Loretta Lynn Takes the Mic for ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’ at Birthday Concert [WATCH]
For the majority of her birthday concert on Monday night (April 1) at Bridgestone Arena, Loretta Lynn sat side-stage, cheering on the stars singing in her honor and accepting hugs and tokens of their appreciation. However, at the end of the night, Lynn joined the all-star cast onstage to perform one of her most famous hits, "Coal Miner's Daughter."
At first, Lynn appeared tentative, letting her sister, Crystal Gayle, and special guest Tanya Tucker lead. However, during the second verse, Lynn grabbed the mic and took the lead, to a raucous cheer from the audience and the stars standing with her onstage.
The line of stars behind Lynn, Gayle and Tucker chimed in on the lyrics of "Coal Miner's Daughter" even louder by the end of the song. As the last lines concluded, Brandi Carlile and Phillip Sweet of Little Big Town bowed their heads, and Carlile dropped to her knees, ostensibly in awe of what had just happened.
See More From Loretta Lynn's Birthday Celebration
Lynn's Bridgestone Arena birthday concert was in celebration of her 87th birthday, which is coming up on April 14. The show also featured performances from Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, Kacey Musgraves, Darius Rucker, George Strait, Jack White, Trisha Yearwood and many, many more.
Lynn has appeared in public sparingly since suffering a stroke in May of 2017, followed by a broken hip due to a fall in January of 2018. “I think people thought I wouldn’t come back from that,” Lynn admitted in October. “And they’re really shocked when I tell them, ‘Well, I’m doing good, I’m moving my arms, I’m moving all my parts, and I can still sing.’”
Lynn's newest album, Wouldn't It Be Great, dropped on Sept. 28. She'd postponed the project's release following her stroke, so that she could recover well enough to support the album.
“I don’t have nothing to prove, but I have stuff I want to do," she added back in the fall, "and my fans want me to do it too."
Loretta Lynn Through the Years