Oliver Lynn
Encyclopedia
Oliver Vanetta Lynn, Jr. (August 27, 1926 — August 22, 1996), better known as Doolittle Lynn (also Doo and Mooney) was an American talent manager
and country music
figure, best-known as the husband of country music legend Loretta Lynn
. Over the course of their often-tumultuous 50-year marriage, Doolittle was instrumental in developing Lynn's musical talent and country music career, purchasing her first guitar, getting her first radio appearances, and serving as her de facto talent manager for many years.
In addition to his ongoing support for his young wife's career (Loretta wrote in her autobiography Still Woman Enough
that Doo "thought I was something special, more special than anyone in the world, and never let me forget it... Doo was my security, my safety net".), Doolittle was also known to be violent, an alcoholic, and a womanizer who was a somewhat reluctant participant in his wife's life as a country music celebrity. Nonetheless, he was a central figure in most of his wife's most successful songs, including "Fist City", "The Pill", "Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' (With Lovin' On Your Mind)", and "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)". Loretta said "Doo really gave me a lot of things to write about, you know. He was very...what do you call it? Inspirational".
The Lynns' marriage, which occurred when Doo was 21 and Loretta was 13, has been described by historians and music scholars as "one of the great legends of the twentieth century" and "one of the most compelling tales in American popular culture."
in the Oscar-winning 1980 film, Coal Miner's Daughter
.
in Johnson County
, Oliver Lynn was an uneducated resident of a town based around the coal mining industry. He was uninterested in coal mining, and served in the U.S. military during World War II
and also made a living selling moonshine
, earning him the nickname Mooney. Aged 19, he met 13-year-old Loretta Webb at a pie social, and a month later they married. A year afterward, they relocated to Custer, Washington
as Doolittle searched for better work opportunities. By the time Loretta was 19, the couple had four children. The Lynns had a total of six children: Betty Sue, Jack Benny, Clara Marie ("Cissy"), Ernest Ray, and twin girls Peggy and Patsy (named after Patsy Cline
). Jack Benny Lynn predeceased his parents.
During the early years of their marriage, as described by Loretta Lynn in her autobiography Still Woman Enough
:
In 1956, when his wife was 24, Doo bought his wife a guitar as an anniversary present and encouraged her to perform in local venues and on local radio. At a televised talent competition in Tacoma, Washington
, Loretta Lynn was discovered by Norm Burley, who founded Vancouver, Canada-based label Zero Records
solely to promote Loretta's music. As chronicled in the movie Coal Miner's Daughter, Doo was instrumental at this stage of her career, during which the Lynns "dutifully set out across the country to promote her debut release I'm a Honky Tonk Girl. The song managed to climb into the top twenty of the country charts, and the couple ended their trip in Nashville with a performance at the Grand Ole Opry
".
Music scholar Martha Hume wrote:
.
Talent manager
A talent manager, also known as an artist manager or band manager, is an individual or company who guides the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry...
and 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...
figure, best-known as the husband of country music legend Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn is an American country music singer-songwriter, author and philanthropist. Born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky 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. Their marriage was sometimes tumultuous; he...
. Over the course of their often-tumultuous 50-year marriage, Doolittle was instrumental in developing Lynn's musical talent and country music career, purchasing her first guitar, getting her first radio appearances, and serving as her de facto talent manager for many years.
In addition to his ongoing support for his young wife's career (Loretta wrote in her autobiography Still Woman Enough
Still Woman Enough
Still Woman Enough is a 2002 autobiography of American country music legend Loretta Lynn, written by Lynn with the help of Patsi Bale Cox. The book discusses, in-depth, Lynn's life, from her early days in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, as the daughter of a coal miner, her marriage to Oliver "Doolittle"...
that Doo "thought I was something special, more special than anyone in the world, and never let me forget it... Doo was my security, my safety net".), Doolittle was also known to be violent, an alcoholic, and a womanizer who was a somewhat reluctant participant in his wife's life as a country music celebrity. Nonetheless, he was a central figure in most of his wife's most successful songs, including "Fist City", "The Pill", "Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' (With Lovin' On Your Mind)", and "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)". Loretta said "Doo really gave me a lot of things to write about, you know. He was very...what do you call it? Inspirational".
The Lynns' marriage, which occurred when Doo was 21 and Loretta was 13, has been described by historians and music scholars as "one of the great legends of the twentieth century" and "one of the most compelling tales in American popular culture."
Film depiction
Oliver Lynn was portrayed by Tommy Lee JonesTommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones is an American actor and film director. He has received three Academy Award nominations, winning one as Best Supporting Actor for the 1993 thriller film The Fugitive....
in the Oscar-winning 1980 film, Coal Miner's Daughter
Coal Miner's Daughter
Coal Miner's Daughter is a 1980 American biographical film which tells the story of country music icon Loretta Lynn. It stars Sissy Spacek in her Academy Award for Best Actress winning role, Tommy Lee Jones, Beverly D'Angelo and Levon Helm, and was directed by Michael Apted.-Background:The film was...
.
Biography
Born in Butcher Hollow, near Paintsville, KentuckyPaintsville, Kentucky
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 4,132 people, 1,681 households, and 1,079 families residing in the city. The population density was 786.1 people per square mile . There were 1,901 housing units at an average density of 361.7 per square mile...
in Johnson County
Johnson County, Kentucky
Johnson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1843. As of 2000, the population was 23,445. Its county seat is Paintsville...
, Oliver Lynn was an uneducated resident of a town based around the coal mining industry. He was uninterested in coal mining, and served in the U.S. military during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and also made a living selling moonshine
Moonshine
Moonshine is an illegally produced distilled beverage...
, earning him the nickname Mooney. Aged 19, he met 13-year-old Loretta Webb at a pie social, and a month later they married. A year afterward, they relocated to Custer, Washington
Custer, Washington
Custer is a census-designated place in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. The population was 366 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Custer is located at ....
as Doolittle searched for better work opportunities. By the time Loretta was 19, the couple had four children. The Lynns had a total of six children: Betty Sue, Jack Benny, Clara Marie ("Cissy"), Ernest Ray, and twin girls Peggy and Patsy (named after Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline , born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Gore, Virginia, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s...
). Jack Benny Lynn predeceased his parents.
During the early years of their marriage, as described by Loretta Lynn in her autobiography Still Woman Enough
Still Woman Enough
Still Woman Enough is a 2002 autobiography of American country music legend Loretta Lynn, written by Lynn with the help of Patsi Bale Cox. The book discusses, in-depth, Lynn's life, from her early days in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, as the daughter of a coal miner, her marriage to Oliver "Doolittle"...
:
"I married Doo when I wasn’t but a child, and he was my life from that day on. But as important as my youth and upbringing was, there’s something else that made me stick to Doo. He thought I was something special, more special than anyone else in the world, and never let me forget it. That belief would be hard to shove out the door. Doo was my security, my safety net. And just remember, I'm explainin', not excusin'. (Still Woman Enough xvii) ... Doo was a good man and a hard worker. But he was an alcoholic, and it affected our marriage all the way through. He was also a womanizer. Cheating husbands have been all over the news talk shows for a few years now. Lots of women say they don't understand why women stay with them dogs. My story is about one who did—me".(Still Woman Enough, p. xiii).
In 1956, when his wife was 24, Doo bought his wife a guitar as an anniversary present and encouraged her to perform in local venues and on local radio. At a televised talent competition in Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
, Loretta Lynn was discovered by Norm Burley, who founded Vancouver, Canada-based label Zero Records
Zero Records
Zero Records is a record studio located in Vancouver, Canada. The fallout from Jury Records resulted in the formation of Zero Records.-History:In the late 50’s, Don Grashey met Charlie Chuck Williams in Thunder Bay...
solely to promote Loretta's music. As chronicled in the movie Coal Miner's Daughter, Doo was instrumental at this stage of her career, during which the Lynns "dutifully set out across the country to promote her debut release I'm a Honky Tonk Girl. The song managed to climb into the top twenty of the country charts, and the couple ended their trip in Nashville with a performance at the Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
".
Music scholar Martha Hume wrote:
When you shake all the stardust off this tale, what you must begin with is an uneducated child from one of the most isolated cultures in the United States who was given in marriage to a man some nine years her senior, a man who was a violent and sometimes brutal alcoholic, who was similarly uneducated and without any job skills to speak of. Add to that a migration to the state of Washington, where the child had no friends or relations; the arrival of four babies; regular—and reportedly mutual—domestic violence; and an income so unstable that there were times when the family had nothing to eat but dandelion greens, and you have a situation that might well have led to murder. But what actually happened was so improbable, so unimaginable, that the lives of Loretta and Mooney Lynn became one of the great legends of the twentieth century.
Death
Oliver Lynn died on August 22, 1996, five days before his 70th birthday. His death was due to diabetes-related health problems and heart failure. He was buried on the Lynn family estate in Hurricane Mills, TennesseeHurricane Mills, Tennessee
Hurricane Mills is an unincorporated community in Humphreys County, Tennessee, United States. It is the home of Loretta Lynn's ranch, which serves as the center of the community. While residential in nature, there are some businesses in the area, several of which are located in the "downtown" area...
.