Wynette, Tammy

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{{Infobox musical artist
 
{{Infobox musical artist
 
|Name            = Tammy Wynette
 
|Name            = Tammy Wynette
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|Img            = Tammy Wynette Remembered.jpg
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|Img            =  
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|Img_capt        = A tribute album to Tammy Wynette
 
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|Img_size        = (250)
 
 
|Background      = solo_singer
 
|Background      = solo_singer
 
|Birth_name      = Virginia Wynette Pugh
 
|Birth_name      = Virginia Wynette Pugh
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|Born            = May 5, 1942
 
|Born            = May 5, 1942
 
|Died            = April 6, 1998
 
|Died            = April 6, 1998
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|Origin          = [[Tremont, Mississippi]]
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|Origin          = Tremont, Mississippi
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|Instrument      = [[singing]]/[[guitar]]
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|Instrument      = [[vocals]]/[[guitar]]
 
|Genre          = [[country music]]
 
|Genre          = [[country music]]
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|Occupation      = [[country]] [[singer]]
 
 
|Years_active    = 1966-1998
 
|Years_active    = 1966-1998
 
|Label          = [[Epic Records|Epic]]
 
|Label          = [[Epic Records|Epic]]
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|Associated_acts = [[Loretta Lynn]], [[Dolly Parton]], [[George Jones]], [[David Houston (singer)|David Houston]], [[Lynn Anderson]]
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|Associated_acts = [[George Jones]]
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|URL            = [http://www.tammywynette.com/ Tammy Wynette Official Site]
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|URL            = [http://www.tammywynette.com Tammywynette.com]
 
}}
 
}}
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'''Tammy Wynette''' (May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was a [[Country music|country]] [[singer]] and [[songwriter]]. She was known as the "First Lady of Country Music" and one of her best-known songs was "[[Stand by Your Man]]," which was one of the biggest selling hit singles by a woman in the history of the music genre.
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'''Tammy Wynette''' (May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was a [[Country music|country]] [[singer]] and [[songwriter]]. She was known as the "First Lady of [[Country Music]]." Wynette's signature song, "Stand by Your Man," was one of the biggest selling hit singles ever and became an icon of the female country vocal genre.
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Beginning in 1966, her career spanned 30 years and produced many memorable hits. Wynette's troubled marriage to country star [[George Jones]] brought additional fame and produced many fine [[duet]] recordings. The emotional tone of her performances and poignant, honest [[lyrics]] of her songs made her a "voice" not only as a country singer but also for American women in general.
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==Early life==
 
==Early life==
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Tammy Wynette was born '''Virginia Wynette Pugh''' near [[Tremont, Mississippi|Tremont]], [[Mississippi]], the only child of William Hollis Pugh (died 1943) and Mildred Faye Russell (1922–1991). As a girl, she was called Wynette (pronounced Win-NET), or Nettie, instead of Virginia.
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Tammy Wynette was born Virginia Wynette Pugh near Tremont, [[Mississippi]], the only child of William Hollis Pugh (died 1943) and Mildred Faye Russell (1922–1991). As a girl, she was called Wynette (pronounced Win-NET), or Nettie, instead of Virginia.
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Her father was a farmer and local musician. He died of a [[brain tumor]] when Wynette was only nine months of age. Her mother worked in an office, as a substitute school teacher, as well as on the family farm.  After the death of Hollis Pugh, she left Wynette in the care of her parents, Thomas Chester and Flora A. Russell, and moved to [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]] to work in a [[World War II]] defense plant. In 1946, she married Foy Lee, a farmer from Mississippi.
 
  
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Wynette was raised on the Itawamba County farm of her maternal grandparents where she was born. The place was partly on the border with [[Alabama]]. She has often claimed that the state line ran right through their property. She joked that "my top half came from Alabama and my bottom half came from Mississippi." As a youngster, she worked in the fields picking cotton alongside the hired crews to get in the crop. She grew up with her aunt, Carolyn Russell, who was only five years older than she was. Wynette sang gospel tunes with her grandmother, and also learned to play the piano and the guitar.
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Her father was a farmer and local musician. He died of a [[brain tumor]] when Wynette was only nine months of age. Her mother worked in an office, as a substitute school teacher, and on the family farm. After the death of Hollis, Mrs. Pugh left Wynette in the care of her grandparents, Thomas Chester and Flora A. Russell, and moved to [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]] to work in a [[World War II]] defense plant. In 1946, she married Foy Lee, a farmer from Mississippi.
  
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As a child and teenager, country music provided an escape from her hard life. Wynette grew up idolizing [[Hank Williams]], [[Skeeter Davis]], [[Patsy Cline]], and [[George Jones]] and would play their records over and over on the inexpensive children's record player she owned, dreaming of one day being a star herself.
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Wynette was raised on the Itawamba County farm of her maternal grandparents where she was born. The place was partly on the border with [[Alabama]]. Wynette claimed that the state line ran right through their property, joking that that "my top half came from Alabama and my bottom half came from Mississippi." As a youngster, she worked in the fields picking cotton alongside the hired crews. She grew up with her aunt, Carolyn Russell, who was only five years older than she was. Wynette sang gospel tunes with her grandmother and also learned to play the piano and the guitar.
  
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[[Image:Wynettegthits.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Tammy Wynette's 1969 ''Greatest Hits'' collection was the first album by a female country artist to sell over one million copies.]]
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As a child and teenager, country music provided an escape from her hard life.  Wynette grew up idolizing [[Hank Williams]], [[Skeeter Davis]], [[Patsy Cline]], and [[George Jones]], and would play their records over and over on the inexpensive children's record player she owned, dreaming of one day being a star herself.
  
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She attended Tremont High School, where she was an all-star basketball player. A month before graduation, she married her first husband Euple Byrd, a construction worker. Her early jobs included working as a waitress, a receptionist, a barmaid, and in a shoe factory. In 1963, she attended beauty school in [[Tupelo, Mississippi]], and became a hairdresser. She would renew her cosmetology license every year for the rest of her life, just in case she should have to go back to a daily job. Her first husband, whom she left before the birth of their third daughter, was not supportive of her ambition to become a singer.
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She attended Tremont High School, where she was an all-star basketball player. A month before graduation, she married her first husband, Euple Byrd, a construction worker. Byrd, whom she left before the birth of their third daughter, was not supportive of Wynette's ambition to become a singer. Her early jobs included working as a waitress, a receptionist, a barmaid, and in a shoe factory. In 1963, she attended beauty school in [[Tupelo, Mississippi]], and became a hairdresser. She would renew her cosmetology license every year for the rest of her life, just in case she should have to go back to a daily job.
  
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When her youngest child developed spinal meningitis, Wynette tried to make extra money by performing at night. In 1965, she sang on the ''Country Boy Eddie Show'' on WBRC-TV in [[Birmingham, Alabama]], which led to a brief tour with the well known country start [[Porter Wagoner]]. In 1966, she moved with her three girls from Birmingham to [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]], where she pounded the pavement to get a recording contract. After being turned down repeadedly, she auditioned for producer [[Billy Sherrill]], who signed her to [[Epic Records]].
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When her youngest child developed [[spinal meningitis]], Wynette tried to make extra money by performing at night. In 1965, she sang on the ''Country Boy Eddie Show'' on WBRC-TV in [[Birmingham, Alabama]], which led to a brief tour with the well known country star [[Porter Wagoner]]. In 1966, she moved with her three girls from Birmingham to [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]], where she pounded the pavement to get a recording contract. After being turned down repeatedly, she auditioned for producer [[Billy Sherrill]], who signed her to [[Epic Records]].
  
 
==Rise to fame==
 
==Rise to fame==
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Sherrill suggested Wynette consider changing her name to something that might make a better impression with the public. According to her 1979 memoir, ''Stand by Your Man'', during their meeting, Wynette was wearing her long, blonde hair in a ponytail, and Sherill noted that she put him in mind of [[Debbie Reynolds]] in the film "[[Tammy and the Bachelor]]." He suggested "Tammy" as a possible name; thus she became Tammy Wynette.
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Sherrill suggested Wynette consider changing her name to something that might make a better impression with the public. In her 1979 memoir, ''Stand by Your Man,'' Wynette relates that she was wearing her long, blond hair in a ponytail at their meeting, and Sherill said she reminded him of [[Debbie Reynolds]] in the film ''[[Tammy and the Bachelor]].'' He suggested "Tammy" as a possible name; thus, she became Tammy Wynette.
  
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Her first single, "Apartment #9" (written by [[Johnny Paycheck]]), was released in late 1966, and reached the top 40 on the U.S. country charts. In 1967 she had hits with "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad," "My Elusive Dreams" (a duet with [[David Houston (singer)|David Houston]]), and "I Don't Wanna Play House," all of which reached the country top ten.
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Her first single, "Apartment #9" (written by [[Johnny Paycheck]]), was released in late 1966, and reached the top 50 on the U.S. country charts. In 1967, she had hits with "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad," "My Elusive Dreams" (a duet with [[David Houston (singer)|David Houston]]), and "I Don't Wanna Play House," all of which reached the country top ten.
  
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Wynette had three number one hits in 1968: "Take Me to Your World," "D-I-V-O-R-C-E," and her best known song, "[[Stand by Your Man]]" (which she said she wrote in fifteen minutes). In 1969, she had two additional number one hits: "Singing My Song" and "The Ways to Love a Man." That same year, Wynette earned a [[Gold record]] (awarded for albums selling in excess of one million copies) for "Tammy Wynette's Greatest Hits."  She was the first female country artist to do so.
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Wynette had three number one hits in 1968: "Take Me to Your World," "D-I-V-O-R-C-E," and her best known song, "[[Stand by Your Man]]" (which she said she wrote in fifteen minutes). In 1969, she had two additional number one hits: "Singing My Song" and "The Ways to Love a Man." That same year, Wynette earned a [[Gold record]] (awarded for albums selling in excess of one million copies) for "Tammy Wynette's Greatest Hits."  She was the first female country artist to do so.  
  
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Director Bob Rafelson used a number of her songs in the soundtrack of his 1970 film [[Five Easy Pieces]]. Her chart success continued into the 1970s with such hits as "Good Lovin' (Makes it Right)" (1971), "He Loves Me All the Way" (1971), "Bedtime Story" (1972), "Kids Say the Darndest Things" (1973), "Woman to Woman" (1974), "You and Me" (1976), "'Til I can Make it on My Own" (1976), and "Womanhood" (1978). [[Image:TammyGoodGirl.jpg|frame|Tammy Wynette's album called ''Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad''. She released a hit single that year by the same name.]]
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During this time, she began a tumultuous relationship with country mega-star [[George Jones]], whom she would later marry. Their collaboration would produce many memorable duets (including the number one hit, "We're Gonna Hold On") and made them in effect, the reigning king and queen of country music. They would continue to record together, even after their divorce, through the mid 1990s.
  
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Wynette married her second husband, Don Chapel, shortly after her first divorce became final. While still married to Chapel, however, around 1968 she began a relationship with the legendary country singer [[George Jones]], one of her girlhood idols. Eventually Wynette parted with her second husband and married Jones in [[Ringgold, Georgia]]. Their daughter, Georgette, was born in 1970.  It was a difficult marriage, however, due largely to Jones' alcoholism, and they were divorced in 1975.  During their years together, they recorded a number of duet albums, starting in 1971, the first being the Top-10 hit "Take Me" (...''to your darkest room, close every window and bolt every door'').  They would continue to record together, even after their divorce, through the mid 1990s.
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Movie director Bob Rafelson used a number of Wynette's songs in the soundtrack of his 1970 film, ''[[Five Easy Pieces]].'' Her chart success continued into the 1970s with such hits as "Good Lovin' (Makes it Right)" (1971), "He Loves Me All the Way" (1971), "Bedtime Story" (1972), "Kids Say the Darnedest Things" (1973), "Woman to Woman" (1974), "You and Me" (1976), "'Til I can Make it on My Own" (1976), and "Womanhood" (1978).
  
 
==Home life and problems==
 
==Home life and problems==
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Aside from her music, Wynette's private life was as tumultuous as many of her songs. Over the course of her life, she had had five husbands:  Euple Byrd (married 1959–divorced 1966); Don Chapel (married 1967–annulled 1968); [[George Jones]] (married 1969–divorced 1975); Michael Tomlin (married 1976–annulled 1976); and George Richey (married 1978–her death 1998). Wynette had a publicized relationship with actor [[Burt Reynolds]] in the 1970s. Her fourth marriage, to Michael Tomlin, lasted only six weeks. However, her marriage to Richey, who later became her manager, proved to be lasting love of her life.
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Wynette married her second husband, Don Chapel, shortly after her first divorce became final. While still married to Chapel, however, around 1968, she began a relationship with the legendary country singer [[George Jones]], one of her girlhood idols. Eventually Wynette parted with her second husband and married Jones. Their daughter, Georgette, was born in 1970. It was a difficult marriage, however, due largely to Jones' alcoholism, and they were divorced in 1975.
  
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Even that relationship, however, was not without controversy. In 1978, Wynette reported that she had been mysteriously abducted by a masked man at a Nashville shopping center, driven 80 miles south in her luxury car, beaten and released. No one was ever arrested or identified. Years later, Tammy's daughter, Jackie Daly, alleged that Tammy told her that the kidnapping story was a fabricated to disguise the fact that George Richey was beating her.
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Wynette's private life was as troubled as many of her songs. Over the course of her life, she had five husbands:  Euple Byrd (married 1959–divorced 1966); Don Chapel (married 1967–annulled 1968); [[George Jones]] (married 1969–divorced 1975); Michael Tomlin (married 1976–annulled 1976); and George Richey (married 1978). Wynette also had a much-publicized relationship with actor [[Burt Reynolds]] in the 1970s.
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Her marriage to Richey, who later became her manager, proved to be the lasting love of her life. Even that relationship, however, was not without controversy. In 1978, Wynette reported that she had been mysteriously abducted by a masked man at a Nashville shopping center, driven 80 miles south in her luxury car, beaten, and released. No one was ever arrested or identified. Years later, Tammy's daughter, Jackie Daly, alleged that Tammy told her that the kidnapping story was a fabricated to disguise the fact that George Richey was beating her.
 
    
 
    
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She also had a number of serious physical ailments beginning in the 1970s, including operations on her gall bladder, kidney and on the nodules on her throat.
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She also had a number of serious physical ailments beginning in the 1970s, including operations on her gall bladder, kidney, and on the nodules on her throat.
  
 
==Later career==
 
==Later career==
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During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Wynette dominated the country charts. She had seventeen number one hits. Along with [[Loretta Lynn]], [[Dolly Parton]] and [[Lynn Anderson]], she helped redefine the role and place of female country singers. Beginning in the early 1980s, however, her chart success began to wane. While her singles and albums continued to reach the country top forty, they occurred with less frequency than the previous decade. Meanwhile, her medical problems continued, including inflammations of her bile duct. In 1986, she acted on the [[CBS]] TV [[soap opera]] ''Capitol''.
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During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Wynette dominated the country charts. She had 17 number one hits and helped redefine the role and place of female country singers. Beginning in the early 1980s, however, her chart success began to wane. While her singles and albums continued to reach the country top 40, big hits were few and far between. Meanwhile, her medical problems continued, including inflammations of her bile duct.
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In 1988, she filed for bankruptcy as a result of a bad investment in two [[Florida]] shopping centers.  Her 1987 album ''Higher Ground'' broke through with a new contemporary sound, broadening her audience.
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''Stand By Your Man'', meanwhile, was becoming truly iconic. First, it had been been brought to a new and much wider audience with hilarious charm in ''The Blues Brothers'' 1980 motion picture, by the unlikely characters of Jake and Elwood Blues. Later, in 1992, future First Lady [[Hillary Rodham Clinton]] said during a ''[[60 Minutes]]'' interview that she was not "some little woman, standing by my man, like Tammy Wynette."  The remark set off a firestorm of controversy, and Mrs. Clinton eventually apologized. Wynette was nonetheless a Clinton supporter and later performed at a Clinton fund raiser.  
  
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''Stand By Your Man'' is sung in ''The Blues Brothers'' 1980 motion picture, by both Jake and Elwood Blues, at Bob's Country Bunker. The two brothers did not know much about country music but at least they knew this song - showing how popular it was (and still is).
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Wynette recorded a song with the [[United Kingdom|British]] [[electronica]] group [[The KLF]] in late 1991, titled "Justified and Ancient (Stand by the JAMs)," which became a number one hit in 18 countries the following year. In the video versions, scrolling electronic titles declared: "Miss Tammy Wynette is the first lady of country music." Wynette appeared seated on a throne.
  
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In 1988, she filed for bankruptcy as a result of a bad investment in two [[Florida]] shopping centers.  Her 1987 album "Higher Ground" broke through with a new contemporary sound, broadening her audience.
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The 1993 album ''Honky Tonk Angels'' gave her a chance to record with [[Dolly Parton]] and [[Loretta Lynn]] for the first time. Though yielding no hit singles, the album did well on the country charts. The following year, she released ''Without Walls,'' a collection of duets with a number of country, pop and rock and roll performers, including [[Wynonna Judd]], [[Elton John]], [[Lyle Lovett]], [[Aaron Neville]], [[Smokey Robinson]], [[Sting (musician)|Sting]], and others. Wynette also designed and sold her own line of jewelry in the 1990s.
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She recorded a song with the [[United Kingdom|British]] [[electronica]] group [[The KLF]] in late 1991 titled "[[Justified and Ancient|Justified and Ancient (Stand by the JAMs)]]," which became a number one hit in eighteen countries the following year. In the video, scrolling electronic titles said that "Miss Tammy Wynette is the first lady of country music." Wynette appeared in the video seated on a throne. Although some saw the inclusion of Wynette as a novel ploy for attention{{Fact|date=February 2007}} to the song - The KLF were well known for scams and stunts - her inclusion was a mark of respect from The KLF and not an after-thought or marketing ploy.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Wynette's vocal performance was exceptional and the song was probably one of the better dance songs of the early 1990s in terms of melodic construction and performance.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
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In 1992, future First Lady [[Hillary Rodham Clinton]] said during a ''[[60 Minutes]]'' interview that she wasn't "some little woman, standing by my man, like Tammy Wynette."  The remark set off a firestorm of controversy and Wynette demanded, and received, an apology from Clinton. (Hillary Clinton's remark aside, Wynette was nonetheless a Clinton supporter, and later performed at a Clinton fundraiser.)
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In 1994, she suffered an abdominal infection that almost killed her. She was in a coma for six days.
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In 1995, she and [[George Jones]] recorded their first new duet album in 13 years. They last performed together in 1997, at Concerts in the Country, in Lanierland, Georgia. Wynette joined with other famous singers on the U.K. number one hit[[Perfect Day]] in 1997, written by [[Lou Reed]] and recorded for charity.
  
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==Comeback==
 
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The 1993 album ''Honky Tonk Angels'' gave her a chance to record with [[Dolly Parton]] and [[Loretta Lynn]] for the first time; though yielding no hit singles, the album did well on the country charts.  The following year, she released ''Without Walls,'' a collection of duets with a number of country, pop and rock and roll performers, including [[Wynonna Judd]], [[Elton John]], [[Lyle Lovett]], [[Aaron Neville]], [[Smokey Robinson]], [[Sting (musician)|Sting]] and a number of others. [[Image:TammyLaterYears.jpg|frame|Tammy Wynette in her later years]]
 
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Wynette also designed and sold her own line of jewelry in the 1990s.  In 1994, she suffered an abdominal infection that almost killed her. She was in a coma for six days.  In 1995, she and George Jones recorded their first new duet album in thirteen years. They last performed together in 1997 at Concerts in the Country Lanierland, Georgia
 
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Wynette lent her vocals on the UK #1 hit [[Perfect Day]] in 1997, which was written by [[Lou Reed]].
 
 
==Death==
 
==Death==
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After years of medical problems, numerous hospitalizations, approximately twenty-six major surgeries and an addiction to large doses of pain medication, Tammy Wynette died at the age of fifty-five while sleeping on the couch in her living room in Nashville, Tennessee. The coroner later declared that she died of a cardiac arrythmia. She is [[burial|interred]] in [[Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery]], Nashville.
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After years of medical problems, numerous hospitalizations, approximately twenty-six major surgeries and an addiction to large doses of pain medication, Tammy Wynette died at the age of 55 on April 6, 1998, while sleeping on the couch in her living room in Nashville, Tennessee. The coroner later declared that she died of a [[cardiac arrhythmia]]. She is [[burial|interred]] in [[Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery]], Nashville.
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==Discography==
 
==Discography==
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| 1973 || "Til' I Get It Right" || ''My Man'' || '''#1''' || -
 
| 1973 || "Til' I Get It Right" || ''My Man'' || '''#1''' || -
 
|-
 
|-
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| 1973 || "Kids Say the Darndest Things" || ''Kids Say the Darndest Things'' || '''#1''' || 72
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| 1973 || "Kids Say the Darnedest Things" || ''Kids Say the Darnedest Things'' || '''#1''' || 72
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1973 || "We're Gonna Hold On" (with [[George Jones]]) || ''We're Gonna Hold On'' || '''#1''' || -
 
| 1973 || "We're Gonna Hold On" (with [[George Jones]]) || ''We're Gonna Hold On'' || '''#1''' || -
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| 1975 || "I Still Believe In Fairytales" || ''I Still Believe In Fairytales'' || 13 || -  
 
| 1975 || "I Still Believe In Fairytales" || ''I Still Believe In Fairytales'' || 13 || -  
 
|-
 
|-
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| 1975 || "You Make Me Want to Be You Mother" || ''I Still Believe In Fairyatles'' || 4 || -
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| 1975 || "You Make Me Want to Be You Mother" || ''I Still Believe In Fairytales'' || 4 || -
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1976 || "Til' I Can Make It On My Own" || ''Til' I Can Make It On My Own'' || '''#1''' || 84
 
| 1976 || "Til' I Can Make It On My Own" || ''Til' I Can Make It On My Own'' || '''#1''' || 84
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| 1972 || ''Me and the First Lady'' || '''#6'''  
 
| 1972 || ''Me and the First Lady'' || '''#6'''  
 
|-
 
|-
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| 1973 || ''Kids Say the Darndest Things'' || '''#3'''  
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| 1973 || ''Kids Say the Darnedest Things'' || '''#3'''  
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 1973 || ''Let's Build a World Together'' || '''#12'''  
 
| 1973 || ''Let's Build a World Together'' || '''#12'''  
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|-
 
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==Awards==  
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==Selected Awards==  
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===Grammy Awards===
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* 1967: [[Best Female Country Vocal Performance]]  
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*1967: [[Grammy Award]] for Best Female Country Vocal Performance ("I Don't Wanna Play House")
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* 1969: [[Best Female Country Vocal Performance]]
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*1967: ''Music City News:'' Most Promising Female Artist of the Year
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*1968: [[Country Music Association]] Female Vocalist Of The Year
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*1969: Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance ("Stand By Your Man")
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*1969: Country Music Association: Female Vocalist of the Year
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*1969: Academy of Country Music]]: Top Female Vocalist
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*1970: Country Music Association: Female Vocalist of the Year
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*1976: Female Vocalist Of Great Britain
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*1991: [[TNN]]/''Music City News:'' Living Legend Award
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*1998: Grammy Hall Of Fame Award
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*1998: Inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame
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*2000: Academy of Country Music Pioneer Award
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==References==
 
==References==
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* Wynette, Tammy, 1979. ''Stand by Your Man''. [[Simon & Schuster]], New York. ISBN 0-671-22884-6
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* Bufwack, Mary.  2003. ''Finding Her Voice: Women in Country Music, 1800-2000''. Vanderbilt University Press. ISBN 978-0826514325 
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* Daly, Jackie, 2000. ''A Daughter Recalls Her Mother's Tragic Life and Death''. [[G.P. Putnam's Sons]] New York. ISBN 0-425-17925-7
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* Daly, Jackie. 2000. ''A Daughter Recalls Her Mother's Tragic Life and Death''. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. ISBN 0-425-17925-7
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==See also==
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* Wynette, Tammy. 1979. ''Stand by Your Man''. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-22884-6
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*[[Academy of Country Music]]
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*[[Country Music Association]]
 
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*[[Country Music Hall of Fame]]
 
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*[[List of country music performers]]
 
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*[[List of best-selling music artists]]
 
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
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* [http://www.tammywynette.com  Official Site]
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All links retrieved February 26, 2023.
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* [http://www.countrymusichalloffame.com/site/inductees.aspx?cid=202&search=GO# Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum — Tammy Wynette]
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* [http://www.tammywynette.com  "Tammy Wynette Official Site"]. ''The Virginia W. Richardson Special Trust''.
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* [http://www.quasimodobell.com/default.aspx/tabid/130/groupid/1528/gingroup/WYNETTE+TAMMY/discography/1 Tammy's Official Discography With Original Picture Sleeve]
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* [https://countrymusichalloffame.org/artist/tammy-wynette/ "Tammy Wynette"] ''Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum''.  
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[[Category:1942 births|Wynette, Tammy]]
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Latest revision as of 04:00, 27 February 2023


Tammy Wynette
Birth name Virginia Wynette Pugh
Also known as Tammy Wynette, "The First Lady of Country Music"
Born May 5, 1942
Origin Tremont, Mississippi
Died April 6, 1998
Genre(s) country music
Instrument(s) vocals/guitar
Years active 1966-1998
Label(s) Epic
Associated acts George Jones
Website Tammywynette.com

Tammy Wynette (May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was a country singer and songwriter. She was known as the "First Lady of Country Music." Wynette's signature song, "Stand by Your Man," was one of the biggest selling hit singles ever and became an icon of the female country vocal genre.

Beginning in 1966, her career spanned 30 years and produced many memorable hits. Wynette's troubled marriage to country star George Jones brought additional fame and produced many fine duet recordings. The emotional tone of her performances and poignant, honest lyrics of her songs made her a "voice" not only as a country singer but also for American women in general.

Early life

Tammy Wynette was born Virginia Wynette Pugh near Tremont, Mississippi, the only child of William Hollis Pugh (died 1943) and Mildred Faye Russell (1922–1991). As a girl, she was called Wynette (pronounced Win-NET), or Nettie, instead of Virginia.

Her father was a farmer and local musician. He died of a brain tumor when Wynette was only nine months of age. Her mother worked in an office, as a substitute school teacher, and on the family farm. After the death of Hollis, Mrs. Pugh left Wynette in the care of her grandparents, Thomas Chester and Flora A. Russell, and moved to Memphis to work in a World War II defense plant. In 1946, she married Foy Lee, a farmer from Mississippi.

Wynette was raised on the Itawamba County farm of her maternal grandparents where she was born. The place was partly on the border with Alabama. Wynette claimed that the state line ran right through their property, joking that that "my top half came from Alabama and my bottom half came from Mississippi." As a youngster, she worked in the fields picking cotton alongside the hired crews. She grew up with her aunt, Carolyn Russell, who was only five years older than she was. Wynette sang gospel tunes with her grandmother and also learned to play the piano and the guitar.

As a child and teenager, country music provided an escape from her hard life. Wynette grew up idolizing Hank Williams, Skeeter Davis, Patsy Cline, and George Jones, and would play their records over and over on the inexpensive children's record player she owned, dreaming of one day being a star herself.

She attended Tremont High School, where she was an all-star basketball player. A month before graduation, she married her first husband, Euple Byrd, a construction worker. Byrd, whom she left before the birth of their third daughter, was not supportive of Wynette's ambition to become a singer. Her early jobs included working as a waitress, a receptionist, a barmaid, and in a shoe factory. In 1963, she attended beauty school in Tupelo, Mississippi, and became a hairdresser. She would renew her cosmetology license every year for the rest of her life, just in case she should have to go back to a daily job.

When her youngest child developed spinal meningitis, Wynette tried to make extra money by performing at night. In 1965, she sang on the Country Boy Eddie Show on WBRC-TV in Birmingham, Alabama, which led to a brief tour with the well known country star Porter Wagoner. In 1966, she moved with her three girls from Birmingham to Nashville, where she pounded the pavement to get a recording contract. After being turned down repeatedly, she auditioned for producer Billy Sherrill, who signed her to Epic Records.

Rise to fame

Sherrill suggested Wynette consider changing her name to something that might make a better impression with the public. In her 1979 memoir, Stand by Your Man, Wynette relates that she was wearing her long, blond hair in a ponytail at their meeting, and Sherill said she reminded him of Debbie Reynolds in the film Tammy and the Bachelor. He suggested "Tammy" as a possible name; thus, she became Tammy Wynette.

Her first single, "Apartment #9" (written by Johnny Paycheck), was released in late 1966, and reached the top 50 on the U.S. country charts. In 1967, she had hits with "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad," "My Elusive Dreams" (a duet with David Houston), and "I Don't Wanna Play House," all of which reached the country top ten.

Wynette had three number one hits in 1968: "Take Me to Your World," "D-I-V-O-R-C-E," and her best known song, "Stand by Your Man" (which she said she wrote in fifteen minutes). In 1969, she had two additional number one hits: "Singing My Song" and "The Ways to Love a Man." That same year, Wynette earned a Gold record (awarded for albums selling in excess of one million copies) for "Tammy Wynette's Greatest Hits." She was the first female country artist to do so.

During this time, she began a tumultuous relationship with country mega-star George Jones, whom she would later marry. Their collaboration would produce many memorable duets (including the number one hit, "We're Gonna Hold On") and made them in effect, the reigning king and queen of country music. They would continue to record together, even after their divorce, through the mid 1990s.

Movie director Bob Rafelson used a number of Wynette's songs in the soundtrack of his 1970 film, Five Easy Pieces. Her chart success continued into the 1970s with such hits as "Good Lovin' (Makes it Right)" (1971), "He Loves Me All the Way" (1971), "Bedtime Story" (1972), "Kids Say the Darnedest Things" (1973), "Woman to Woman" (1974), "You and Me" (1976), "'Til I can Make it on My Own" (1976), and "Womanhood" (1978).

Home life and problems

Wynette married her second husband, Don Chapel, shortly after her first divorce became final. While still married to Chapel, however, around 1968, she began a relationship with the legendary country singer George Jones, one of her girlhood idols. Eventually Wynette parted with her second husband and married Jones. Their daughter, Georgette, was born in 1970. It was a difficult marriage, however, due largely to Jones' alcoholism, and they were divorced in 1975.

Wynette's private life was as troubled as many of her songs. Over the course of her life, she had five husbands: Euple Byrd (married 1959–divorced 1966); Don Chapel (married 1967–annulled 1968); George Jones (married 1969–divorced 1975); Michael Tomlin (married 1976–annulled 1976); and George Richey (married 1978). Wynette also had a much-publicized relationship with actor Burt Reynolds in the 1970s.

Her marriage to Richey, who later became her manager, proved to be the lasting love of her life. Even that relationship, however, was not without controversy. In 1978, Wynette reported that she had been mysteriously abducted by a masked man at a Nashville shopping center, driven 80 miles south in her luxury car, beaten, and released. No one was ever arrested or identified. Years later, Tammy's daughter, Jackie Daly, alleged that Tammy told her that the kidnapping story was a fabricated to disguise the fact that George Richey was beating her.

She also had a number of serious physical ailments beginning in the 1970s, including operations on her gall bladder, kidney, and on the nodules on her throat.

Later career

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Wynette dominated the country charts. She had 17 number one hits and helped redefine the role and place of female country singers. Beginning in the early 1980s, however, her chart success began to wane. While her singles and albums continued to reach the country top 40, big hits were few and far between. Meanwhile, her medical problems continued, including inflammations of her bile duct.

In 1988, she filed for bankruptcy as a result of a bad investment in two Florida shopping centers. Her 1987 album Higher Ground broke through with a new contemporary sound, broadening her audience.

Stand By Your Man, meanwhile, was becoming truly iconic. First, it had been been brought to a new and much wider audience with hilarious charm in The Blues Brothers 1980 motion picture, by the unlikely characters of Jake and Elwood Blues. Later, in 1992, future First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton said during a 60 Minutes interview that she was not "some little woman, standing by my man, like Tammy Wynette." The remark set off a firestorm of controversy, and Mrs. Clinton eventually apologized. Wynette was nonetheless a Clinton supporter and later performed at a Clinton fund raiser.

Wynette recorded a song with the British electronica group The KLF in late 1991, titled "Justified and Ancient (Stand by the JAMs)," which became a number one hit in 18 countries the following year. In the video versions, scrolling electronic titles declared: "Miss Tammy Wynette is the first lady of country music." Wynette appeared seated on a throne.

The 1993 album Honky Tonk Angels gave her a chance to record with Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn for the first time. Though yielding no hit singles, the album did well on the country charts. The following year, she released Without Walls, a collection of duets with a number of country, pop and rock and roll performers, including Wynonna Judd, Elton John, Lyle Lovett, Aaron Neville, Smokey Robinson, Sting, and others. Wynette also designed and sold her own line of jewelry in the 1990s.

In 1994, she suffered an abdominal infection that almost killed her. She was in a coma for six days.

In 1995, she and George Jones recorded their first new duet album in 13 years. They last performed together in 1997, at Concerts in the Country, in Lanierland, Georgia. Wynette joined with other famous singers on the U.K. number one hitPerfect Day in 1997, written by Lou Reed and recorded for charity.

Death

After years of medical problems, numerous hospitalizations, approximately twenty-six major surgeries and an addiction to large doses of pain medication, Tammy Wynette died at the age of 55 on April 6, 1998, while sleeping on the couch in her living room in Nashville, Tennessee. The coroner later declared that she died of a cardiac arrhythmia. She is interred in Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Nashville.

Discography

Hit singles

Year Single Album U.S. Country U.S. Hot 100
1967 "Apartment No. 9" Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad 44 -
1967 "I Don't Wanna Play House" Take Me To Your World/I Don't Wanna Play House #1 -
1967 "My Elusive Dreams" My Elusive Dreams #1 89
1967 "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad" Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad 3 -
1968 "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" D-I-V-O-R-C-E #1 89
1968 "Take Me To Your World" Take Me To Your World/I Don't Wanna Play House #1 -
1969 "Stand by Your Man" Stand by Your Man #1 19
1969 "The Ways to Love a Man" The Ways to Love a Man #1 89
1970 "He Loves Me All the Way" Tammy's Touch #1 97
1970 "I'll See Him Through" Tammy's Touch 2 100
1970 "Run, Woman Run" The First Lady #1 92
1971 "Good Lovin' (Makes It Right)" My Man #1 -
1971 "We Can Sure Love Each Other" We Can Sure Love Each Other 2 -
1971 "The Wonders You Perform" Tammy's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 5 -
1972 "Bedtime Story" Bedtime Story #1 86
1972 "My Man" My Man #1 -
1972 "Reach Out Your Hand" Bedtime Story 2 -
1972 "Take Me" We Go Together 9 -
1973 "Til' I Get It Right" My Man #1 -
1973 "Kids Say the Darnedest Things" Kids Say the Darnedest Things #1 72
1973 "We're Gonna Hold On" (with George Jones) We're Gonna Hold On #1 -
1974 "We're Not the Jet Set" (with George Jones) We're Gonna Hold On 15 -
1974 "Another Lonely Song" Another Lonely Song #1 -
1974 "Woman to Woman" Woman to Woman 4 -
1975 "I Still Believe In Fairytales" I Still Believe In Fairytales 13 -
1975 "You Make Me Want to Be You Mother" I Still Believe In Fairytales 4 -
1976 "Til' I Can Make It On My Own" Til' I Can Make It On My Own #1 84
1976 "Golden Ring" Golden Ring #1 -
1976 "You and Me" You and Me #1 -
1977 "Let's Get Together (One Last Time)" Let's Get Together 6 -
1977 "Near You" Golden Ring #1 -
1977 "One of a Kind" One of a Kind 6 -
1977 "Southern California" Golden Ring 5 -
1978 "Womanhood" Womanhood 3 -
1979 "They Call It Making Love" Just Tammy 6 -
1980 "He Was There (When I Needed You)" Only Lonely Sometimes 17 -
1980 "Two Story House" Together Again 2 -
1980 "A Pair of Old Sneakers" Together Again 19 -
1982 "Another Chance" Soft Touch 8 -
1983 "A Good Night's Love" Good Love & Heartbreak 19 -
1987 "Talkin' to Myself Again" Higher Ground 16 -
1987 "Your Love" Higher Ground 12 -
1998 "Stand by Your Man" - 56 -

Albums

Year Album U.S. Country
1967 My Elusive Dreams #11
1967 Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad #7
1968 D-I-V-O-R-C-E #1
1969 Inspiration #19
1969 Stand by Your Man #2
1969 Tammy's Greatest Hits #2
1970 Christmas With Tammy -
1970 Tammy's Touch #1
1970 The First Lady #2
1970 The Ways to Love a Man #3
1970 The World of Tammy Wynette #8
1971 Tammy's Greatest Hits: Volume 2 #5
1971 We Go Together #3
1971 We Can Sure Love Each Other #8
1972 Bedtime Story #7
1972 Me and the First Lady #6
1973 Kids Say the Darnedest Things #3
1973 Let's Build a World Together #12
1973 My Man #2
1973 The First Songs of the First Lady #17
1974 Another Lonely Song #8
1974 We're Gonna Hold On #3
1974 Woman to Woman #21
1975 George & Tammy & Tina #37
1975 I Still Believe in Fairytales #24
1975 Tammy Wynette's Greatest Hits: Volume 3 #28
1976 Til' I Can Make It On My Own #3
1976 Golden Ring #1
1976 You and Me #4
1977 Greatest Hits #23
1977 Let's Go Together #19
1977 One of a Kind #32
1978 Greatest Hits: Volume 4 #37
1978 Womanhood #14
1979 Just Tammy #25
1980 Only Lonely Sometimes #37
1980 Starting Over #17
1981 Together Again #26
1981 Cowboys Don't Shoot Straight Like They Used To #21
1981 Crying In the Rain #18
1981 Encore #44
1983 Biggest Hits #64
1983 Even the Strong Get Lonely #66
1983 Good Love and Heartbreak #62
1985 Sometimes When We Touch #32
1987 Higher Ground #43
1989 Next to You #42
1990 Heart Over Mind #64
1993 Honky Tonk Angels #6
1995 One #12

Selected Awards

  • 1967: Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance ("I Don't Wanna Play House")
  • 1967: Music City News: Most Promising Female Artist of the Year
  • 1968: Country Music Association Female Vocalist Of The Year
  • 1969: Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance ("Stand By Your Man")
  • 1969: Country Music Association: Female Vocalist of the Year
  • 1969: Academy of Country Music]]: Top Female Vocalist
  • 1970: Country Music Association: Female Vocalist of the Year
  • 1976: Female Vocalist Of Great Britain
  • 1991: TNN/Music City News: Living Legend Award
  • 1998: Grammy Hall Of Fame Award
  • 1998: Inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame
  • 2000: Academy of Country Music Pioneer Award

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Bufwack, Mary. 2003. Finding Her Voice: Women in Country Music, 1800-2000. Vanderbilt University Press. ISBN 978-0826514325
  • Daly, Jackie. 2000. A Daughter Recalls Her Mother's Tragic Life and Death. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. ISBN 0-425-17925-7
  • Wynette, Tammy. 1979. Stand by Your Man. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-22884-6

External links

All links retrieved February 26, 2023.

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