Some biopics just capture the success, reality, good, and bad of a musician beautifully. When it comes to country stars, we’ve gotten quite a few great biopics over the years. Walk The Line about Johnny Cash comes to mind, among others. But one of the best country music biopics ever has to be the 1980 film Coal Miner’s Daughter. Starring Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones, this film dramatizes the life of country icon Loretta Lynn. And it was released to theaters on this very day in 1980.
Videos by American Songwriter
‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’ Still Resonates With Country Fans and History Buffs Today
Loretta Lynn’s life was captured beautifully in Coal Miner’s Daughter, and unless you were a diehard fan of Lynn ahead of this film’s release, you may have never known how hard she really had it. She might be best known as one of the bravest and most successful country singers of the 20th century, but back in 1945, Lynn was just a teenager, one of eight children in a Kentucky family living in poverty.
The film follows Lynn’s adolescence and the trauma of her marriage to a man at the age of only 15 and her struggles in raising four children by the time she was 19. The adult Loretta Lynn, played by Stacey Spacek, is thrown into the world of country music stardom. The film does a marvelous job at showing just how uncommon Lynn’s ascension to fan was for a woman at the time, let alone a woman who came from poverty.
Coal Miner’s Daughter was accurate for the most part. However, it did boast some inaccuracies that music historians were quick to point out. “You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man)” wasn’t actually inspired by Lynn’s husband cheating on her, nor was Lynn pregnant with twins while her friend and mentor, Patsy Cline, was alive.
Coal Miner’s Daughter was a smash success after it was released on this day, March 7, 1980. The film was No. 1 at the box office during its opening weekend. In the end, the film grossed a whopping $67 million in the US and Canada. Spacek’s performance is incredible, too, winning her an Academy Award for Best Actress. And, believe it or not, Loretta Lynn herself chose Spacek to portray her. She definitely chose wisely.
Photo by Bettmann/Getty Images
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.