Heartaches Meet Mr. Blues

In 1960, Loretta Lynn had her first major hit with the self-penned "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl." The song gained traction after Lynn and her husband traveled from radio station to radio station self-promoting song. Later that year, the single reached the national country charts, peaking at number 14.^[2] The song's success prompted Lynn's record label to release a follow-up single, which resulted in the release of "Heartaches Meet Mr. Blues." Like her previous release, the song was composed by Lynn herself. Lynn recorded the track in her first session at her label, which was also her first recording session in her career. The session took place in February 1960 at the Western Recorders Studio located in Hollywood, California.^[3]

To record the song, Lynn and her husband drove from their home in Washington state to California where they were produced by Don Grashey at Western Recorders. Grashey brought in several notable west coast studio musicians to play on the record. This included Harold Hensley and Speedy West. Lynn also recorded "Honky Tonk Girl" during the same session.^[3] The song was recorded in style of country music known as the Bakersfield Sound. The style was popular with country artists who recorded on the west coast of the United States. It was a style popularized by artists such as Merle Haggard and Buck Owens. While Lynn was at the Zero label, her music mostly identified with this sub-genre.^[1]