John Carter Cash Pays Tribute to Collaborator and Friend Loretta Lynn: 'She Was Made of Love'
John Carter Cash said Loretta Lynn, who died on Tuesday at age 90, was a source of comfort when he lost his mother in 2003
John Carter Cash is paying tribute to his longtime collaborative partner and close friend Loretta Lynn.
Cash, the son of country legends Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, remembered the "Coal Miner's Daughter" singer in a poignant statement shared with PEOPLE, in which he detailed the ways in which she helped comfort him after the loss of his mother in 2003.
"When my mother died, Loretta was there for me, her laughter made being around her easy, and she filled a gap that I believed I had healed," he wrote. "She came into my life, and I learned how to enjoy creativity in a way I couldn't have before conceived. She helped me believe in good music—and in the good of music."
Cash, 52, also praised Lynn's authenticity, which remained intact until her death on Tuesday at 90 years old.
"Loretta was true. She was of a time in American music when songs meant something different than now," he said. "She was able to take a straightforward vision and perception of life and put it into words. There was nothing puffed up or fake about Loretta. She was built of powerful stuff—essentially, she was made of love. Anyone that knew her saw that she loved them unconditionally, naturally, and kindly."