Garth Brooks Recalls Heartwarming Date With Loretta Lynn

Garth Brooks is a big fan of Loretta Lynn. In fact, Brooks adores Lynn so much, he was her date the night Lynn was honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010 – and still recalls all of the details of the unforgettable night.

“I think there’s things you aspire to be and because of that things come around you,” Brooks shared at a media event announcing Lynn’s upcoming birthday tribute concert. “Miss Loretta was one of the first instances I ever got to actually witness firsthand where who she was was who she was always going to be. It still attracted everything around her.”

“When I was lucky enough to be talking about being her date for the Lifetime Achievement Award for the Grammys at the Ryman, I’d never performed at the Ryman before,” he continued. “We got to perform ‘After the Fire is Gone.’ So when I asked her if it’s going to be a date, I said, ‘You want a limousine or you want a truck?’ She said ‘Truck.’ Right there I knew I was going to be at home. It was going to be fun.”

Still, it wasn’t until Brooks went to pick up the country music icon that he realized exactly how much fun they were really going to have.

“When I swung around to pick her up she was in this beautiful ball gown and there was glitter everywhere which I love,” Brooks recalled. “She walked right up the driver’s door. Oh, my gosh. This is Oklahoma right out of where I grew up. She didn’t want to sit on the far side. I opened the door. She jumped in and scooted over and sat right in the middle. And I’m driving going, ‘This is Loretta Lynn,’ and I have her on my arm the whole trip in there.

“When we get out, I get out, that truck still has so much glitter, you can clean it 100 times but it’s got glitter in the seats,” he added with a laugh. “It’s got glitter on the floor board and it’s my favorite part.”

“I had to glitter up,” Lynn chimed in. “I had to be seen, you know.”

Brooks is one of many stars who will honor Lynn at the Loretta Lynn: All-Star Birthday Celebration Concert, held on April 1, in honor of her upcoming 87th birthday on April 14. Other artists scheduled to appear include Miranda Lambert, Alan Jackson, George Strait, Keith Urban and many more.

“I feel great,” Lynn said about her upcoming tribute show. “[It] feels great. I love all the artists that’s coming on. I don’t know them, but I listen to them, and it’s great.”

Tickets for Loretta Lynn: All-Star Birthday Celebration will be on sale beginning Friday, January 18 at BridgestoneArena.com.

Photo Credit: EB Media/ Chris Hollo