Soon you can call her the coal miner’s doctor.
Loretta Lynn is slated to receive an honorary doctorate of music from Berklee College of Music during her March 17 performance at the Grand Ole Opry.
The honor from the Boston college puts the 71-year-old Lynn into a select group of recording artists that includes Duke Ellington, Tony Bennett, Aretha Franklin, Quincy Jones, B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Earl Scruggs, Sting and Sarah Vaughan.
“Loretta Lynn’s songs have squarely addressed real-life situations faced by many women, and she’s used her artistry to deal openly with themes like loyalty, divorce, desire and women’s role in society before others in country music,” Berklee President Roger Brown said in a release Wednesday.
Since beginning her career in 1960, the Butcher Hollow, Ky., native has written more than 160 songs and released 70 albums, 17 of which have gone to No. 1.
In 1972, she was the first woman ever named Entertainer of the Year by the Country Music Association. She’s won three Grammy Awards, was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988 and received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2003.
Her most recent record is 2004’s “Van Lear Rose,” which she recorded with the White Stripes’ Jack White.