Loretta back in spotlight
By PETER COOPER
and BRAD SCHMITT
Tennessean
New album's mix of country, rock has industry agog
The Coal Miner's Daughter was the belle of the ball as Loretta Lynn, in a sparkling pink ball gown,
descended into an album release party in the opulent lobby
of the Hermitage Hotel to accept well wishes from her rock
'n' roll protege, dozens of country artists and some of the
most powerful players in the music business.
Introducing Lynn was White Stripes member Jack White, the
rocker who calls Lynn ''the finest female singer-songwriter
of the 20th century,'' and who produced Lynn's new Van Lear
Rose album, set for release on Tuesday.
The Lynn-White collaboration has had Music Row and national
music magazines buzzing for months. But it came as no
surprise to Kix Brooks of Brooks & Dunn, the current
president of the Country Music Association board.
''The artists who made us get into the business continue to
show us: A. they're not afraid of anything, and B., they
don't get stuck in ruts,'' Brooks said in an interview last
night.
Lynn soaked it all in with country charm — and high praise
for her producer.
''It's about as real as any record I've ever made,'' she
said, and later hooked a thumb toward White. ''I see a lot
of (the late legendary country producer) Owen Bradley in
this young feller.''
Lynn began making albums 41 years ago, but this was her
first album release party. Among the celebrities attending
were sister Crystal Gayle, Meg White, White's partner in duo
The White Stripes, Lorrie Morgan, Sammy Kershaw, Terri
Clark, Lee Ann Womack, Joe Nichols, Chely Wright, Steve
Earle and newcomers Gretchen Wilson and Julie Roberts.
Also in the crowd were several Nashville record label
presidents and Doug Morris, chairman and CEO of New
York-based Universal Music Group, an umbrella that includes
humongous Interscope Records, known for chart-topping rock
and rap projects, the label that will put out Van Lear Rose.
Van Lear Rose is an album of firsts. It's Lynn's first
project to be released on Interscope Records. It is, she
notes, her first album to be composed completely of original
songs. And it's the first time she's worked with White, who
placed her compositions in musical settings that range from
rootsy country to greasy rock.
White, who dedicated his group's 2001 White Blood Cells
album to Lynn, became a Lynn fan after viewing the Coal
Miner's Daughter movie about her life. A darling of the
international music press, he has lately been more
interested in talking about Lynn than in discussing his
band's work.
''I've recorded tons of bands, and she's the best voice I've
ever heard in person. She can sing the daisies out of the
ground,'' he told The Tennessean in December.
Lynn's manager, Nancy Russell, brought White and Lynn
together after learning of White's fandom. The music is
attracting international press, the likes of which Lynn
hasn't seen since her movie first introduced her to
non-country audiences.
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