Loretta Lynn Postpones New Album, Remains Feisty in Her Stroke Recovery
Loretta Lynn is postponing the release of her new album, Wouldn't It Be Great -- but she's clearly still feeling like herself as she continues to recover from her recent stroke. In a message posted to Facebook on Wednesday (July 12), Lynn explained the decision to fans, and shared an update on her recovery.
Wouldn’t It Be Great was scheduled for release on Aug. 18; however, Lynn has decided to postpone the album's release until 2018 "because this record is so special for me."
"It deserves me at my best" Lynn adds, "and I can’t wait to share it."
Lynn’s stroke occurred on May 4 at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tenn.; following the stroke, the legendary singer-songwriter was admitted to a Nashville hospital, and doctors advised her to stay off the road for a few weeks. Lynn is expected to make a full recovery, and in mid-May, she was moved from the hospital to a rehab facility.
"Thank you so much for all of your prayers, love and support. I'm happy to say that I'm at home with my family and getting better by the day! My main focus now is making a full recovery so that I can get back to putting all of me into what I love: sharing my music with all of you," Lynn writes in her Facebook post. "I want to thank everyone for hanging in there with me. I am getting stronger every day and can’t wait to get back out there with all of you."
She adds humorously at the end, "I’m just letting everybody know that Willie ain’t dead yet and neither am I, and I can’t wait to see all of you on the road!”
Loretta Lynn Through the Years
Updates on Lynn’s recovery process have been few and far between; however, on May 10, Lynn’s sister, singer Crystal Gayle, wrote, “Thank you for all the prayers and well wishes for Loretta. Keep them coming! We are lucky, in this day and age, to have wonderful doctors and nurses taking great care of her.” In late June, Closer Weekly published an update, courtesy of Lynn’s brother, Herman Webb.
“She can talk, and Loretta told me that she thought she’s going to be okay,” Webb said at the time. “Her left side was kind of paralyzed, but [she can get around by] herself now, she just has to use a walker.”
Most recently, during Lynn's daughter Patsy Lynn’s Fourth of July Weekend concert at the Loretta Lynn Ranch, an audio recording of Lynn wishing fans a happy holiday and thanking them for their prayers was played.
Immediately following her stroke, Lynn canceled her upcoming tour dates through early July. In mid-June, three additional shows, scheduled for July 7, 8 and 21, were canceled, and now, her website's tour calendar is completely empty, with a copy of the message from Facebook appearing on the page.
On Aug. 25, an exhibit about Lynn will open at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
Country Stars Send Prayers to Loretta Lynn Following Her Stroke