Watch Loretta Lynn Make Her Return to the Stage Following May Stroke
Loretta Lynn is a "honky-tonk girl," and nothing -- not even a stroke -- can keep her away from performing for too long. Following her stroke in May, the 85-year-old singer returned to the stage on Oct. 1, during the Tennessee Motorcycle and Music Revival.
The Tennessee Motorcycle and Music Revival took place from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1 at Lynn's 400-acre ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn. -- one of the most popular tourist destinations in the state. For the event, the Lynn family joins with a team of seasoned professionals in motorcycles, music and service industries; the event's website states that it welcomes riders, artists, musicians and fans from all genres and all walks of life to enjoy live music, food trucks and camping, as well as an opportunity to ride through the ranch's landscape.
Lynn announced the Tennessee Motorcycle and Music Revival only one month after her May 4 stroke. Soon after her stroke, Lynn's publicist confirmed that Lynn was expected to make a full recovery, and based on her performance at the event, she's certainly on her way. On the last day of the Tennessee Motorcycle and Music Revival, Lynn sat onstage surrounded by her twins and granddaughter Tayla Lynn, and they gave a lively performance of "Coal Miner’s Daughter” and “You Ain’t Woman Enough (to Take My Man).”
Following her stroke, Lynn postponed the release of her new album, Wouldn’t It Be Great. The project was originally scheduled for release on Aug. 18; however, Lynn is waiting until 2018 to drop the album “because this record is so special for me.”
“It deserves me at my best” Lynn adds, “and I can’t wait to share it.”
Lynn has also been staying off the road to prioritize her health, but she's also reminded fans that she isn't done with her career yet: In a Facebook post, she writes, “I’m just letting everybody know that Willie ain’t dead yet and neither am I, and I can’t wait to see all of you on the road!”
Lynn recently earned her own exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, titled Loretta Lynn: Blue Kentucky Girl. The exhibit features albums, dresses, Lynn’s Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of her early sewing machines and other personal artifacts. Her daughter, Patsy Lynn Russell, spoke on behalf of her mother at the exhibit's opening in August, telling the crowd, “When she came into this business she said, ‘You have to be first, great or different.' I think my mom is all of those things wrapped into one.”
Loretta Lynn Through the Years