Major Works
#1 Songs
- My Elusive Dreams”(1967)
- “I Don’t Wanna Play House” (1967)
- “Take Me To Your World” (1968)
- “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” (1968)
- “Stand By Your Man” (1968)
- “Singing My Song” (1969)
- “The Ways to Love a Man” (1969)
- “He Loves Me All the Way” (1970)
- “Run Woman Run” (1970)
- “Good Lovin” (Makes It Right)” (1971)
- “Bedtime Story” (1972)
- “My Man” (1972))
- “‘Til I Get It Right” (1973)
- “Kids Say the Darndest Things” (1973))
- “We’re Gonna Hold On” (1973)
- “Another Lonely Song” (1974))
- “Till I Can Make It On My Own” (1976)
- “Golden Ring” (1976))
- “You and Me” (1976)
- “Near You” (1976)
- “Justified and Ancient” (1992)
Book
- Stand By Your Man
Tammy Wynette: A Biography
Kymberly Randle, SHS Researcher
by Kymberly Randle (SHS)
Virginia Wynette Pugh, better known as Tammy Wynette, was born on May 5, 1942, in Itawamba County, Mississippi. When she was only eight months old, her father died of a brain tumor. As a result of that, her mother worked in Birmingham, Alabama, at an aircraft factory during World War II. While her mother was working, Tammy was put in the care of her grandparents. By the time she was eight years old, she was picking cotton, but she always kept the dream inside of her to be a singer. (Wilson 3).
Tammy Wynette had her share of men during her life. She was married five times and had five kids. Her first husband was Euple Byrd. She married him at the age of seventeen in 1959. They moved to Tupelo, Mississippi, and during this time they had four children: Gwen, Tina, Jackie, and Denise. Around the time Denise was born, Tammy’s marriage to Euple Byrd started to fall apart. They finally divorced and , in 1967, she married Don Chapel. Her marriage to Don Chapel only lasted a year, and they did not have any children together. After her divorce from Chapel, she married country singer George Jones. She stayed married to George for seven or eight years. In the meantime, they recorded numerous duets including: “We’re Gonna Hold On” (1973), “Golden Ring” (1976), “Near You” (1976), “Southern California” (1977), “Two Story House” (1980). ( Gregory .252). In 1970, they became the parents of a daughter named Georgette. In 1975, after a long marriage to
George Jones, they also divorced. She married and divorced Michael Tomlin in 1976. Finally, her marriage to George Richey was the right one. They were married in 1978, and he became her manager. When she died in 1998, she had been married to Richey over twenty years.
Tammy had two jobs in her life; she was a beautician and a country singer. In 1959, she became a beautician in Birmingham, Alabama, to pay for her daughter’s hospital bills. She sang in nightclubs and began to appear on TV shows. But in 1966 she got her big break. Tammy signed with Billy Sherill at Epic Records and recorded her first debut single “”Apartment #9”, beginning her singing career. In the meantime, the decision was made to change her name from Virginia Wynette Pugh to Tammy Wynette. They chose “Tammy” because it was a popular name back then. (Wilson-Potter 4).
During her career, Tammy won numerous awards including Most Promising Female Artist (1967), CMA female vocalist (1968, 1969, 1970), ACM’s female vocalist (1969), Living Legend Award (1991), two Grammy Awards (1967 and 1969), and sixteen BMI songwriting awards. Tammy Wynette died in her home in Nashville, Tennessee, on April 13, 1998, at the age of fifty-five.
Timeline
- 1942- Born on May 5 as Virginia Wynette Pugh in Itawamba County, Mississippi. Picked cotton in grandparent’s farm.
- 1959- Married Euple Bird at age of seventeen.
- 1961- Her daughter Wen was born.
- 1962- Her daughter Jack was born.
- 1963- Went to beautician school in Tupelo, Mississippi.
- 1965- Her daughter Tina was born; she got divorced from Euple Bird; Got a job singing on T.V. in Birmingham, Alabama; while still working as a beautician and living in the projects with her children.
- 1966- She moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and auditioned for Billy Cheryl at Epic Records; they decided to change her name to Tammy Wine; her first debut single “Apartment #9” was released.
- 1967- Married to Don Chapel; did a recording duet with David Houston. “Your Girl’s Gone Go Bad” and “I Don’t Wanner Play House” both became hits; she also won a Grammy.
- 1968- She and Don Chapel divorced, three more of Tammy’s songs became hits: “Stand By Your Man”, “Take Me to Your World”, and “D-I-V-O-R-C-E.”
- 1969- “Stand By Your Man” won a Grammy Award. She married George Jones.
- 1970- Her daughter Georgette was born.
- 1975- She divorced George Jones
- 1976- She married Michael Timeline and then divorced him.
- 1978- She married George Richly; he became her manager; a kidnapper abducted her.
- 1979- Published her autobiographical book Stand By Your Man.
- 1982- Stand By Your Man became a successful movie.
- 1986- Went to Betty Ford Center for addiction to pain medicine; hosted twenty-first Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.
- 1990- The host of twenty-fifth Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.
- 1994- The host of The Legends of Country Music. Released Without Walls
- 1998- Tammy Wynette dies at the age of fifty-five. Cause of death unknown, but believed to have been a blood clot.
Related Websites
- Tammy Wynette: First Lady of Country Music
- CMT Artists: Tammy Wynette
- Tammy Wynette: The ‘Tragic Country Queen’ (NPR Music)
Bibliography
- Cunningham, John. “Tammy Wynette’s Driveway.” at http://driveways.com/wynette.htm. April 14, 1998.
- Dawidoff, Nicholas. “Just Put That Sad Back in the Bottle.” In The Country of Country; People and Places in American Music. New York: Pantheon Books, 1997. 207-213.
- Gregory, Hugh. Who’s Who in Country Music. London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson. 1993. 252.
- “Tammy Wynette Credits.” at http://www.celebsite.com/people/tammy wynette/content/credits.html April 14, 1998.
- Wilson-Potter, Kris. “Tammy Wynette Dies at 55.” at http://countrymusic.miningco.com/library/extras/blwynette-obit.htm. April 14, 1998.
- “Wynette, Tammy.” at http://www.music.sony.com/Music/ArtistInfo/TammyWynette_WithoutWalls.html April 14, 1998.