Top 10 Loretta Lynn Songs

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The top 10 Loretta Lynn songs list takes a look at an American country artist, who is known for her powerful contributions towards the musical genre of honky-tonk and gospel county music. Originally born as Loretta Webb on April 14, 1932, in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, USA, she officially began her music career in 1960. Despite opting to discontinue nearly 50 years’ worth of road tours after suffering a stroke in 2017 and sustaining a broken hip in 2019, Loretta Lynn still continues to perform.

Throughout her career, Loretta Lynn has received numerous awards and accolades for her groundbreaking role in the country music industry. Whether she’s performing as a solo artist or as part of a duo, Lynn has earned the most amount of female country music awards and is the only woman recognized as an ACM artist of the 1970s decade. Overall, Loretta Lynn has 24 singles that have each reached the top spot on the music charts and has a total of eleven albums that also reached #1. They are among the numerous certified silver, gold, and platinum singles and albums she’s sold since the start of her nearly 60-year career. Out of the 18 Grammy Award nominations Lynn received, she won three times.

Our list of Loretta Lynn’s top 10 songs of all time looks at the most successful releases to come from her discographic roster.

# 10 – Lead Me On (with Conway Twitty)

The single “Lead Me On” was originally written by Leon Copeland, which Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn perform as a duet. It was released in September 1971, coming from the album of the same name. For fifteen weeks straight, this song remained at the very top spot on the country music charts. It was the second time the duo released a single that realized 1st place in the chart rankings.

# 9 – Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man (with Conway Twitty)

Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn collaborated together to record and release the single “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man in 1973, which is also the same name on its album. The song received high critical acclaim with Billboard Magazine even citing it as an “un-tempo Cajun sound”. The refreshing change of pace this song produced upon release was enough to rank it at the very top of the music charts. The “go the distance” theme, where the man pledges to swim across the Mississippi River just to get to his Louisiana woman as she is willing to do the same for her Mississippi man, contributed towards a spark among the romantics who simply couldn’t get enough of this song. On the fictional radio station known as K-Rose, it is played on the video game “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.”

# 8 – Miss Being Mrs. (Featuring Jack White)

From the April 2004 album “Van Lear Rose” is Loretta Lynn’s collaboration “Miss Being Mrs.” with American rock musician Jack White. White was inspired to produce the song after visiting Lynn at her home. Originally written by Lynn after the 1996 passing of her husband, Oliver “Dolittle” Lynn, it wasn’t until White discovered it in a pile of old written lyrics while he was in her home. This ultimately led the two to perform the song together and release it on the album’s single.

# 7 – One’s On the Way

First released as a single in 1971 and as an album title, “One’s On the Way” was originally written by Shel Silverstein. It became one of Loretta Lynn’s best-known hits of all time. The humorous tale of motherhood also makes reference to the First Lady of the White House at the time, Jacqueline Kennedy, as well as the sex symbol of her time, Racquel Welch in contrast to a conventional woman’s lifestyle. The most notable piece at the end of the song is Lynn sighing “Gee, I hope it ain’t twins again!”

# 6 – You’re Lookin’ At Country

In 1971, Loretta Lynn released “You’re Lookin’ At Country” as a single and album as a result of the inspiration she received while touring on the road. Between the hills and the meadows that sparked her to write and record what she did, Lynn admitted she engineered the song as a love story because she knew otherwise it wouldn’t sell. The material was unlike anything she produced before, which typically focused on troubled relationships.

# 5 – The Pill

Coming from the 1975 album “Back to the Country” is “The Pill” in which Loretta Lynn takes on the issue of birth control in the form of a song. While it briefly saw chart success with the Billboard Hot 100 at #70, the comedic jab illustrates that baby-making has reached its end thanks to birth control pills. Originally, this song was written in 1972 but was held back by her record label until it was finally released in 1975. The hot topic of birth control during the 1970s resulted in many radio stations within the US refusing to play the song. Among the American airwaves that did play The Pill, as well as nations like Canada, The Pill was requested and played often.

# 4 – Fist City

Released in 1968,”First City” earned its inspiration from Loretta Lynn’s ordeal upon learning about her husband’s relations with other women who pursued him while she was on her road tours. The song served as a warning to other women to stay away from her man. Like many other songs recorded and released by Lynn, it was too controversial for the ultra-conservative radio stations to play on the air. This song, as well as much of what Lynn performed, served as a public insight into her life, including her tumultuous relationship with her now late husband, Oliver Lynn.

# 3 – You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man)

In May 1966, Loretta Lynn released the single “You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man)” and it has since been regarded as one of Lynn’s signature songs. Originally, the song was recorded on November 15, 1965, out of Nashville, Tennessee by country music producer Owen Bradley. Since Lynn’s original performance of what was her most successful hit at that time, many artists have covered the song including Martina McBride and Tina Turner.

# 2 – Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind)

Considered one of Loretta Lynn’s best musical compositions, “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin on Your Mind)” was released in 1967, along with her record of the same title. It was her very first number one hit and it is one of her best-known and most played songs. The song illustrates the concerns of an angry wife who is fed up with her drunken husband’s antics, expecting sexual relations after being out most of the night and drinking with his friends. At the time of its release, the song was very controversial, but that didn’t stop it from reaching Gold Certification by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1970. This recognition was the first time a female from the country music genre would receive such an honor.

# 1 – Coal Miner’s Daughter

Originally released as a single in 1970, “Coal Miner’s Daughter” climbed to the very top of numerous country music singles charts, including US Billboard’s Hot Country Songs. It even earned a spot on the US Billboard Hot 100 (at #83). This song, plus the album of the same name, saw enormous success as it became one of the music industry’s most significant recordings and served as the inspiration behind Sissy Spacek’s 1980 film that would use the song’s title name as it was all about Loretta Lynn’s life and career that was already considered iconic by this time.