Queen of Country Loretta Lynn Stuns at Reynolds Performance Hall

by Julian Spivey
The Queen of Country Music, Loretta Lynn performed for a sold out audience at Reynolds Performance Hall on Friday, Jan. 22.
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The show was Lynn’s first of 2010 and marked the beginning of her 50th year in country music. The 90 minute concert, that included great classic country music and dabbled in “Hee Haw” style comedy, turned out to be a family affair with performances from Lynn’s daughters and son.

Lynn’s son, Ernest, and her backing band the Coal Miners kicked the concert off with covers of Toby Keith’s 2005 song “As Good as I Once Was” and George Strait’s 2008 song “Troubadour.”

Following Ernest’s covers was the duo of Patsy and Peggy Lynn, Loretta’s twin daughters. The Lynn twins performed a few original tunes and it’s clear that the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree in the Lynn family. Patsy and Peggy both sounded exactly like their mother.

After the performance from the Lynn twins, Loretta took the stage in a beautiful, sparkling pink dress to a resounding ovation from the audience, which seemed to mostly consist of older country music fans.

Loretta began her set with her 1974 hit “They Don’t Make ‘em Like My Daddy.” She followed with her 1971 smash “You’re Looking at Country” and the fan-favorite “You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man),” from her 1966 album “You Ain’t Woman Enough.”

At times during the concert it seemed as if the 75-year old Lynn was a little confused or flustered forgetting random lyrics from her songs. It didn’t help matters that her band accidentally started in on her 1971 number one hit “One’s On the Way,” when they were supposed to play “The Pill,” her controversial 1975 song, which is said to be the first song written about birth control. Despite the missteps the lovely Loretta smiled throughout the entire concert and the audience didn’t mind, after all they were in the presence of a country music legend.      

Things settled down a bit and Lynn belted off hit after hit for the crowd, including her number one single from 1966 “Don’t Come Home A’ Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind), “Fist City” and “Your Squaw is on the Warpath.”

Loretta is not only known as the “Queen of Country Music,” but also for her great duets with Conway Twitty throughout the ‘70s. Her guitarist Bart Hansen joined in on one of those great duets “Lead Me On” to the crowd’s surprise. Hansen also showed off his voice with a cover of Josh Turner’s current country hit “Why Don’t We Just Dance.”

One of the highlights from the show was Lynn’s take on the Patsy Cline classic “She’s Got You.”  Lynn and Cline were best friends in the early ‘60s, before the tragic plane crash that claimed Cline’s life. Lynn released an album of Cline standards in 1977 called “I Remember Patsy,” in which she took this song to number one.

Loretta finished the night off with her 1970 hit “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” which is likely her most-known song.

Not only was the performance throughout the night splendid by Lynn, but the comedic banter between her and her son, Ernest, who plays guitar in her band, added greatly to the overall country feel of the show.