My girl Loretta was featured on CNN today for her badass song, “The Pill,” one of the first times a woman in entertainment openly celebrated (or even acknowledged?) how important the introduction of birth control was to American ladies. Happy 50th Birthday, Birth Control!!
Fifty years ago on May 9, 1960, the Food and Drug Administration approved the sale of an oral birth control pill, a decision that had a profound effect on women’s lives.
Lynn was married at age 13 and had four children by 17. In 1974, her song “The Pill” became a hit, but lorettalynn.com reports that many radio stations also banned it.
Lynn sang, “All these years I’ve stayed at home while you had all your fun, And every year that’s gone by another baby’s come. There’s gonna be some changes made right here on Nursery Hill, You’ve set this chicken your last time ‘cause now I’ve got the pill.”
The pill first went on sale in the U.S. on August 18, 1960. The legendary country singer recently turned 75 and lives outside Nashville, Tennessee.
