This Week in 1960, One of Country Music’s Most Legendary Women Signed to a Record Label Created Just for Her

Often, first-record signings in the music industry don’t mean much. They can, but a lot of the time, the musicians who sign them either don’t last long in the business or don’t score success until their third or fourth album. Also, some record companies and contracts have a way of taking advantage of young artists, but we won’t get into that. Contrary to all that is one important record signing that happened during this week in 1960: the record signing of Loretta Lynn.

Videos by American Songwriter

Loretta Lynn’s first-ever record contract is notable for several reasons. First off, it was the beginning of Lynn’s highly public and commercially acclaimed career. Before this, she was just playing in bars; this contract marked the moment of her impending climb to the top. Secondly, this record contract gifted the Kentucky musician her debut single and first-ever hit, “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl”.

As we briefly mentioned, before Lynn signed this contract, she was like most musicians, playing in bars, making a little money, and hoping that someone would take notice of her talent. Before her signing, Loretta Lynn played in local venues in Washington state. Though fairly quickly, Lynn traded those stages out for the most sought-after stage placement in country music, The Grand Ole Opry, and the man who helped make that happen was Norm Burley.

A Record Company Made Just For Loretta Lynn

In 1960, Norm Burley, a Vancouver, BC businessman, discovered Loretta Lynn when he saw her perform in Tacoma, Washington. Subsequently, Burley, with two other partners, founded Zero Records solely so they could record Loretta Lynn. That being said, on February 1, 1960, Loretta Lynn signed her first record deal.

Following the reading of the fine print and Lynn’s John Hancock, she went to a studio in Hollywood and recorded “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl”. Once it was released, the single peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and Lynn proved herself as a talent who could exist for decades in this business.

Due to this success, Lynn and her husband moved to Nashville, and she made her Grand Ole Opry debut on October 15, 1960, just a few months after her signing. Roughly a year later, Loretta Lynn left the record company started just for her and signed with the industry giant, Decca Records. This deal made Lynn an upper-echelon artist and led to the meeting of her mentor, Patsy Cline.

Photo by Lars Jansson/EXP/TT/Shutterstock