Lynns

Born and raised in Kentucky as the daughter of coal miner Ted Webb, Loretta Lynn taught herself how to play guitar as a teenager. She knew enough to begin carving out her identity as a singer, later giving way to the establishment of a powerful legacy. But taking a look at Loretta’s sprawling family tree, it seems as though her musical calling was inevitable — and it has spanned generations since. Loretta was the second oldest of eight children. While neither of their parents pursued musicianship as careers, the…

Late country star Loretta Lynn‘s passion for singing lives on in her granddaughter, who tried her hand at music stardom on “American Idol.”Emmy Russell, the 24-year-old daughter of actor Patsy Lynn and Philip Russell, performed original music for judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan during her audition, which aired Sunday on ABC. Russell surprised the judging trio by revealing her musical ancestry but said she wants to move past her grandmother’s lasting legacy. “I think there’s a reason why I think I’m a…

American Idol viewers got a surprise on Sunday night. Emmy Russell, the granddaughter of country legend Loretta Lynn, auditioned for the reality show, performing an impressive original piano ballad called “Skinny.” The 24-year-old musician, who hails from Nashville, impressed the judges, Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan, with her performance, who were surprised by her lineage. “Growing up, I sang music my entire life,” Russel said, introducing herself. “I just love writing. I’m 24 years old.…

Loretta Lynn had a voice made for telling the truth.High and flinty, with a bone-deep coal-country drawl that refused to fade even as she ascended to a queenly position in the Nashville star system, her singing sliced through polished arrangements like a sharpened blade. It could embody both the pain of betrayal and the thirst for revenge; it carried a longing for the comforts of home at the same time that it imagined ways to improve on the old days. And though she easily navigated tricky melodies — spare a thought for…