Loretta Lynn Postpones Iowa Shows

Loretta Lynn has postponed two Iowa performances due to exhaustion. The country music legend promised to reschedule both shows after she receives medical treatment. The 81-year-old star said she started feeling ill during her three-week Canadian tour.

Lynn’s representative said the performer “wants to give her fans the best show possible.” In her current condition, she is “physically unable” to perform to the best of her ability.

As reported by CBS.com, Lynn has postponed several shows in the last two years. In 2011 she suffered from pneumonia, which required hospitalization. Last year, she took time off to recover from a total knee replacement.

Loretta Webb was born in the rural Kentucky town of Butcher Holler. She was the second of eight children. Although her father risked his life working in Kentucky’s coal mines, the family lived in poverty.

Dreaming of a better life, Webb married Oliver Lynn at the age of 14. The couple eventually settled in Custer, Washington, and had four children. As a young mother, Loretta Lynn practiced her singing and learned to play guitar.

Lynn got her big break during a talent contest hosted by Buck Owens. Her performance impressed Norm Burley, who created Zero Records “just to record her” music. As reported by LorettaLynn.com, the single “I’m a Honkey Tonk Girl” soon became a minor hit.

The single’s modest success convinced Lynn to move her family to Nashville, Tennessee. In 1962, “Success” became the country legend’s first Top Ten hit. With a unique style and a beautiful voice, she soon became a household name:

“Loretta presented a new character on the country scene: a woman unafraid to stand up for herself… she was not to be trifled with.”

Throughout her career, Loretta Lynn recorded 52 Top Ten hits, with 16 reaching number one on the charts. Her life was chronicled in the critically acclaimed film Coal Miner’s Daughter.

[Image via s_bukley / Shutterstock.com]