Loretta Lynn on Austin City Limits, 1983. Photo by Scott Newton.
Loretta Lynn, the queen of country music, has died at the age of 90, passing peacefully at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. The hearts of all of us at Austin City Limits go out to her family, friends and fans.
The Butcher, Holler, Kentucky-born Lynn – Loretta Webb to her parents – was as iconic a figure in music as has ever been. The proud coal miner’s daughter went on to become one of the most influential women in the history of American music. Her plain-spoken, instantly relatable singing and sharp, smart songwriting put her in the rare echelon of boundary-busting trailblazers. Tunes like “Don’t Come Home a-Drinkin’” and “The Pill” made it clear that the women of country music, whether performers or the subjects of songs, could and would be as independent, assertive and self-confident as their male counterparts. Artists inside and outside C&W like Tammy Wynette, Tanya Tucker, Deanna Carter, Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris, Margo Price and Sheryl Crow point to Lynn as a north star. Longtime fan Jack White paid homage by producing her acclaimed 2004 album Van Lear Rose.
With over seventy chart hits, her list of indelible songs is staggering: “You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man),” “Love is the Foundation,” “You’re Lookin’ at Country,” “One’s On the Way,” “After the Fire” (with duet partner Conway Twitty), and, of course, the iconic, autobiographical “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” which became a bestselling memoir and a beloved film, are the tip of a substantial iceberg. Her incredible body of work led to Lynn being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2013, and she also was the recipient of a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award and a Kennedy Center Honor, among many other accolades. She may have slowed down in her later years, but she didn’t stop – she continued performing and releasing records, with her most recent album Still Woman Enough coming out in 2021.
“From the time she stepped onto the ACL stage in her shimmering full-length gown, there was no doubt that she was the Queen of Country Music,” our executive producer Terry Lickona says. “The power of that voice and those songs commanded the room like few others have through the 48 years of Austin City Limits. The girl from Butcher Holler had arrived, and ACL once again made history. She was the genuine article; there never was anyone quite like her, and never will be again.”
Lynn recorded two classic episodes of ACL – one in 1983 during Season 8 and the other in 1998 during Season 23. We at ACL were thrilled to induct her into the ACL Hall of Fame in 2015. So her loss is difficult for us to grasp. As did so many of her fans and supporters, we always thought Loretta Lynn, like Mount Rushmore, would endure; however, her legacy – all those great songs – is immortal.
For the first time ever, iconic country music performances from Austin City Limits, the longest-running music show in television history, are together in one deluxe DVD collection. Time Life and Austin City Limits have captured five decades of uncut performances from country music’s biggest stars in Austin City Limits Country. This one-of-a-kind 10-DVD collection features the best performances from over 40 years of legendary music shows and is available only at TimeLife.com/ACL.
Since its launch in 1974, Austin City Limits has held a special connection to country music. Beloved by artists and fans alike, the show is known for authentic music presented in live and uncut performances. The collection has been hand-selected from countless episodes in the Austin City Limits archives to highlight the greatest country performances from artists who have made history on the ACL stage.
“This collection represents not only some of the best singers in modern country music, but the songs that we will never forget,” said Austin City Limits Executive Producer Terry Lickona, who has booked the show for over four decades. “What has always made country music special to me is the song. Despite popular trends and production gimmicks, the song is still the heart and soul of the music. A great song is timeless.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qU8wFN6p5s
Austin City Limits Country includes performances by country’s finest from legends like Loretta Lynn, Marty Robbins, Charley Pride and Waylon Jennings to superstars like Alan Jackson, Vince Gill, Dolly Parton, and Garth Brooks, plus today’s greats including Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban and Chris Stapleton. The collection includes a special free bonus disc: The original Austin City Limits 1974 pilot episode featuring a complete Willie Nelson concert.
Time Life cordially invites country music fans everywhere to experience these wonderful performances, collaborations, bonus interviews, and more. Available now exclusively at TimeLife.com/ACL, this hand selected 10-DVD country music treasure includes:
164 live, uncut performances from 1974 –2018 featuring country legends and superstars performing their biggest hits including Willie Nelson’s “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain,” Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues,” George Strait’s “Amarillo By Morning,” Reba McEntire’s “Whoever’s In New England,” Vince Gill’s “Whenever You Come Around,” Alan Jackson’s “Livin’ On Love,” and Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying.”
Unforgettable collaborations including Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson performing “Crazy,” Vince Gill and Patty Loveless singing “After The Fire Is Gone,” and Sheryl Crow and Kris Kristofferson performing “Me And Bobby McGee.”
Special moments including Roger Miller singing “Old Friends” with Willie Nelson, Vince Gill singing “Amie” with Pure Prairie League, and Dwight Yoakam and Buck Owens singing “Streets of Bakersfield.”
Bonus interviews with the stars including Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Vince Gill, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Tim McGraw, Willie Nelson, Brad Paisley, Dolly Parton, Keith Urban, and more!
FREE Bonus DVD: The Austin City Limits 1974 pilot episode featuring a complete Willie Nelson concert!
PLUS, an exclusive collectible memory book!
About Time Life
Time Life is one of the world’s pre-eminent creators and direct marketers of unique music and video/DVD products, specializing in distinctive multi-media collections that evoke memories of yesterday, capture the spirit of today, and can be enjoyed for a lifetime. TIME LIFE and the TIME LIFE logo are registered trademarks of Time Warner Inc. and affiliated companies used under license by Direct Holdings Americas Inc., which is not affiliated with Time Warner Inc. or Time Inc.
About Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits (ACL) offers viewers unparalleled access to featured acts in an intimate setting that provides a platform for artists to deliver inspired, memorable, full-length performances. Now in its 46th Season, the program is taped live before a concert audience from The Moody Theater in downtown Austin. Austin City Limits is the longest-running music series in television history and remains the only TV series to ever be awarded the National Medal of Arts. Since its inception, the groundbreaking music series has become an institution that’s helped secure Austin’s reputation as the Live Music Capital of the World. The historic KLRU Studio 6A, home to 36 years of ACL concerts, has been designated an official Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Landmark. In 2011, ACL moved to the new venue ACL Live at The Moody Theater in downtown Austin. ACL received a rare institutional Peabody Award for excellence and outstanding achievement in 2012. Austin City Limits is produced by Austin PBS, KLRU-TV and funding is provided in part by Dell Technologies, Workrise, the Austin Convention Center Department and Cirrus Logic. Additional funding is provided by the Friends of Austin City Limits. Learn more about Austin City Limits, programming and history at acltv.com.
Kick off the New Year with a good ‘un: Austin City Limits presents ACL Hall of Fame: The First 6 Years, a special broadcast featuring a victory lap of some of the finest performances from the first six years of the annual ACL Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, from the inaugural induction celebration in 2014 to 2019’s sixth annual ceremony. The Austin City Limits Hall of Fame was established in 2014 to honor beacons of American music who have played an instrumental role in making the iconic music series a music institution. The 14-song, all-star salute, recorded live in Austin, Texas, features best–in-class performances and collaborations, many never-before-broadcast, from the annual celebrations in a performance-packed hour with Hall of Fame honorees including Willie Nelson, Buddy Guy, Los Lobos, Bonnie Raitt, Rosanne Cash and Kris Kristofferson performing alongside special guests. ACL Hall of Fame: The First 6 Yearspremieres Saturday, January 2 at 8pm CT/9pm ET. Check local PBS listings for times. The special will be available to music fans everywhere to stream online beginning Sunday, January 3 @10am ET at pbs.org/austincitylimits.
The Hall of Fame celebration captures one-of-a-kind performances and emotional moments as the hour kicks off with the very first inductee into ACL’s inaugural Hall of Fame in 2014: Willie Nelson, who appeared on ACL’s pilot episode in 1974, and performs his classic “On the Road Again” joined by special guests Emmylou Harris and Lyle Lovett. Blues giant Buddy Guy, a 2019 inductee, performs an electrifying take on his gem “Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues” joined by a longtime friend, bluesman Jimmie Vaughan. For her induction in 2017, Rosanne Cash shares the stage with friends Elvis Costello and Neko Case, trading verses on her early chart-topping anthem “Seven Year Ache,” joined by legendary guitarist Ry Cooder. A trio of music’s most expressive vocalists, Chris Isaak, Brandi Carlile and Raul Malo, join forces to celebrate the legendary Roy Orbison’s 2017 induction with a joyous rendition of the pioneering rocker’s signature “Oh, Pretty Woman.” Acclaimed singer-songwriter Jason Isbell performs a moving solo rendition of Texas singer-songwriter Guy Clark’s classic, “Desperados Waiting For A Train,” saluting the 2015 inductee. Bonnie Raitt celebrates her induction in 2016 teaming up with handpicked guests Mavis Staples and Taj Mahal on a blazing rendition of her smash “Thing Called Love.” Kris Kristofferson, a fellow 2016 inductee, lights up the stage with a moving, solo acoustic performance of his early 70s classic “Lovin’ Her Was Easier.” Celebrating her induction in 2019, Shawn Colvin delivers a captivating performance of her early gem “Diamond In the Rough,” from her 1989 debut Steady On, joined by a pair of Texas singer-songwriters, Sarah Jarosz and fellow inductee Lyle Lovett. The queen of country music, Loretta Lynn, who first appeared on the series in 1983, is celebrated during her 2015 induction by country singer Patty Loveless, with a stirring rendition of the living legend’s first number one country hit “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’”.
Photo by Gary Miller
The “first family of funk,” The Neville Brothers, the first New Orleans act to appear on ACL in 1979, are saluted by Trombone Shorty and members of the next-generation Nevilles Band for a scorching NOLA-style tribute to the influential funk ‘n’ soul collective in honor of their 2017 induction. Legendary Texas singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt is inducted in 2015 with an all-star tribute of his “White Freightliner Blues” with music greats Lyle Lovett, Ray Benson, Vince Gill, Gillian Welch, Dwight Yoakam and more trading verses on the classic. Blues-rock star Gary Clark Jr. puts down his guitar for the occasion and steps up to the mic to pay vocal tribute to 2018 inductee Ray Charles, delivering a radiant “Night Time Is the Right Time” while vocalists Ruthie Foster, Carolyn Wonderland and Shelley King do The Raelettes proud with show-stopping backing chorus. American originals Los Lobos join the fifth class of inductees in 2018 performing a classic from their celebrated four-decade career, “La Pistola Y El Corazon”. The broadcast comes to an epic close saluting blues-rock icon Stevie Ray Vaughan’s 2014 induction into the first class of inductees, as a murderers’ row of guitar greats, including Willie Nelson, Buddy Guy and Johnny Lang, perform a blistering “Texas Flood,” the Lone Star classic Vaughan made famous when he performed it on his now-classic 1983 ACL debut, in a performance for the ages.
Austin City Limits Hall of Fame: The First Six Years setlist:
Willie Nelson w/ Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett “On the Road Again”
Buddy Guy w/Jimmie Vaughan “Damn Right I’ve Got the Blues”
Rosanne Cash w/Elvis Costello, Neko Case, Ry Cooder “Seven Year Ache”
Chris Isaak w/Brandi Carlile, Raul Malo “Oh Pretty Woman”
Jason Isbell “Desperados Waiting For A Train”
Bonnie Raitt w/ Mavis Staples, Taj Mahal “Thing Called Love”
Kris Kristofferson “Lovin’ Her Was Easier”
Shawn Colvin w/Lyle Lovett & Sarah Jarosz “Diamond in the Rough”
Patty Loveless “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’”
The Nevilles Band w/Trombone Shorty “Meet De Boys on De Battlefront”
All-Star Cast f. Lyle Lovett, Ray Benson, Vince Gill, Gillian Welch, Dwight Yoakam “White Freightliner Blues”
Gary Clark Jr. w/Ruthie Foster, Carolyn Wonderland, Shelley King “Night Time Is the Right Time”
Los Lobos “La Pistola Y El Corazon”
All-Star Finale f. Willie Nelson, Buddy Guy, Johnny Lang, Lukas Nelson, Doyle Bramhall II, Robert Randolph “Texas Flood”
Photo by Scott Newton
Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding future tapings, episode schedules and select live stream updates.
About Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits (ACL) offers viewers unparalleled access to featured acts in an intimate setting that provides a platform for artists to deliver inspired, memorable, full-length performances. Now in its 46th Season, the program is taped live before a concert audience from The Moody Theater in downtown Austin. Austin City Limits is the longest-running music series in television history and remains the only TV series to ever be awarded the National Medal of Arts. Since its inception, the groundbreaking music series has become an institution that’s helped secure Austin’s reputation as the Live Music Capital of the World. The historic KLRU Studio 6A, home to 36 years of ACL concerts, has been designated an official Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Landmark. In 2011, ACL moved to the new venue ACL Live at The Moody Theater in downtown Austin. ACL received a rare institutional Peabody Award for excellence and outstanding achievement in 2012.
ACL Hall of Fame: The First 6 Years is produced by Austin PBS, KLRU-TV and funding is provided in part by AXS, Dell Technologies, and Cirrus Logic. Additional funding is provided by the Friends of Austin City Limits. Learn more about Austin City Limits, programming and history at acltv.com.
