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At 90, Loretta Lynn Names The Seven Musicians She Hated
Loretta Lynn, the Coal Miner’s Daughter and one of country music’s most enduring voices, built her career on honesty. From her earliest songs about love, hardship, and the struggles of women in rural America, she never shied away from saying exactly what was on her mind. Even in her later years, when she had earned the right to rest on her laurels, Loretta remained outspoken. At 90, she surprised fans and the country music world by bluntly naming the seven musicians she admitted she “hated”—a shocking confession from a woman who had spent her life surrounded by the brightest stars of Nashville.
Of course, for Loretta, “hate” did not always mean pure malice. Known for her fiery humor, sharp tongue, and fierce competitive streak, she often used such words to describe rivalries, grudges, or painful memories. In candid interviews, she revealed that the relationships behind the scenes of country music were far more complicated than what fans saw on stage.
Some of the names she mentioned were fellow performers who, in her view, failed to treat women as equals during her rise in the 1960s. Loretta often recalled how difficult it was to be taken seriously in a male-dominated industry. She said a few male stars looked down on her because of her humble Appalachian roots and straightforward manner. “They thought a coal miner’s daughter couldn’t make it,” she admitted. “But I showed them I could.”
Another group on her list were artists she accused of “selling out” the traditions of country music. Loretta was fiercely protective of her genre, priding herself on keeping fiddles, steel guitars, and storytelling alive in her songs. She openly criticized performers who leaned too far into pop-country, arguing that they diluted the soul of the music she loved. “If you’re gonna sing country,” she once said, “then sing country. Don’t turn it into something it ain’t.”
She also revealed personal rifts that lasted for decades. At times, the rivalries were fueled by business disagreements, record label politics, or even gossip spread within Nashville’s tight-knit circles. Yet, true to her nature, Loretta didn’t hold back. For fans, hearing her name specific people—musicians many still revered—was both shocking and fascinating.
But in the same breath, Loretta reminded her audience that her list of “hated” musicians was small compared to the countless friendships she cherished. She often praised her closest allies like Conway Twitty, Patsy Cline, and Dolly Parton, all of whom she described as family. Her criticisms, she explained, were less about bitterness and more about honesty. “I never pretended to like somebody if I didn’t,” she laughed. “That’s just who I am.”
In the end, Loretta Lynn’s confession was not so much an act of cruelty as it was a final reminder of her fearless spirit. She had spent her career writing and singing about real life—its joys and its heartbreaks—and she approached her relationships the same way. At 90, naming the seven musicians she hated was Loretta being Loretta: bold, unfiltered, and unapologetically true.
