Tammy Wynette

Tammy Wynette - Songwriters, Family and Personal Life

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Tammy Wynette Biography Stories 

Tammy Wynette's Personal Details

Tammy Wynette was a Grammy Award-winning American country music singer-songwriter

InformationDetail
BirthdayMay 5, 1942
Died onApril 6, 1998
NationalityAmerican
FamousLyricists & Songwriters, Singers, Country Singers, Songwriters
HobbiesSinging
City/StateMississippi
SpousesGeorge Jones, George Richey
Known asVirginia Wynette Pugh
ChildrensGwendolyn Lee Byrd, Jackie Daly, Tamala Georgette Jones, Tina Denise Byrd
Birth PlaceBounds
Height157
GenderFemale
FatherWilliam Hollice Pugh
Sun SignTaurus
Born inBounds
Famous asSinger
Died at Age55

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Tammy Wynette's photo

Who is Tammy Wynette?

Tammy Wynette was an American country music singer-songwriter, who rose to fame with her best-selling single ‘Stand by Your Man’. Rightly known as the ‘First Lady of Country Music’, she gave some of blockbuster songs in the country music genre. While she was at the peak of her singing career, she recorded 23 No. 1 songs during the 1960s and 1970s. She ventured into singing to support her kids financially and pay the medical bills of her youngest daughter, Tina, who was diagnosed with spinal meningitis. Apart from releasing solo hits, she also recorded various duets with female singers, improving the image of women in country music during her time. Eventually, her pairing with country music singer, George Jones, proved fruitful as she charted a series of hit albums and singles during the 1970s and early 1980s. Some of her best-selling songs included ‘Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad’, ‘My Elusive Dreams’, ‘D-I-V-O-R-C-E’, ‘The Ways to Love a Man’, ‘Run, Woman Run’, ‘My Man’, ‘You and Me’, ‘Near You’, ‘Good Lovin’, and ‘Golden Ring’. Her solo and duet singles were honored with various awards

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Childhood & Early Life

Tammy Wynette was born as Virginia Wynette Pugh on May 5, 1942, in Tremont, Itawamba County, Mississippi, to a farmer and local musician William Hollice Pugh and Mildred Faye Pugh.

Her father died of brain tumor when she was just eight months old, after which she was left at her maternal grandparents’ home, while her mother relocated to Memphis to work in a defense plant during Second World War.

She got familiar with different musical instruments while spending her childhood with sharecropper grandparents. She completed her schooling from Tremont High School.

In 1963, she enrolled in American Beauty College in Birmingham, Alabama, to become a hairdresser.

Career

Initially, she took up various blue-collar jobs, such as receptionist, waitress, barmaid, and factory worker to support her family.

She worked as a hairdresser and beautician, but later took up nightclub singing to earn extra money for her daughter, Tina, who suffered from spinal meningitis.

In 1965, she debuted on television with WBRC-TV’s ‘Country Boy Eddie Show’, after which she performed on ‘The Porter Wagoner Show’.

She relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1966 and successfully auditioned for producer Billy Sherrill, after being rejected by almost all recording companies.

She recorded her debut single ‘Apartment No. 9’ in December 1966. ‘Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad’ released in early 1967 and reached No. 3. Subsequently, ‘My Elusive Dream’s and ‘I Don’t Wanna Play House’ rose to top spots.

A series of No. 1 hits followed in 1968 and 1969, including ‘Take Me to Your World’, ‘D-I-V-O-R-C-E’, ‘Stand by your Man’, ‘The Ways to Love a Man’, and ‘Singing my Song’.

Her 1971 ‘The Wonders You Perform’ became very popular in Italy and was re-recorded in Italian as ‘Domani e un altro giorno’ by Ornella Vanoni.

Apart from solo singles, she ruled the country charts with several duets with female country singers, such as Loretta Lynn, Barbara Mandrell, Lynn Anderson, Dottie West, and Dolly Parton.

She recorded numerous hit duets with her music idol George Jones. Some of them were ‘Take Me’ (1971), ‘We’re Gonna Hold On’ (1973), ‘Golden Ring’ (1976), ‘Southern California’ (1977), and ‘Two Story House’ (1980).

Her single ‘You and Me’ (1976) was her last No. 1 solo hit, while the duet ‘Near You’ (1977) with George Jones, was her final No. 1 song.

Leaving aside the top spot, she figured in the top 10 until 1980, giving hit singles, like ‘Let’s Get Together’ (1977), ‘One of a Kind’ (1977), ‘Womanhood’ (1978), and ‘No One Else in this World’ (1979).

A TV movie titled ‘Stand by Your Man’ was filmed on her life in 1981, starring Annette O’Toole in the lead.

Her career started slowing down in the early 1980s, though she figured in the top 20 with singles like ‘Starting Over’ (1980), ‘You Still Get to Me in My Dreams’ (1982), ‘Another Chance’ (1982), and ‘A Good Night’s Love’ (1983).

Her albums during the late 1980s - ‘Sometimes When We Touch’ (1985), ‘Higher Ground’ (1987), and ‘Next to You’ (1989) faired pretty well.

In 1986, she acted as beautician-singer Darlene Stankowski on CBS TV’s soap opera ‘Capitol’.

She recorded ‘Heart Over Mind’ (1990), ‘Honky Tonk Angels’ (1993), ‘Without Walls’ (1994), ‘Girl Thang’ (1994), and ‘One’ (1995) through 1990s, but her decline continued.

Her 1991 song ‘Justified and Ancient (Stand by the JAMs)’, collaborated with British electronic duo ‘The KLF’, was a surprise hit on the dance charts. It topped the charts in 18 nations in 1992.

She continued to perform live concerts till 1997.

Major Works

Her 1969 single ‘Stand By Your Man’ topped the country charts and reached No. 19 on Billboard pop charts, eventually becoming the best-selling single by a woman in the history of country music.

Her solo career graph shot up during 1970s when she recorded No. 1 singles regularly - ‘He Loves Me All the Way’ (1970), ‘Run Woman, Run’ (1970), ‘Bedtime Story’ (1972), ‘My Man’ (1972), and ‘Til’ I Get It Right (1973).

In 1976, she recorded ‘Til I Can Make It on My Own’, said to be based on her recent divorce from Jones, which became one of her signature songs, topping the US country single charts and reaching No. 84 on pop single charts.

Awards & Achievements

In 1967, she received a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for ‘I Don’t Wanna Play House’.

Her single ‘Stand by your Man’ won the Best Female Country Vocal Performance at the Grammy Awards, in 1969.

Her album ‘Tammy’s Greatest Hits’ won the Gold record in 1970, for selling more than 500,000 copies. In 1989, the album received Platinum for crossing 1,000,000 copies.

She bagged the ‘Female Vocalist of the Year’ at the Country Music Association Awards in 1968, thereby becoming the second female vocalist to win such honor. She received the award for the next two consecutive years.

In 1998, she was inducted into Country Music Hall of Fame posthumously.

Personal Life & Legacy

In 1960, she married Euple Byrd, a construction worker, at 17. The couple had three daughters – Gwendolyn Lee Byrd (1961), Jacquelyn Faye Byrd (1962), and Tina Denise Byrd (1965). The two divorced in 1966.

She married country singer, Don Chapel, in 1967, but divorced him in 1968.

She married her third husband George Jones in 1969, who legally adopted her three daughters. The couple had a daughter, Tamala Georgette Jones, in 1970.

Her fourth wedding to real estate executive, Michael Tomlin, in July 1976 lasted for only 44 days, ending in September 1976.

She married singer-songwriter George Richardson, professionally known as George Richey, in 1978.

Her health deteriorated during the 1970s, after developing a chronic inflammation of the bile duct, for which she was hospitalized and underwent 30 surgical procedures till her death.

She died in her sleep at her Nashville home on April 6, 1998, from a heart failure caused by a blood clot.

She was buried in Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Nashville. However, her body was exhumed and re-interred at Woodlawn Cross Mausoleum in 1999.

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Tammy Wynette biography timelines

  • // 5th May 1942
    Tammy Wynette was born as Virginia Wynette Pugh on May 5, 1942, in Tremont, Itawamba County, Mississippi, to a farmer and local musician William Hollice Pugh and Mildred Faye Pugh.
  • // 1960 To 1966
    In 1960, she married Euple Byrd, a construction worker, at 17. The couple had three daughters – Gwendolyn Lee Byrd (1961), Jacquelyn Faye Byrd (1962), and Tina Denise Byrd (1965). The two divorced in 1966.
  • // 1963
    In 1963, she enrolled in American Beauty College in Birmingham, Alabama, to become a hairdresser.
  • // 1965
    In 1965, she debuted on television with WBRC-TV’s ‘Country Boy Eddie Show’, after which she performed on ‘The Porter Wagoner Show’.
  • // 1966
    She relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1966 and successfully auditioned for producer Billy Sherrill, after being rejected by almost all recording companies.
  • // Dec 1966 To 1967
    She recorded her debut single ‘Apartment No. 9’ in December 1966. ‘Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad’ released in early 1967 and reached No. 3. Subsequently, ‘My Elusive Dream’s and ‘I Don’t Wanna Play House’ rose to top spots.
  • // 1967
    In 1967, she received a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for ‘I Don’t Wanna Play House’.
  • // 1967 To 1968
    She married country singer, Don Chapel, in 1967, but divorced him in 1968.
  • // 1968 To 1969
    A series of No. 1 hits followed in 1968 and 1969, including ‘Take Me to Your World’, ‘D-I-V-O-R-C-E’, ‘Stand by your Man’, ‘The Ways to Love a Man’, and ‘Singing my Song’.
  • // 1968
    She bagged the ‘Female Vocalist of the Year’ at the Country Music Association Awards in 1968, thereby becoming the second female vocalist to win such honor. She received the award for the next two consecutive years.
  • // 1969
    Her 1969 single ‘Stand By Your Man’ topped the country charts and reached No. 19 on Billboard pop charts, eventually becoming the best-selling single by a woman in the history of country music.
  • // 1969
    Her single ‘Stand by your Man’ won the Best Female Country Vocal Performance at the Grammy Awards, in 1969.
  • // 1969 To 1970
    She married her third husband George Jones in 1969, who legally adopted her three daughters. The couple had a daughter, Tamala Georgette Jones, in 1970.
  • // 1970 To 1973
    Her solo career graph shot up during 1970s when she recorded No. 1 singles regularly - ‘He Loves Me All the Way’ (1970), ‘Run Woman, Run’ (1970), ‘Bedtime Story’ (1972), ‘My Man’ (1972), and ‘Til’ I Get It Right (1973).
  • // 1970 To 1989
    Her album ‘Tammy’s Greatest Hits’ won the Gold record in 1970, for selling more than 500,000 copies. In 1989, the album received Platinum for crossing 1,000,000 copies.
  • // 1971
    Her 1971 ‘The Wonders You Perform’ became very popular in Italy and was re-recorded in Italian as ‘Domani e un altro giorno’ by Ornella Vanoni.
  • // 1971 To 1980
    She recorded numerous hit duets with her music idol George Jones. Some of them were ‘Take Me’ (1971), ‘We’re Gonna Hold On’ (1973), ‘Golden Ring’ (1976), ‘Southern California’ (1977), and ‘Two Story House’ (1980).
  • // 1976 To 1977
    Her single ‘You and Me’ (1976) was her last No. 1 solo hit, while the duet ‘Near You’ (1977) with George Jones, was her final No. 1 song.
  • // 1976
    In 1976, she recorded ‘Til I Can Make It on My Own’, said to be based on her recent divorce from Jones, which became one of her signature songs, topping the US country single charts and reaching No. 84 on pop single charts.
  • // Sep 1976
    Her fourth wedding to real estate executive, Michael Tomlin, in July 1976 lasted for only 44 days, ending in September 1976.
  • // 1977 To 1980
    Leaving aside the top spot, she figured in the top 10 until 1980, giving hit singles, like ‘Let’s Get Together’ (1977), ‘One of a Kind’ (1977), ‘Womanhood’ (1978), and ‘No One Else in this World’ (1979).
  • // 1978
    She married singer-songwriter George Richardson, professionally known as George Richey, in 1978.
  • // 1980 To 1982
    Her career started slowing down in the early 1980s, though she figured in the top 20 with singles like ‘Starting Over’ (1980), ‘You Still Get to Me in My Dreams’ (1982), ‘Another Chance’ (1982), and ‘A Good Night’s Love’ (1983).
  • // 1981
    A TV movie titled ‘Stand by Your Man’ was filmed on her life in 1981, starring Annette O’Toole in the lead.
  • // 1985 To 1989
    Her albums during the late 1980s - ‘Sometimes When We Touch’ (1985), ‘Higher Ground’ (1987), and ‘Next to You’ (1989) faired pretty well.
  • // 1986
    In 1986, she acted as beautician-singer Darlene Stankowski on CBS TV’s soap opera ‘Capitol’.
  • // 1990 To 1995
    She recorded ‘Heart Over Mind’ (1990), ‘Honky Tonk Angels’ (1993), ‘Without Walls’ (1994), ‘Girl Thang’ (1994), and ‘One’ (1995) through 1990s, but her decline continued.
  • // 1991 To 1992
    Her 1991 song ‘Justified and Ancient (Stand by the JAMs)’, collaborated with British electronic duo ‘The KLF’, was a surprise hit on the dance charts. It topped the charts in 18 nations in 1992.
  • // 1997
    She continued to perform live concerts till 1997.
  • // 1998
    In 1998, she was inducted into Country Music Hall of Fame posthumously.
  • // 6th Apr 1998
    She died in her sleep at her Nashville home on April 6, 1998, from a heart failure caused by a blood clot.

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Tammy Wynette's FAQ

  • What is Tammy Wynette birthday?

    Tammy Wynette was born at 1942-05-05

  • When was Tammy Wynette died?

    Tammy Wynette was died at 1998-04-06

  • Where was Tammy Wynette died?

    Tammy Wynette was died in Nashville

  • Which age was Tammy Wynette died?

    Tammy Wynette was died at age 55

  • Where is Tammy Wynette's birth place?

    Tammy Wynette was born in Bounds

  • What is Tammy Wynette nationalities?

    Tammy Wynette's nationalities is American

  • What is Tammy Wynette hobbies?

    Tammy Wynette's hobbies is Singing

  • Who is Tammy Wynette spouses?

    Tammy Wynette's spouses is George Jones, George Richey

  • Who is Tammy Wynette childrens?

    Tammy Wynette's childrens is Gwendolyn Lee Byrd, Jackie Daly, Tamala Georgette Jones, Tina Denise Byrd

  • How tall is Tammy Wynette?

    Tammy Wynette's height is 157

  • Who is Tammy Wynette's father?

    Tammy Wynette's father is William Hollice Pugh

  • What is Tammy Wynette's sun sign?

    Tammy Wynette is Taurus

  • How famous is Tammy Wynette?

    Tammy Wynette is famouse as Singer