Tammy Wynette: an American Tragedy biography
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[h3]Virginia Wynette Pugh was the only child of William Hollice Pugh and Mildred Faye Russell. William was a farmer and local musician but sadly died of a brain tumour when Wynette was only nine-months-old. Mildred worked in an office, as a substitute school teacher, as well as on the family farm. [/h3]

After the death of Hollice, Mildred left Wynette in the care of her parents Thomas Chester and Flora A. Russell and moved to Memphis to work in a World War II armaments factory. She remarried a farmer in 1946.

Wynette was raised on the farm of her grandparents and as a youngster worked in the fields picking cotton alongside the hired crews to get in the crop. She grew up with her aunt Carolyn, who was only five years older than she was, and often sang gospel tunes with her grandmother as well as learning to play the piano and the guitar.

A month before graduation from Tremont High School, Wynette married her first husband, Euple Byrd. Byrd was a construction worker, but had trouble holding down a job and consequently they would move several times.

Wynette took work as a waitress, receptionist, and barmaid, and in 1963, she attended beauty school in Mississippi to become a hairdresser. She continued to renew her cosmetology license every year for the rest of her life, just in case she should have to go back to a daily job. She left Byrd before the birth of their third daughter as he showed no support in her strong ambition to become a country singer.

After performing at night to make extra money, Wynette enjoyed her first small break in 1965, when she sang on the Country Boy Eddie Show in Alabama. The following year she Wynette moved from Alabama with her three daughters to Nashville, Tennessee, where she began her fight to get a recording contract. After being turned down repeatedly by every other record company she'd met with, Wynette auditioned for producer Billy Sherrill, who finally signed her to Epic Records.

Once signed to Epic, Sherrill suggested that Wynette change her name to make a bolder impression on her audience. Apparently Wynette was wearing her long, blonde hair in a ponytail, and Sherill noted that she reminded him of [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/465:0/Debbie_Reynolds.htm]Debbie Reynolds[/urlnew] in the film Tammy and the Bachelor and so suggested Tammy as a possible name; thus Tammy Wynette was born. Her first single, Apartment #9, was released in 1966, and reached the top forty on the U.S. country charts.

In 1967, Wynette’s success continued with the hits Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad, My Elusive Dreams and I Don't Wanna Play House, all of which reached the country top ten. Three number one hits followed in 1968 and in the same year, Wynette was rewarded with a gold record for her album Tammy Wynette's Greatest Hits which had sold in excess of a million copies. She was the first female country artist to gain such recognition. Chart success continued into the 1970s with such hits as Good Lovin' (Makes it Right) (1971) and You and Me (1976).
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Wynette married her second husband, Don Chapel, shortly after her divorce from Byrd became final in 1967. However, she began a relationship with George Jones, a legendary country performer with a known alcoholism problem while still married to Chapel. She eventually parted with Chapel and married Jones in 1969, with whom she had her daughter Georgette in 1970. Jones’ drinking made the marriage difficult though and the couple were divorced in 1975. They would continue to record together through to the mid 1990s.

In 1976, Wynette’s fourth marriage to Michael Tomlin lasted only six weeks and was annulled. Her fifth and final marriage to George Richey was to be the most rewarding. The couple remained together until her death, with Richey eventually became her manager.
Throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, Wynette dominated the country charts and racked up 17 number one hits.

At the beginning of the 1980s however, her success began to wane. While her singles and albums continued to reach the country top forty, they occurred with less frequency than the previous decade. She was also suffering from various medical problems, including inflammations of the bile duct.

Wynette’s 1987 album, Higher Ground, broke through with a new contemporary sound which managed to revive her sliding popularity and broadened her audience. Six years later, Honky Tonk Angels gave Wynette a chance to record with her main rivals, [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/1751:0/Dolly_Parton.htm]Dolly Parton[/urlnew] and Loretta Lynn for the first time and the album did well on the country charts. The following year, Wynette released Without Walls, a collection of duets with a number of country, pop and rock and roll performers including [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/330:0/Elton_John.htm]Elton John[/urlnew], Smokey Robinson and [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/1016:0/Sting.htm]Sting[/urlnew].

In 1994 Wynette suffered an abdominal infection that almost killed her and she was in a coma for six days. After years of medical problems, approximately 26 major operations and an addiction to large doses of pain medication, Wynette died while sleeping on the sofa in her living room in 1998. The coroner later declared that she died of a cardiac arrhythmia (a condition whereby the electrical activity of the heart is irregular or is faster or slower than normal.)

Three days later fans and members of the country music industry honoured Wynette with a worldwide televised memorial service broadcast from Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Later that year, Wynette was also elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

[i]Sarah Barnard[/i]
Tammy Wynette: an American Tragedy biography



- Wynette found herself in the news in 1992 when First Lady Hillary Clinton declared on the US TV programme 60 Minutes, that she wasn't idly supporting her husband "like some little woman standing by my man like Tammy Wynette". Wynette objected to the reference and Clinton apologised.

- Wynette’s most famous hit, Stand By Your Man was written when an additional song was needed for a recording session.

- Wynette last performed Stand By Your Man on the TV programme Prime Time Country on March 9 1998.

- Wynette’s duet Justified and Ancient with British pop act The KLF was a number one hit in 18 countries, her biggest career hit.
Tammy Wynette: an American Tragedy biography



King of the Hill (1997-1998) (TV)

Evening Shade (1994) (TV)

Capitol (1982) (TV)

The Nashville Palace (1981) (TV)

Nashville 99 (1977) (TV)

The Musical Time Machine(1975) (TV)
Tammy Wynette: an American Tragedy biography



Country Music Hall of Fame (2001)

Til' I Get It Right (1999)

Stand by Your Man (Australia Bonus Tracks) (1999)

Christmas with Tammy (1998)

Back to Back: Tammy Wynette and George Jones (1998)

Without Walls (1994)

Honky Tonk Angels (1993)

Christmas with Tammy (1991)

Heart Over Mind (1990)

Next to You (1989)

Higher Ground (1987)

Sometimes When We Touch (1985)

Good Love & Heartbreak (1983)

Even the Strong Get Lonely (1983)

Soft Touch (1982)

You Brought Me Back (1981)

Encore: George Jones & Tammy Wynette (1981)

Only Lonely Sometimes (1980)

Just Tammy (1979)

Womanhood (1978)

From the Bottom of My Heart (1978)

One of a Kind (1977)

Let's Get Together (1977)

You and Me (1976)

'Til I Can Make It On My Own (1976)

I Still Believe in Fairy Tales (1975)

Woman to Woman (1974)

Another Lonely Song (1974)

Kids Say the Darndest Things (1973)

First Songs of the First Lady (1973)

My Man (1972)

Bedtime Story (1972)

We Sure Can Love Each Other (1971)

It's Just a Matter of Time (1971)

Five Easy Pieces (Original Soundtrack) (1971)

World of Tammy Wynette (1970)

Tammy's Touch (1970)

Tammy Wynette (1970)

First Lady (1970)

Christmas with Tammy (1970)

Ways to Love a Man (1969)

Run, Angel, Run (Original Soundtrack) (1969)

Inspiration (1969)

Stand by Your Man (1968)

D-I-V-O-R-C-E (1968)

Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad (1967)

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