Thursday, December 15, 2011

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Tammy Wynette

Artist:Tammy Wynette
Song:Stand By Your Man
Album:Anniversary: 20 Years Of Hits





Tammy Wynette was one of the most popular country music artists of the 70s. She had 17 number one country music hits but Stand By Your Man was the only one to cross over to the pop charts. It is considered her signature song. She was born Virginia Wynette Pugh May 5, 1942 in Itawamba County MS. She was always known by her middle name Wynette or Nettie. Her father died from a brain tumor when she was nine months old. He was a farmer and local musician. Her mom had to move to Memphis to work so Wynette was raised on her grandparents' farm. She learned to play guitar as a child. While still in high school, Wynette married her first husband Euple Byrd. The marriage didn't last long but Wynette had three children and the youngest had spinal meningitis. She went to beauty school and became a hairdresser but earned extra money singing in clubs at night. An appearance on a 1965 Birmingham TV show led to a move to Nashville in 1966. After many auditions, producer Billy Sherrill signed her to Epic Records. The first thing he did was change her name. He thought she looked like Debbie Reynolds in Tammy & The Bachelor so she was named Tammy Wynette. Sherrill not only produced Wynette's records but wrote a lot of the songs. And though he became one of the top producers of the 70s, this was his first big gig. Wynette had several country music hits but really caught on with D-I-V-O-R-C-E and Stand By Your Man in 1969. Not only was Stand By Your Man a number one country hit but it reached #19 on the Billboard Hot 100. Sherrill and Wynette wrote the song in 15 minutes while in the recording studio. It also won her a Grammy and appeared in Bob Rafelson's 1970 film Five Easy Pieces. She also married George Jones and had some hits with him. They divorced in 1975. Tammy Wynette ruled the country charts for the first half of the 70s. Then she started to fade but continued to perform through the 90s. You can get all her hits on this budget comp. She married George Richey in 1978 and they remained together until her death. Tammy Wynette had several health problems including an addiction to painkillers. She died in her sleep on Apr. 6, 1998 at age 55. When her daughters accused Richey of being responsible for her death, Wynette's body was exhumed in 1999 and Richey was cleared. She died of natural causes. There's not much question that Tammy Wynette was a legend of country music. She was a tremendous singer. Here's Tammy Wynette performing Stand By Your Man in the 1969 film From Nashville With Music.

No comments:

Post a Comment