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Thanks to the example set by her, country music is a different business for women because of Loretta Lynn, according to artists like Brandi Carlile. While reflecting on Lynn’s legacy, Carlile noted that some of her friends in the industry seemingly paid it forward to her from the kindness they’d received from the icon. And she wanted to share her gratitude for that.

Tanya Tucker and Brandi Carlile perform onstage for Loretta Lynn: An All-Star Birthday Celebration Concert at Bridgestone Arena on April 1, 2019, in Nashville, Tennessee.
Loretta Lynn (seated), Tanya Tucker, and Brandi Carlile (right) | Jason Kempin/Getty Images for for Essential Broadcast Media, LLC

Loretta Lynn formed friendships with women in country music

Much is evident about Lynn in how so many reacted to her death. After she died, her friends and fellow country music artists turned to social media to honor her life with stories of her kindness.

“Today, my world changed, and it will never be the same again. My hero [Loretta Lynn] got her wings, and it’s been a day filled with tears. Many memories, so much gratitude and thanking my God above for blessing me first with her music and her guidance through the perils of the music world, way before we ever met,” Tanya Tucker wrote on Instagram.

The Judds’ star Wynonna also turned to Instagram to pay tribute. “As I walked into the CMA’s for the first time in 1984, she was the first person who came over and hugged me,” she shared. “Loretta was like an aunt to me.”

Loretta Lynn ‘set an example for women in country music’ — Brandi Carlile

On Instagram, Carlile told her fans that she’d spent some time reflecting on Lynn’s death and had a realization about the “Coal Miner’s Daughter” singer, whose life inspired a movie.

“It occurred to me today, as I was contemplating the loss of our dear and powerful Loretta Lynn, that when she was a younger woman and already a legend, she treated [Tucker and Judd] … the way they now treat me,” she wrote, adding there were “many more” like them.

Carlile noted that Lynn “always had time for Tanya and Wynonna,” which seemingly affected how they treated their friends. “She always had a kind word for them and wisdom like wildfire,” she wrote.

Though she only met “Retty” on a few occasions with Tucker, Lynn’s impact stood out to Carlile, who said she “set an example for women in country music that can be felt throughout the ages.”

“Thank you, Loretta, for treating my heroes so special,” she concluded. “And thank you, Tanya and Wy, for making me feel the way she made you feel. I’m sorry you lost your incredible friend.”

Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn’s friendship started it all

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Of course, few of Lynn’s friendships were more famous than that between her and Patsy Cline. She credited the “Crazy” singer with taking her under her wing and showing her the ropes of the country music business after she arrived in Nashville.

On Watch What Happens Live in 2016, Lynn talked about what her friendship with Cline was like. “When I’d go over, she’d be cooking for me,” she recalled. “And when everything was over, … she would start digging in her clothes, finding little old stuff for me to wear, sweaters and stuff. And she’d load me down before the night was over.”

In a memoir called Me & Patsy Kickin’ Up Dust, Lynn recalled the difference it made to have another woman on her side in an industry where individuals in prominent positions encouraged competition. It was so prevalent that other artists conspired to stop Lynn’s Grand Ole Opry performances until Cline got word and crashed their meeting.

Cline’s tragic death in 1963 cut short their companionship, but Lynn looked back fondly on those years for the rest of her life.

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