Darius Rucker Honors Loretta Lynn Ahead of Celebration of Life Performance

Loretta Lynn will be honored Sunday at the Grand Ole Opry House for Coal Miner’s Daughter: A Celebration of Life & Music of Loretta Lynn. The live celebration is hosted by Jenna Bush Hager and will be commercial-free, jam-packing the event with stars paying homage to the late country icon.

“A celebration of life fit for a true queen of country music,” a description for the event reads from CMT. The network will air the two-hour event at 7 p.m. ET, featuring guests and performances by Alan Jackson, Dolly Parton, Wynonna, Kacey Musgraves, Keith Urban, Miranda Lambert, and many other stars of the modern country landscape.

Darius Rucker is set to perform at the event, sharing a few touching memories of Lynn ahead of the celebration. During an Oct. 26 roundtable in Nashville honoring his Diamond-certified hit “Wagon Wheel,” the 4th country music song to achieve the honor. His number one song “Beers and Sunshine” is also being included, marking his 10th number one song on the country charts.

While the event was honoring him, he found a slew of touching words about his relationship with the country legend. “Loretta was wonderful to me. We became really good friends and she always called me her boyfriend and we always had a great time together,” Rucker said.”And Loretta was, when I first came to Nashville, I mean 16 years ago, Loretta was one of the first people who was singing my praises. I’ll never forget looking at just a random article somebody sent to me and they asked Loretta what she thought about country music and she said that Darius Rucker’s country, and that was amazing to me.”

“That was amazing to me that she even knew who I was, let alone, that she would go out of her way to be that way to me and be that way in the public. And I think it helped me a lot. And so we became good friends and she was, she’s always special,” he continued. “I miss Loretta, I miss seeing her at the Opry, I miss seeing her at the CMAs and the shows and stuff, and she always came up and gave a big hug and made me feel like I was the most important person in her life at that moment. And I miss her and she was a wonderful human being.”

Lynn passed away on Oct. 4 at 90, dying peacefully in her sleep after a slew of recent health issues. CMT producers are hoping the show will be a proper honor, bringing her family on board to make sure it is perfect.

“We are truly honored to work closely alongside Loretta’s family to create a celebration of life fit for a true queen of country music, Loretta Lynn,” CMT said in a statement. “She was a true original, a woman who always sang from her heart, never shied away from challenging the status quo, and blazed the path forward for her fellow female artists. From her firecracker spirit and signature musicality to her unmistakable country style and unparalleled authenticity, we look forward to honoring her in the best way we know how: sharing stories and songs with her family, friends and the legions of fans she loved dearly.”