Died On This Date (April 6, 1998) Tammy Wynette / The First Lady Of Country Music
themusicsover 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.
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