ASHLAND — Loretta Lynn will perform at 8 p.m. April 26 at the Paramount Arts Center.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Lynn’s arrival on the music scene with her 1960 debut single, “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl.”
“To make it in this business, you either have to be first, great or different,” Lynn has said. “And I was the first to ever go into Nashville, singin’ it like the women lived it.”
Lynn can show she is all three.
Almost on the exact date of her golden anniversary in show business, the Recording Academy gave her its Lifetime Achievement Award. The honor was presented in Los Angeles on Jan. 31, 2010.
She signed her first recording contract on Feb. 1, 1960, and within a matter of weeks, she was at her first recording session.
Her distinctive body of work includes “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’” and “Your Squaw Is on the War Path,” showing her refusal to be any man’s doormat. She challenged female rivals in “You Ain’t Woman Enough” and “Fist City.” She showed blue-collar pride in “Coal Miner’s Daughter” and “You’re Lookin’ at Country.” She is unafraid of controversy, whether the topic is sex (“Wings Upon Your Horns”), divorce (“Rated X”), alcohol (“Wouldn’t It Be Great”), war (“Dear Uncle Sam”) or “The Pill,” her celebration of sexual liberation, which were among some of her songs to be banned by many radio stations.
Tickets are $35, $40, $45 and $50 and are on sale now by calling the box office at (606) 324-3175 or online at paramountartscenter.com.