<P> Zero Records president, Canadian Don Grashey, arranged a recording session in Hollywood, where four of Lynn's own compositions were recorded: "I'm A Honky Tonk Girl", "Whispering Sea", "Heartache Meet Mister Blues", and "New Rainbow". Her first release featured "Whispering Sea" and "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl". She signed her first contract on February 2, 1960, with Zero; the material was recorded at United Western Recorders in Hollywood, engineered by Don Blake and produced by Grashey . Musicians backing on the songs were "the great" steel guitar player Speedy West, Harold Hensely on fiddle, Roy Lanham on guitar, Al Williams on bass, and Muddy Berry on drums . She commented on the different sound of her first record: "Well, there is a West Coast sound that is definitely not the same as the Nashville sound...It was a shuffle with a West Coast beat". </P> <P> The Lynns then toured the country to promote the release to country stations, while Grashey and Del Roy took the music to KFOX in Long Beach, California . When the Lynns reached Nashville, the song was a hit, climbing to No. 14 on Billboard's C & W Chart, and Lynn began cutting demo records for the Wilburn Brothers Publishing Company . Through the Wilburns, she secured a contract with Decca Records . From the onset of her career, fans took notice and rallied behind her all the way, with the first Loretta Lynn Fan Club formed in November 1960 . By the end of the year, Billboard magazine listed Lynn as the No. 4 Most Promising Country Female Artist . </P> <P> Lynn's relationship with the Wilburn Brothers and her appearances on the Grand Ole Opry, beginning in 1960, helped Lynn become the number one female recording artist in country music . Her contract with the Wilburn Brothers gave them the publishing rights to her material . She was still fighting to regain these rights 30 years after ending her business relationship with them but was ultimately denied the publishing rights . Lynn stopped writing music in the 1970s because of these contracts . Although Kitty Wells had become the first major female country vocalist during the 1950s, by the time Lynn recorded her first record, only three other women--Patsy Cline, Skeeter Davis, and Jean Shepard--had become top stars . Lynn joined The Grand Ole Opry on September 25, 1962 . </P> <P> By the end of 1962 it was clear that she was on her way to becoming the fourth star . Lynn has credited Cline as her mentor and best friend during those early years . In 2010, when interviewed for Jimmy Mcdonough's biography of Tammy Wynette, Tammy Wynette: Tragic Country Queen, Loretta mentioned having best friends in Patsy and Tammy during different times: "Best friends are like husbands . You only need one at a time ." </P>

When did loretta lynn first appear on the grand ole opry