Loretta Lynn to Receive Prestigious Artist of a Lifetime Award

Loretta Lynn will soon add another award to her collection. The three-time GRAMMY winner will receive the Artist of a Lifetime Award at the annual CMT Artists of the Year event next month.

“I’m always so proud when I receive any awards for my music, but when I heard it was this year’s CMT Lifetime Achievement Award it made me really happy,” Lynn said, according to CMT. “It’s an honor to be able to make music that people enjoy and I’m really excited to have a new album coming out. Thank you CMT for acknowledging me with this award and for honoring the women in country music at Artists of the Year.”

This year’s CMT Artists of the Year is an all-female tribute, honoring Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Kelsea Ballerini, Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott, Maren Morris, and both Kimberly Schlapman and Karen Fairchild, of Little Big Town.

“This year, we’re evolving the special to reflect what’s happening right now in culture and in the lives of our fans,” Leslie Fram, Senior Vice President of Music & Talent, CMT, said in a statement. “In this monumental year for women, dedicating one of the biggest nights in the genre to applaud female country artists not only solidifies our commitment, but we hope will spark a much-needed change in the industry.”

Lynn’s latest album, Wouldn’t It Be Great, will be released on Sept. 28.

“This new record means so much to me, but this last year I had to focus on my health and I decided to hold up the release,” Lynn said. “I’m feelin’ good and look forward to it comin’ out. It was really important to me to be a part of it being released and I’m excited to celebrate with everybody!”

The title track of Wouldn’t It Be Great is the debut single, and an honest look at what Lynn’s marriage was like to her husband, Oliver “Doolittle” Lynn, Jr., who passed away in 1996.

Singing, “Wouldn’t it be fine if you could say you love me / Just one time with a sober mind? / Wouldn’t that be fine, now wouldn’t that be fine? / Wouldn’t it be great if you could love me first / And let the bottle wait?/ Now wouldn’t that be great, now wouldn’t that be great?” the song was inspired by her husband’s penchant for drinking.

“Well, my husband liked to drink a lot and that’s where that song comes from,” Lynn reflected, according to Rolling Stone.

CMT Artists of the Year will air live on Oct. 17 at 8 p.m. ET from Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center.

Photo Credit: Getty images/Scott Dudelson