CHICAGO—Singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn wrote hundreds of songs and sold more than 45 million albums in her 60-year career. She had 24 No. 1 singles and 11 No. 1 albums, won four Grammys as well as the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama in 2013.
Jenifer French will honor the women known as “The Queen of Country Music” when she presents Honky Tonk Girl: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn, 8 p.m. May 5 at Davenport’s Piano Bar, 1383 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. Tickets are $25 plus a two-drink minimum.
French will be performing such chart-topping hits as “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “Don’t Come Home a-Drinkin,” “You Ain’t Woman Enough to Take My Man,” “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl,” “You’re Looking at Country,” and more.
Jazz artist French grew up listening to both country music and jazz because her mother is from the South and her dad is from the North. She connected with her country roots last year when Daryl Nitz asked her to be in his show, “Living Legends.”
Loretta Lynn was one of the living legends on Nitz’s list. French initially planned to sing “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” because of the 1980 film based on the singer’s autobiography of the same name. “I started to research and listen to her music and I was blown away, not only by the depth and breadth of her music—because it was so phenomenal—but the fact that she was a singer-songwriter,” French said.
The fact that Lynn has been an outspoken feminist was another attraction for French.
From 1999-2005, French performed with her Jenifer French Quartet. After taking a break for about five years to raise her son, French returned to her career. She has since earned acclaim for her solo show, “The Peggy Lee Legacy.”
The Twang Patrol country band will accompany French at Davenport’s. It consists of Alton Smith (musical director, vocals, and keyboard), T. C. Furlong (pedal steel guitar), John Rice (fiddle and guitar), Malcolm Ruhl (bass), and Billy Shaffer (drums). Daryl Nitz is director and a vocalist.
For reservations, call 773-278-1830 or visit davenportspianobar.com.
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