In current country music, cross-genre collaborations are a dime a dozen. Post Malone, Beyonce, One Republic, and the list continues. Though, before these collaborations became rather popularized and demanded, two musicians of a great stature collaborated for no reason other than for their affinity for each other. At face value, the duo should have had no reason ever to cross paths and create music together. However, the bond between Jack White and the late great Loretta Lynn is far deeper than music itself.
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The relationship between the duo amounted to not only many speculative love stories and good photo ops but also a single titled “Portland Oregon.” Released in 2004 on Lynn’s Van Lear Rose album, the pairing of White and Lynn was surprising due to a plethora of factors. Mainly, White was deep into The White Stripes’ career. Although remember, this relationship between the two goes far beyond music.
Loretta Lynn’s First Meeting With Jack White
In an interview with Dan Rather, Lynn divulged the first moment she met the much younger Jack White. The two were backstage in NYC, and White came up to Lynn and professed his love for country music. At the time, Lynn was 70-years-old and White was 29-years-old. This age gap seemingly didn’t trouble Lynn one bit, as she stated, “He’s a young boy with an old mind” and “He seems to be older in his ways and actions.”
It seems Lynn firmly believed that White was an old soul who was far wiser than his years suggested. That being so, the two were able to seamlessly collaborate and exchange ideas on their collaboration, “Portland Oregon.”
She Was Jack White’s “Mother Figure”
Other than White’s comments debunking their alleged romance, one of the other few times the musician spoke extensively about their relationship was when Loretta Lynn tragically passed in 2022. Upon her passing, White took to Instagram to post an extensive tribute. He stated, “She was such an incredible presence and such a brilliant genius in ways that I think only people who got to work with her might know about.”
As White went on he added, “She broke down a lot of barriers for people that came after her” and “She was like a mother figure to me and also a very good friend at times. She told me some amazing things that I’ll never tell anybody.” To this day, White has not openly and overtly divulged those secrets. Thus, he seems to honor the sanctity and privacy of their deep and tight-knit relationship.
Photo Loretta Lynn and Jack White Inducted Into The Nashville Walk Of Fame by Getty Images
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