Country music legend Loretta Lynn passed away today, Oct. 4 at age 90. The beloved artist died in her sleep from natural causes at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tenn.
Lynn, who was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983, followed by her induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008, was born April 14, 1932, in Butcher Holler, Ky., and blazed a trail for myriad successful female artists on Billboard‘s country charts and beyond.
Her audience widened to the masses following the film that chronicled her story: 1980’s Coal Miner’s Daughter, starring Sissy Spacek, as Lynn, Tommy Lee Jones as her husband of 48 years, Doolittle, and Levon Helm as her father.
Lynn rolled up 16 No. 1s on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart, among 51 top 10s. She scored 10 No. 1s, among 42 top 10 entries, on Top Country Albums, spanning seven decades from 1960 through 2021.
Lynn’s first Hot Country Songs entry, “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl,” debuted on June 13, 1960, and rose to No. 14 the next month. Her second charted track, “Success,” became her first top 10, hitting No. 6 in September 1962.
Lynn first crowned Hot Country Songs with “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind),” which led for a week in February 1967 and, more importantly, showed the world the feisty side of her personality.
Meanwhile, “Coal Miner’s Daughter” topped the tally for a week in December 1970.
Lynn landed her first leader with her steady duet partner, fellow icon Conway Twitty, with 1971’s “After the Fire Is Gone.”
Here is a recap of Lynn’s most successful singles on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart.
Loretta Lynn’s 20 Biggest Billboard Hits:
1, “Somebody Somewhere (Don’t Know What He’s Missin’ Tonight),” No. 1 (for two weeks), November 1976
2, “Feelins’,” with Conway Twitty, No. 1 (two), September 1975
3, “Trouble in Paradise,” No. 1 (one), November 1974
4, “As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone,” with Twitty, No. 1 (one), August 1974
5, “One’s On the Way,” No. 1 (two), February 1972
6, “You Just Stepped In (From Stepping Out),” No. 2, August 1968
7, “I Still Believe in Waltzes,” with Twitty, No. 2, August 1981
8, “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind),” No. 1 (one), February 1967
9, “Love Is the Foundation,” No. 1 (two), July 1973
10, “Out of My Head and Back in My Bed,” No. 1 (two), January 1978
11, “Your Squaw Is on the Warpath,” No. 3, December 1968
12, “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” No. 1 (one), December 1970
13, “Rated X,” No. 1 (one), February 1973
14, “Fist City,” No. 1 (one), April 1968
15, “You Ain’t Woman Enough,” No. 2, August 1966
16, “She’s Got You,” No. 1 (one), April 1977
17, “To Make a Man (Feel Like a Man),” No. 3, September 1969
18, “When the Tingle Becomes a Chill,” No. 2, January 1976
19, “Woman of the World (Leave My World Alone),” No. 1 (one), April 1969
20, “Lead Me On,” with Twitty, No. 1 (one), November 1971
Loretta Lynn’s 20 Biggest Billboard Hits recap is based on actual performance on Billboard‘s weekly Hot Country Songs chart. The ranking is based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 having the greatest value and weeks at lower ranks proportionately less. Due to various changes in chart rules and methodology through the years, songs have had reigns at No. 1 and on the chart of varying average lengths. To ensure equitable representation of the biggest hits from all years, certain time frames were weighted to account for the differences in song turnover rates.
