The “Coal Miner’s Daughter” once teamed up with a “White Stripe,” resulting in one of the most outstanding collaborations in music history.
Country music legend Loretta Lynn and White Stripes singer/guitarist Jack White had an idea. They wanted to blend Lynn’s pure country style with White’s rock and roll vibe. The result? Lynn’s 2004 album Van Lear Rose.
White served as the album’s producer and co-wrote the song “God Makes No Mistakes” with Lynn. The two of them also recorded the song “Portland Oregon” as a duet.
Their collaboration was an immense success. Van Lear Rose won the Grammy Award for Best Country Album and “Portland Oregon” won the Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. Another one of its tracks, “Miss Being Mrs.,” was nominated for three Grammy Awards.
Lynn and White remained close friends in the years that followed the release of Van Lear Rose. The two of them were inducted into the Music City Walk of Fame together in 2015.
Lynn passed away on Tuesday (October 4) at the age of 90. White responded to the news by sharing an emotional tribute video on social media.
“What a sad day today is,” he said. “We lost one of the greats, Loretta Lynn. I said when I was first asked about her what I thought, and I said years ago that I thought she was the greatest female singer-songwriter of the twentieth century. I still believe that.”
White recalled how Lynn used to say she believed that to make it in the music business, you had to be “great, different, or first.” She only believed that she was “different,” but White believed she was all three of those things.
He ended his video by saying, “She was like a mother figure to me, and also a really good friend at times…rest in peace Loretta and God bless you.”
You can watch White’s tribute to Lynn in the video below. It’s obvious how much she meant to him.