Jack White pays tribute to “mother figure” Loretta Lynn
Jack White has paid tribute to “mother figure” and “very good friend” Loretta Lynn. The country singer passed away peacefully on October 4th. According to a family statement released at the time, she was “at home in her beloved ranch in Hurricane Mills.”
Lynn was also a crossover success, landing three Grammy Awards in her lifetime. She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988 and was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors by President George W. Bush in 2003. In 2013, Lynn was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the United States, by President Barack Obama. Her best-known songs include ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’, ‘Fist City’ and ‘You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man)’
Taking to Instagram shortly after Lynn’s passing was confirmed, White said: “What a sad day today is. We lost one of the greats, Loretta Lynn. I said when I was first asked about her what I thought. I said years ago that I thought she was the greatest female singer-songwriter of the 20th century. I still believe that.”
He continued: “Loretta used to say to make it in the business, you had to either be great, different, or first, and she thought that she was just different and that’s how she made it, but I think she was all three of those things and there’s plenty of evidence to back that up too.”
White went on to describe Lynn as an “incredible presence” and “a brilliant genius in ways that I think only people who got to work with her might know about”. She was also, White recalled, a strong advocate for women’s rights. “What she did for feminism, women’s rights in a time period, in a genre of music that was the hardest to do it in, is just outstanding and will live on for a long time,” he said. “She broke down a lot of barriers for people that came after her.
White produced Lynn’s 2004 album Van lear Rose, on which he also provided guitar and backing vocals. the album won Lynn the Grammy for Best Country Album of The Year, and in 2015, both Lynn and White were inducted into Nashville’s Music City Walk of Fame
Concluding his tribute, White said: “She was like a mother figure to me and also a very good friend at times. She told me some amazing things that I’ll never tell anybody. Rest in peace Loretta. God bless you.”
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