[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 64 (Thursday, April 14, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E381]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         TRIBUTE IN CELEBRATION OF LORETTA LYNN'S 90TH BIRTHDAY

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                           HON. HAROLD ROGERS

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 14, 2022

  Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to 
Loretta Lynn, in celebration of her 90th birthday. The incredible voice 
of America's famed coal miner's daughter has resounded across the 
Appalachian Mountains and around the world, highlighting the resiliency 
and courage of the people of Eastern Kentucky, where she was born and 
raised.
  Loretta Lynn's superstardom is a remarkable story, rising from her 
humble beginnings in Butcher Holler to the top of the country music 
charts. Her Eastern Kentucky roots shine through the lyrics of her most 
famous songs and paint a prominent picture of hope and perseverance 
that are iconic in our coal mining region. She has inspired generations 
of gifted singers from the mountains. Although Nashville gets much of 
the glory for birthing the superstars of country music, it is in the 
hills of Eastern Kentucky where many of them were born, raised, and 
played their first guitars. Loretta Lynn is just one of the many names 
lining our Country Music Highway in Eastern Kentucky. We have a rich 
heritage of talented musicians and vocalists, thanks to country music 
pioneers, like Loretta Lynn, who proved that hard work, mountain grit 
and sheer talent makes for an unstoppable combination.
  At the age of 28, she signed with her first record label and stepped 
onto the Grand Ole Opry stage for the first of many times, becoming a 
member just two years later. In 1972, she was the first woman to be 
nominated and to win Entertainer of the Year at the Country Music 
Association (CMA) Awards. She went on to win CMA's Female Vocalist of 
the Year award in 1967, 1972 and 1973. When we teamed up with Conway 
Twitty, the duo recorded five consecutive number one hits, winning the 
CMA's Vocal Duo of the Year award for four consecutive years, 1972 
through 1975. Her best-selling autobiography, Coal Miner's Daughter, 
was turned into an Academy Award-winning film in 1980. As her success 
continued, Loretta Lynn was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters 
Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988 at the age of 
56. Her portfolio includes 60 studio albums, including five certified 
gold and one certified platinum record. Earning 18 Grammy nominations 
and 3 Grammy awards, Loretta Lynn stands now as the most awarded female 
country recording artist and the only female to be named the Academy of 
Country Music's Artist of the Decade. Adding to her monumental list of 
accolades, she was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for 
her lifetime contributions to the arts.
  The people of Kentucky are proud of our own ``Coal Miner's Daughter'' 
and the legacy of hope that Loretta Lynn built to move mountains for 
aspiring young artists from the Appalachian Mountains. On her 90th 
birthday, we celebrate and applaud the life of Loretta Lynn.

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