Editing Loretta Lynn (section)

===1960–1966: Early country success===
[[File:Loretta Lynn LCCN2021643178 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Lynn in 1962]]
Lynn began singing in local clubs in the late 1950s. She later formed her own band, the Trailblazers which included her brother Jay Lee Webb. Lynn won a wristwatch in a televised talent contest in [[Tacoma, Washington]], hosted by [[Buck Owens]]. Lynn's performance was seen by Canadian [[Norm Burley]] of [[Zero Records]], who co-founded the record company after hearing Loretta sing.<ref name="webbio">[http://www.lorettalynn.com/bio "Van Lear Rose"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070206201143/http://www.lorettalynn.com/bio/ |date=February 6, 2007 }}. Retrieved February 4, 2007.</ref>

[[Zero Records]] president, Canadian [[Don Grashey]], arranged a recording session in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]], where four of Lynn's compositions were recorded, including "I'm A Honky Tonk Girl," "Whispering Sea," "Heartache Meet Mister Blues," and "New Rainbow." Her first release featured "Whispering Sea" and "[[I'm a Honky Tonk Girl]]". Lynn signed her first contract on February 2, 1960, with Zero. Her album was recorded at [[United Western Recorders]] in Hollywood, engineered by Don Blake and produced by Grashey.<ref name=Grashey>{{cite web |title=KochDistribution.com |url=http://www.kochdistribution.com/catalog/moreAudio.aspx?fn=CoverArt&upc=684038811922&item=AUD-CD-8119&Muze=377039&title=Still+Country |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927222822/http://www.kochdistribution.com/catalog/moreAudio.aspx?fn=CoverArt&upc=684038811922&item=AUD-CD-8119&Muze=377039&title=Still+Country |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |website=kochdistribution.com |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Joseph Mauro 1995 p. 45">"Honky Tonk Make Believe", Don Grashy – Co. Joseph Mauro, "MY RAMBLING HEART" (Washington. DC: 1995), p. 45.</ref> Musicians who played on the songs were steel guitar player [[Speedy West]],<ref name="honkytonk">{{Cite book |last=Loretta |first=Lynn |title=Honky Tonk Girl: My Life in Lyrics |date=2012 |publisher=Knopf |isbn=978-0-307-59489-1 |location=New York |pages=10–11}}</ref> fiddler Harold Hensley, guitarist Roy Lanham, Al Williams on bass, and Muddy Berry on drums.<ref>[http://countrydiscography.blogspot.com/2011/05/loretta-lynn-part-1.html PragueFrank's Country Music Discographies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106083038/http://countrydiscography.blogspot.com/2011/05/loretta-lynn-part-1.html |date=November 6, 2013 }}, countrydiscography.blogspot.com; May 2011</ref>{{User-generated inline|date=October 2022}} Lynn commented on the different sound of her first record: "Well, there is a West Coast sound that is definitely not the same as the Nashville sound [...] It was a shuffle with a West Coast beat".<ref name="honkytonk" />

The Lynns toured the country to promote the release to country stations,<ref name=webbio/> while Grashey and Del Roy took the music to [[KFRN|KFOX]] in [[Long Beach, California]].<ref name="Joseph Mauro 1995 p. 45" /> When the Lynns reached [[Nashville]], the song was a hit, climbing to No. 14 on Billboard's Country and Western chart, and Lynn began cutting demo records for the [[The Wilburn Brothers|Wilburn Brothers Publishing Company]]. Through the Wilburns, she secured a contract with [[Decca Records]].<ref name=webbio/> The first Loretta Lynn Fan Club formed in November 1960. By the end of the year, [[Billboard magazine]] listed Lynn as the No. 4 Most Promising Country Female Artist.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=October 31, 1960 |title=Most Promising Female Artists of C&W Jockeys |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PSAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA26 |magazine=Billboard |page=26}}</ref>

Lynn's relationship with the Wilburn Brothers and her appearances on the Grand Ole Opry, beginning in 1960,<ref name=cmhf/> helped Lynn become the No. 1 female recording artist in country music. Her contract with the Wilburn Brothers gave them the publishing rights to her material. She unsuccessfully fought the Wilburn Brothers for 30 years to regain the publishing rights to her songs after ending her business relationship with them. Lynn stopped writing music in the 1970s because of the contracts. Lynn joined the [[The Grand Ole Opry|Grand Ole Opry]] on September 25, 1962.<ref name="Official website" />

Lynn credited [[Patsy Cline]] as her mentor and best friend during her early years in music. In 2010, when interviewed for [[Jimmy McDonough]]'s biography of [[Tammy Wynette]], ''Tammy Wynette: Tragic Country Queen'', Lynn said of having best friends in Patsy and Tammy during different times: "Best friends are like husbands. You only need one at a time."<ref>{{cite web |date=June 13, 2014 |title=Loretta Lynn: Country superstar whose style, courage and panache have made her a legend, plays the Hard Rock Rocksino on Thursday (Commentary) |url=https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2014/06/loretta_lynn_country_superstar.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004232351/https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2014/06/loretta_lynn_country_superstar.html |archive-date=October 4, 2022 |access-date=October 4, 2022}}</ref>

Lynn released her first Decca single, "[[Success (Loretta Lynn song)|Success]]", in 1962, and it went straight to No. 6, beginning a string of top 10 singles that would run throughout the 1970s. Lynn's music began to regularly hit the Top 10 after 1964 with songs such as "[[Before I'm Over You (song)|Before I'm Over You]]", which peaked at No.{{nbsp}}4, followed by "[[Wine, Women and Song (song)|Wine, Women and Song]]", which peaked at No.{{nbsp}}3. In late 1964, she recorded a duet album with [[Ernest Tubb]]. Their lead single, "[[Mr. and Mrs. Used to Be]]", peaked within the Top 15. The pair recorded two more albums, ''[[Singin' Again]]'' (1967) and ''[[If We Put Our Heads Together]]'' (1969). In 1965, her solo career continued with three major hits, "[[Happy Birthday (Merry Christmas and Happy New Year)|Happy Birthday]]", "[[Blue Kentucky Girl (song)|Blue Kentucky Girl]]" (later recorded and made a Top 10 hit in the 1970s by [[Emmylou Harris]]), and "[[The Home You're Tearing Down]]". Lynn's label issued two albums that year, [[Songs from My Heart....|''Songs from My Heart'']] and [[Blue Kentucky Girl (Loretta Lynn album)|''Blue Kentucky Girl'']].<ref name="Billboard Singles">{{Cite book |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |title=Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008 |publisher=Record Research, Inc. |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-89820-177-2}}</ref>

Lynn's first self-penned song to crack the Top 10, 1966's "[[Dear Uncle Sam]]", was among the first recordings to recount the human costs of the Vietnam War.<ref name="Official website" /> Her 1966 hit "[[You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)]]" made Lynn the first country female recording artist to write a No.{{nbsp}}1 hit.<ref>[http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/lynn_loretta/bio.jhtml Loretta Lynn Profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071105054357/http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/lynn_loretta/bio.jhtml |date=November 5, 2007 }}, Country Music Television website. Retrieved May 4, 2014.</ref>