Kacey Musgraves Tributes Loretta Lynn With Touching ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’ Performance At 2023 GRAMMYs

Kacey Musgraves honored the late Loretta Lynn with a musical tribute performance of “Coal Miner’s Daughter” during the GRAMMYs’ In Memoriam segment.  

For her performance, Musgraves donned a red gown, reminiscent of the gowns Lynn often wore, and a very special accessory: Loretta Lynn’s personal Epiphone guitar. 

Ahead of the show, Lynn’s family shared that they are “touched” that the country music icon’s guitar will be used on the GRAMMYs stage.  

The @RecordingAcad were so special to Loretta. She was nominated or won an award every decade (multiple times) for 6 decades in a row! Amazing. The show’s tribute to her by @KaceyMusgraves will be especially touching as Kacey will be playing Loretta’s very own Epiphone guitar.

— Loretta Lynn (@LorettaLynn) February 4, 2023

Musgraves delivered a touching performance of “Coal Miner’s Daughter” which was released by Lynn in 1970 and went on to become her signature song. 

The autobiographical tune tells the story of Loretta Lynn’s father, who was a Kentucky coal miner during the Great Depression.

“Well, I was born a coal miner’s daughter/ In a cabin, on a hill in Butcher Holler/ We were poor but we had love/ That’s the one thing that daddy made sure of/ He shoveled coal to make a poor man’s dollar,” 

Kacey's voice + Loretta's guitar = full body chills. #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/QywVb4GevX

— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) February 6, 2023

Kacey Musgraves is a longtime supporter of Loretta Lynn and her music. In 2014, the pair famously joined forces to perform “You’re Lookin’ At Country” during the 48th Annual CMA Awards.   

Later, in 2019, The Texas native helped the country music icon celebrate her 87th birthday during a star-studded event in Nashville. During the show at Bridgestone Arena, Musgraves performed Lynn’s “You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man).” 

Loretta Lynn is a three-time GRAMMY winner. She passed away on October 4, 2022, at her Tennessee home at the age of 90. 

Kacey Musgraves’ performance also paid tribute to the late Naomi Judd, Mickey Gilley, Olivia Newton-John, and many more as their photos flashed across the screen behind her.

The 65th Annual GRAMMY Awards featured performances from Bad Bunny, Mary J. Blige, Brandi Carlile, Luke Combs, Steve Lacy, Lizzo, Kim Petras, Sam Smith, Harry Styles, Chris Stapleton, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and more. 

“Music’s Biggest Night” also included an all-star 50th Anniversary celebration of hip hop, which included performances by Big Boi, Busta Rhymes with Spliff Star, De La Soul, DJ Drama, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Missy Elliott, Future, GloRilla, Grandmaster Flash, Grandmaster Mele Mel & Scorpio/Ethiopian King, Ice-T, Lil Baby, Lil Wayne, The Lox, Method Man, Nelly, Public Enemy, Queen Latifah, Rahiem, Rakim, RUN-DMC, Salt-N-Pepa and Spinderella, Scarface, Swizz Beatz, and Too $hort. LL COOL J will be on hand to introduce the segment and give a dedication to hip hop.

Several tributes also took place during the In Memoriam segment. Sheryl Crow, Mick Fleetwood and Bonnie Raitt paid homage to late Fleetwood Mac member, Christine McVie, with a performance of McVie’s “Songbird.”

Maverick City Music and Quavo also remembered the late Migos rapper, Takeoff, with a special tribute performance of “Without You,” a song that Quavo wrote after his passing.

First Lady Jill Biden, Cardi B, James Corden, Billy Crystal, Viola Davis, Dwayne Johnson, Olivia Rodrigo, and Shania Twain, and more were on hand to present during the ceremony.

Beyoncé led the pack with nine nominations, including the prestigious Album Of The Year (Renaissance). Following behind Beyoncé are Kendrick Lamar with eight nods, Adele and Brandi Carlile with seven nominations as well as Mary J. Blige, DJ Khaled, Harry Styles, Future, The Dream and Randy Merrill have six. For a full list of 2023 GRAMMY nominees click HERE.

Prior to the GRAMMY Awards, several winners were revealed during the GRAMMY Awards Premiere Ceremony at the Microsoft Theater in the City Of Angels. For a full list of winners, visit live.GRAMMY.com.

Co-hosted by GRAMMY-nominated comedian Trevor Noah, the 2023 GRAMMYs broadcasted live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 5 at 8/7c on CBS. The coveted awards ceremony also streamed live and on demand via Paramount+.