Remember When Loretta Lynn Was Ready to Tell the Grand Ole Opry to Shove It?
Loretta Lynn says she had 14 songs banned during her legendary career, and one of them nearly cost her membership at the Grand Ole Opry.
During this week's episode of The Secret History of Country Music we explore the secret behind Lynn's outlaw ways and uncover a gem of a story from the mid-1970s that finds the Coal Miner's Daughter ready to tell the Opry to shove it if they acted on an impulse to ban her from singing her song "The Pill." The song — about birth control — is her most famous banned song, and it's also one of her biggest hits. That's not a coincidence, as you'll soon find out.
Cooler heads prevailed, but that's not to say she didn't kick up more dust on her way to a Country Music Hall of Fame career. The most interesting part about all of Lynn's banned songs is why there were banned. She never sang about salacious or unthinkable deeds every red-blooded American hadn't lived through, and this song in particular is as family friendly as cold beer or good whiskey. The real secret history is how she used controversy to her advantage. Modern women of country, take notes!
The Secret History of Country Music is a weekly video series hosted by Taste of Country News host Ania Hammar. Every Monday, she takes fans deeper inside the stories of country music's biggest hits, moments and figures. Be sure to subscribe to Taste of Country's YouTube channel so you never miss a new episode.
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