To: Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee 475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Room 3300
 Washington DC 20260-3501

RE: Loretta Lynn, Coal Miner’s Daughter; Stamp Collection

Stamps reflect and depict American history, and our culture. Stamps honor and preserve the legacy of individuals who have achieved the highest level of excellence in their field, haveimpacted our culture, and our nation. A heavy burden is placed on the shoulders of Stamp Advisory Committee deciding who will be honored and memorialized because the importance we place on our history. We are asking the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee to consider honoring Loretta Lynn with a stamp collection for her contributions to the history of country music.

“Every stamp tells a story”, Stamps depict our history, culture, politics, geography, and triumphs.

Loretta Lynn’s story is one triumph! Born on April 14, 1932, in a one room cabin in the Appalachian Mountains during the pinnacle of great depression. Loretta was the second of eight children born to a coal miner/substances farmer.  Despite only having a 6th grade education, Loretta Lynn, rose to fame after the release of her first single, “Honky Tonk Girl” in 1960. Loretta Lynn is a gem, a diamond in the coal; brilliant, bright, beautiful, and resilient. Loretta Lynn touched the nation’s heart with her downhome country charm, life story of surviving poverty and overcoming unsurmountable obstacles to reach the pinnacle of success. Loretta Lynn impacted our culture and altered the course of country music forever. Loretta Lynn is nothing short of a national treasure. Loretta, blessed with God given talent, her American can-do spirit, achieved a level of success, which is inconceivable and even unimaginable in hindsight. Loretta’s “voice was unmistakable, with its Kentucky drawl, its tensely coiled vibrato and its deep reserve of power.” Loretta Lynn’s voice resonated from Butcher Holler, across the Appalachian Mountains and around the world. Loretta Lynn impacted our culture, heritage, and altered the course of country music. Loretta Lynn is a national treasure!

Loretta Lynn is considered the most awarded female in the history of country music and is regarded as the “Queen of County Music.” Highlighted are lifetime achievement awards and most notable accomplishments:

June, 1967, Country Music Walkway of the Stars Hall of Fame – Inducted

October 16, 1972, Country Music Association – Entertainer of Year (1st Female)

February 19, 1976, Academy of Country Music – Entertainer of Year

May 1,1980, Academy of Country Music – Artist of the Decade

October 9, 1983, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame – Inducted

January 28, 1985, American Music Awards – Award of Merit

June 11, 1986, Music City News Country- Living Legend Award

1986 American Academy of Achievement – Golden Plate Award (Legend in Country Music)

October 10,1988, Country Music Hall of Fame – Inducted

May 10, 1994, Academy of Country Music – Pioneer Award

1996 Women of Country Music Hall of Fame – Inducted

February 24,1998, Recording Academy/ Grammy; Song Hall of Fame – “Coal Miner’s Daughter” 

December 16, 2001, Winter Olympics/Louisville, Kentucky – Official Torch Carrier

February 28, 2002, Kentucky Music Hall of Fame – Inducted

German Country Music Hall of Fame – Inducted

March 9, 2002, University of Kentucky – Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts

December 6, 2003, Kennedy Center Honoree

March 5, 2004, Kentucky Women Remembered Honoree

November 8, 2004, BMI Country Awards – BMI Icon

April 11, 2005, CMT Music Achievement – Johnny Cash Visionary Award

2006 Kentucky Music Hall of Fame – Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Award

March 17, 2007, Berklee College of Music – Honorary Doctorate of Music

June 19, 2008, Songwriters Hall of Fame – Inducted

June 10, 2009, Colorado Country Music Hall of Fame – Inducted

January 30, 2010, Recording Academy/ Grammy – Lifetime Achievement Award

November 13, 2013, Presidential Medal of Freedom Award

September 17, 2014, Americana Music Association – Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting

October 12, 2014,Recording Academy / Grammy – President's Merit Award

June 4, 2015, Music City Walk Hall of Fame – Inducted

June 18, 2015, Austin City Limits Hall of Fame – Inducted

September 15, 2015, Academy of Country Music – Crystal Milestone Award

December 11, 2015, Billboard Women in Music Award – Legend Award

2017 Traditional Country Music Hall of Fame – Inducted

2018 CMT Music Achievement – Artist of a Lifetime

September 17, 2019, Nashville Songwriter Award – Lifetime Achievement Award

September 19, 2019, Cracker Barrel – Country Legend Award

August 25, 2021, Academy of Country Music – Poet’s Award

October 15, 2021, American Motorcycle Association Hall of Fame – Inducted

2022 Kentucky Country Music Association – Legend Award

October 27, 2022, Women Songwriters Hall of Fame – Inducted

April 14, 2022, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear – Commissioned Kentucky Colonel

April 9, 2022, Appalachian Arts & Entertainment Award – Star City Award

January 29, 2023, Americana Music UK – Songwriter Legacy Award (Posthumously)

Loretta Lynn is woven into the very fabric of our culture and American history from her inclusion in the Smithsonian Institute and National Museum of American History; to the countless songs written about her, such as Dear Miss Loretta; Loretta Lynn’s Lincoln, I Love You Loretta Lynn, and Honey Bee; tovarious places named in Loretta Lynn’s honor, such as the air space, utilized by pilots to identify their location when preparing to land at Nashville International Airport; Loretta Lynn Parkway, Hwy 13 N in Humphrey County, Tennessee; the rest area on I-40 EB in Benton County, Tennessee; a section of  “Country Music Highway”, US 23 in Johnson County,Kentucky; a rose bred by Canadian Brad Jalbert, named for her Grammy winning album “Van Lear Rose”, debuting in New Zealand at Amore Roses. Loretta Lynn’s mark on history can be found with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California, and a star on Music City Walk of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee. Further, Loretta Lynn is the only female artist to have a bronze statue, on Ryman Auditorium’s Icon Walk in Nashville, Tennessee. Loretta Lynn has been celebrated and memorialized in the United States from coast to coast and impacted the history of country music worldwide.

 

Loretta Lynn wrote, sang, and shared memories of her humble beginning for six decades. Loretta was proud of her working-class background and proud to being a Kentuckian! Loretta Lynn achieved worldwide fame as the “Coal Miner’s Daughter” through her music, books, and a major motion picture depicting her life. 

In 2007, the National Trust For Historic Preservation registered Loretta Lynn’s childhood on Butcher Holler Road in Van Lear, Kentucky and in 2022 the Kentucky Historical Society placed a Historical Marker at Loretta Lynn’s homeplace. We implore you to cement Loretta Lynn’s place in history with a Loretta Lynn stamp collection, not only to honor and preserve Loretta Lynn’s legacy, but to inspire future generations.