
"Don't Come Home A-drinking With Loving
On Your Mind," "Rated X," and "You Ain't
Woman Enough To Take My Man."
A lot of stations tried to ban these songs and more,
but they couldn't.
The public demanded to hear them,
and they were changing the dial.
Life told from Loretta's point of view
blew a lot of people's minds and sent shockwaves.
It empowered a lot of women to stand up for themselves
in ways they never could.
She was honored with the highest
awards in the music industry and our country
could bestow upon her.
She was groundbreaking.
She was original.
She was a trailblazer.
And yet it's said over and over again
she was so kindhearted and down-to-earth.
And I can attest to that.
When she had Jack White the sub for the first time
and made those chicken and dumplings,
she also made sure to send them out the door
with a loaf of bread and a stick of butter.
Because that's how down-to-earth legends
raise and butcher holler roll.
And now let's hear some more from Loretta.
- Loretta blazed a trail as both a woman
in country and as an artist, and the world took notice.
- I've gotten so many awards, but the high point, I guess,
was getting the Entertainer of The Year the first time.
I didn't think girls would ever win the award, and I got it.
[MUSIC - LORETTA LYNN, "YOU'RE LOOKING AT COUNTRY"]
'Cause if you're looking at me, you're looking at country.
- Over the course of her career,
she earned over 70 awards, including the
Presidential Medal of Freedom.
At age 56, she was inducted into the Country
Music Hall of Fame.
- She was born a coal miner's daughter,
but she has become a country music
legend, Ms. Loretta Lynn.
- I didn't think this has ever happened to me.
So, you know, getting in the Hall of Fame,
I can see the hall of shame, not the hall of fame.
[laughing]
I told my girls when I started in the business, I said,
you either have to be different, great, or first.
And I think.
I was just a little different.
I come in writing honky tonk songs.
Girls was back and back from.
And they wouldn't work the honky tonk,
so I took all the honky tonks.
[MUSIC - LORETTA LYNN, "DON'T COME HOME A DRINKIN']
So don't come home a-drinking with loving on your mind.
- From dive bars to Kennedy Center Honors,
Loretta touched billions of fans.
She had 51 top 10 hits, 22 number one albums,
and sold 45 million records worldwide.
But in the end, success and fame weren't
as important to her as love.
- I would like to be remembered just as a good person.
I would like to be remembered that I've never hurt no one.
I hope I never say anything to hurt nobody.
That's how I'd like to be remembered
is just a good person.
[MUSIC - LORETTA LYNN, "LAY ME DOWN"]
I'll be at peace when they lay me down.
When I was a child, I cried.
- Please welcome Brandi Carlile.
- One sec, I want to say something.
I just want to say that Loretta Lynn was my hero.
But she got to be around on this earth long enough
to be my hero's hero.
And that's why I love what Martina came out here and said
so much because I can feel the way
that Loretta treated her girlfriends by the way
that they treat me.
Wynonna Judd and Tanya Tucker and Martina.
And I promise you right now, Loretta Lynn,
to pay that forward, for as long as they let
me do this job, to any younger girl that wants
to come out here and take this big beautiful risk
and do this job.
I'm going to sing this for Loretta
and her girlfriend Patsy up in heaven.
There we go.
[music - "she's got you"]
(SINGING) I've got your picture that you gave to me.
And it's signed with love just like it used to be.
The only thing different, the only thing new.
She's got your pictures.
She's got you.
I've got your records we used to share.
And they still sound the same as when you were here.
The only thing different, the only thing new,
I've got your records.
She's got you.
I've got your memory or has it got me?
I really don't know, but I know it won't let me be.
I've got your class ring that proved you'd care.
And it still looks the same as when you gave it, dear.
The only thing different.
The only thing new, I've got these little things.
She's got you.
I've got your memory, or has it got me?
I really don't know.
But I know it won't let me be.
Oh.
I've got your class ring that proved you'd care.
And it still looks the same as when you gave it, dear.
The only thing different, the only thing new,
I've got these little things.
She's got you.
- Ooh, Brandi Carlile.
Oh, my gosh.
And how lucky were that we had you, Miss Loretta.
What a legacy you have left.
Loretta, you gave us all hope, proving that with hard work,
determination, and the truth, even a coal miner's daughter
could grow up to be an icon.
It has been such a privilege for me
to celebrate Loretta's life and music with all of you.
I know you loved her.
And you know how much she loved you, too.
Thanks to all the incredible artists
from different generations of country music
who joined together tonight to honor
the coal miner's daughter.
One thing is for sure--
Loretta Lynn will be remembered for how fiercely she loved.
She adored her family.
She once told me, they are her greatest legacy.
Please welcome Loretta's daughter, Patsy Lynn,
and Loretta's granddaughter, Tayla Lynn.
- Mema never forgot where she came from.
She's with us tonight.
She was actually proud of it.
Success never changed her.
The person that you saw on stage
was the same person she was at home in her living room.
She leaned on God in troubled times
and sang his praises in her joy.
When I was a little girl, she told me
that she learned how to read by reading the Bible,
and that changed my life.
If someone like Mema, like Loretta Lynn,
loved Jesus so much, then I could too.
I could get to know him like she did, as a friend.
He was her best friend.
She was never ashamed of her faith.
Because of that, I learned how to be a good old Southern
Jesus loving woman who says, yes, Jesus and a little wink
of bless her heart.
Y'all know what she's talking about.
Her prayers and faith brought me out of some dark places
and into my own faith and walk with the Lord.
She made an eternal difference for me.
And it's the greatest legacy a grandmother can ever give--
a gift of faith.
I love you, Mema.
- You know, I knew tonight was going to be very difficult.
I knew that it was going to be extremely emotional for all
of us, extremely emotional.
It is, though, joy.
I'm so proud.
I'm so proud of what my mom has accomplished.
I am so touched as our family is of how many people, how
many artists, how many people in the world
that she has touched, whether you're a singer on this stage
or whether you're at home watching television,
and your daughters and your granddaughters
are finding out for the first time
who Loretta Lynn is by all this wonderful music.
That comforts us.
Because with the loss of our mom, we are heartbroken.
It's such a empty feeling in so many ways.
But then my mom has laid down the most incredible legacy.
She has laid down such a legacy that she will never leave us.
She will always be here because of every single one of you.
My sister Sissy, my brother Ernest Ray,
my twin sister Peggy, my Aunt Crystal Gail, Betty Ruth.
My Aunt Peggy.
I don't know if Peggy [inaudible]
where Peggy and Sonny are.
But my family, all of my nieces and nephews and grandchildren,
I know that you think there's a lot of people downstairs.
They're mostly our family.
We come from a big family.
And we are proud of it.
We owe-- thank you.
We owe all of you a big thank you for coming with us tonight
and helping us, helping us.
We cried together.
We laughed together.
And we enjoyed some incredible music together
tonight and some memories.
God bless you all.
Love you, mama.
- Thank you.
- Please welcome to the stage, the Highwomen.
[MUSIC - "COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER"]
- (SINGING) Well, I was borned a coal
miner's daughter in a cabin, on a hill in Butcher Holler.
We were poor, but we had love.
That's the one thing daddy made sure of.
He shoveled coal to make a poor man's dollar.
Well, my daddy worked all night in the Van Lear coal mines.
All day long in the field hoeing corn.
Mommy rocked the babies at night
and read the Bible by the coal light.
And everything would start all over come break of morn'.
Daddy loved and raised eight kids on a miner's pay.
Mommy scrubbed our clothes on a washboard every day.
Well, I've seen her fingers bleed.
To complain, there was no need.
She'd smile in mommy's understanding way.
In the summertime, we didn't have shoes to wear.
But in the wintertime, we'd all get a brand new pair.
From a mail order catalog, money made from selling a hog,
Daddy always managed to make the money somewhere.
Yeah, I'm proud to be a coal miner's daughter.
I remember well, the well where I drew water.
The work we done was hard.
At night, we'd sleep 'case we were tired.
Never thought of ever leaving Butcher Holler.
Well, a lot of things have changed since a way back then.
And it's so good to be back home again.
Not much left but the floors.
Nothing lives here anymore, except the memories
of the coal miner's daughter.