Loretta Lynn Readies New Album ‘Wouldn’t It Be Great’

Songwriter celebrates 85th birthday with pair of Ryman Auditorium appearances this weekend

Stephen L. Betts

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On the eve of her 85th birthday, the indomitable Loretta Lynn has announced Wouldn’t It Be Great, a new studio LP that will showcase songs written or co-written by the Country Music Hall of Fame icon. Set for release Friday, August 18th, the collection consists of new songs as well as a handful of her signature tunes, including updated interpretations of two of country music’s most acclaimed classics, the artist’s own “Coal Miner’s Daughter” and “Don’t Come Home a-Drinkin’.” See the full track list below.

Wouldn’t It Be Great is the follow-up to Lynn‘s Grammy-nominated

Full Circle

, and was again co-produced by John Carter Cash and her daughter Patsy Lynn Russell as part of the Cash Cabin Sessions, so-named for the historic recording studio north of Nashville where most of the sessions took place. In addition to new tunes “Ruby’s Stool,” “The Big Man” and “I’m Dying for Someone to Live For,” all penned with musician Shawn Camp, and “Ain’t No Time to Go” and “These Old Blues,” co-written with Russell, Lynn revisits “God Makes No Mistakes” from 2004’s Van Lear Rose, the Grammy-winning collaboration with Jack White.

Lynn, who was born April 14th, 1932, in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, will spend her birthday at the venerable Ryman Auditorium Friday night, playing the first of a two-night stand there, with special guests expected to join the longtime Grand Ole Opry member onstage for the celebration. The tireless entertainer has a number of additional tour dates stretching throughout the remainder of the year.

On August 25th, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will unveil a major exhibit spotlighting Lynn‘s storied life and remarkable career, in celebration of the museum’s 50th anniversary. Lynn returns to the Ryman Auditorium that night and the next for a pair of shows, and each ticket purchased for those performances will also include a copy of the Wouldn’t It Be Great album.

Wouldn’t It Be Great track listing:

“Wouldn’t It Be Great”
“Ruby’s Stool” (Loretta Lynn, Shawn Camp)
“I’m Dying for Someone to Live For” (Loretta Lynn, Shawn Camp)
“Another Bridge to Burn” (Loretta Lynn, Lola Jean Dillon)
“Ain’t No Time to Go” (Loretta Lynn, Patsy Lynn Russell)
“God Makes No Mistakes”
“These Ole Blues” (Loretta Lynn, Patsy Lynn Russell)
“My Angel Mother”
“Don’t Come Home a-Drinkin'” (Loretta Lynn, Peggy Sue Wells)
“The Big Man” (Loretta Lynn, Shawn Camp)
“Lulie Vars” (traditional, arrangement by Loretta Lynn)
“Darkest Day”
“Coal Miner’s Daughter”