Country music legend Loretta Lynn died in October. Her publicist confirmed her death to Rolling Stone. According to a statement from her family, Lynn died in her sleep at her ranch.
Lynn rose to the top of the country charts in the 1960s, creating a model of stardom that women country singers would continue to follow. Her biggest hit was 1970's "Coal Miner's Daughter," which later became the title of her memoir and a 1980 film about her life.
Lynn was born in 1932 in Kentucky, one of eight children. She married young to Oliver "Doolittle" Lynn and quickly became pregnant with their first child (they would ultimately have six). In 1953, he bought her a guitar, and Lynn improved her skills and eventually started her own band. Lynn never strayed from controversial topics in her music, writing songs about birth control, sexism, and widows from the Vietnam War. The trials of her own marriage also served as inspiration for her music.
Ultimately, Lynn wrote over 160 songs and released 60 albums. She won three Grammy Awards and was the first woman to be named entertainer of the year by the Country Music Association. She received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2003 and was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2013.
