Tammy Wynette
May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998
Tammy Wynette was rightfully known as the “First Lady of Country Music” due in part to her domination of the country music charts during the late ’60s and early ’70s. With hits like “Stand By Your Man,” and “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” she personified female country singers of the era. Her songs reached the top of the country music charts 17 times and earned her two Grammys. In 1969, Wynette married George Jones, with whom she had several more hits as his duet partner. A couple little know facts about Wynette were that she was a stand-out basketball player in high school, and that she renewed her cosmetology license every year so she’d have something to fall back on. She was also the voice of Hank Hill’s mother on King Of The Hill. As is generally the case with country stars of the ’60s and ’70s, Wynette’s popularity waned in the ’80s, but she found a new popularity in 1991 when she teamed up with British electronic band the KLF on “Justified And Ancient (Stand By The JAMs)”, a number one hit throughout much of the world. A couple of years later, she joined forces with Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn for the great Honky Tonk Angels album. Wynette suffered from numerous health problems throughout her life resulting in over two dozen major surgeries. Her body finally gave in on April 6, 1998, when she died in her sleep from a pulmonary blood clot.
What You Should Own
When I was a little girl my mom played Tammy Wynette records on our phonograph player and we sang along. Stand by Your Man and D-I-V-O-R-C-E were the two songs I remember the most. I would belt out the lyrics when I sang, just like Tammy.
She was a huge influence on me growing up, the way she sang she represented a strong woman, who set an example for women everywhere, both by ‘standing by her man’ to ‘standing up for herself’ when the times got rough.
I’ll always remember her in my heart and in my songs that reflect a woman’s feelings of frustration, defiance and determination, a few of which will be on my new album “Indiana Rain”, due out this May.
Sandy Kastel, Author and Recording Artist
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The sad thing is I was born the exact day she died