White's band the White Stripes had dedicated 2001 breakthrough album White Blood Cells to the country music singer, whose star wattage had been fading commercially if not critically since her heyday of the '60s and '70s.
When she heard about the tribute, she invited White to visit, ultimately enlisting him to produce and play guitar on her next album.
Van Lear Rose, released in 2004, stands as a surprising, gritty and earnest product of the marriage between old-time country and modern rock.
White's grunge-blues signature is all over the album yet Lynn stands front and centre, restored to her full glory as the sassy down-home champion of the working-class woman. The rough-hewn musical settings serve to contemporise the delivery, but the message is the same: Mess with me at your peril.
The songs, all bar one written by Lynn and all recorded as early takes, are a mix of heartstring-pulling ballads, tradition-inspired gospel numbers, jaunty knee-slappers and country narratives, some autobiographical in nature.
The Van Lear Rose of the opening track is Lynn's own mother, with closing track Story Of My Life a succinct summary of Lynn's personal history.
And it's still the case that cheaters, husband-stealers and drinkers will never prosper in Lynn's world, or at least that they can expect to answer to her if they do. Family Tree's tale of a woman confronting her husband's mistress is classic Loretta Lynn, and Mrs Leroy Brown a rollicking honky-tonk saga of domestic vigilante justice.
At 70 years of age, Lynn is retracing her steps to Butcher Hollow. At her elbow is a respectful young acolyte, sensible enough to let her lead the way.
