Ahead of this weekend’s ‘Patsy & Loretta’ TV movie, we recall the first time Loretta Lynn performed on country’s most famous stage
Written on the $17 guitar her husband had bought as an anniversary present for her, Lynn penned “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl” in just 20 minutes while leaning up against the toilet in her bathroom at home. After purchasing a copy ofat a candy store, Lynn studied the lyrics printed in the magazine and figured that was the best way to get started, once she dreamed up a title and a story to tell in her songs.
“I’m a Honky Tonk Girl” was specifically inspired by a girl she would frequently see drinking and crying into her beer at Bill’s Tavern, a watering hole Lynn played regularly in Blaine, Washington. Featuring famed pedal steel guitarist Speedy West, who arranged to have a more accomplished group of musicians on the session once Lynn’s singing talent was evident, the promotion of “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl” was a largely homemade affair, with Loretta and Doo mailing copies to more than 3,500 radio stations, then following up on the record’s progress as they drove from Washington to Nashville just prior to her Opry debut. The depiction of that cross-country journey is among the many highlights in, the 1980 film featuring Sissy Spacek’s Oscar-winning performance as Lynn. In recent years, Lynn has recalled that the only thing she can actually remember about her firstperformance is that she tapped her foot the entire time she sang. Her performance was memorable enough for Opry management that she would soon set a record there by appearing at 17 consecutive shows. And in September 1962, Lynn officially became a Grand Ole Opry member, by which time she was recording for the Decca label and she and her family were living in Nashville.was released, Loretta Lynn closed out the eighth season of the popular PBS music series, performing “I’m Honky Tonk Girl” and many of the now-iconic songs that would follow its Top Twenty success on the country chart. Lynn, who suffered a stroke in 2017 and a broken hip in early 2018, was feted with an all-star 87th birthday concert in April. The
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