Loretta Lynn is an American country music

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

, author and philanthropist

Philanthropy

Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...

. Born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky

Butcher Hollow, Kentucky

Butcher Hollow is a coal-mining community located in Johnson County, Kentucky, USA. Its claim to fame is being the birthplace of country music legend Loretta Lynn, who paid tribute to the community in the song Coal Miner's Daughter, which begins with the lyrics"Well, I was born a coal miner's...

 to a coal miner father, Lynn married at 13 years old, was a mother soon after, and moved to Washington with her husband, Oliver Lynn

Oliver Lynn

Oliver Vanetta Lynn, Jr. , better known as Doolittle Lynn was an American talent manager and country music figure, best-known as the husband of country music legend Loretta Lynn...

. Their marriage was sometimes tumultuous; he had affairs and she was headstrong. Their experiences together became inspiration for her music.

When she was 24 years old, Lynn's husband bought her a guitar.