Tammy Wynette
| Tammy Wynette | |
|---|---|
Tammy Wynette in 1975
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Virginia Wynette Pugh |
| Born |
May 5, 1942 Tremont, Mississippi |
| Died | April 6, 1998 (aged 55) Nashville, Tennessee |
| Genres | Country, Nashville sound |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1966 – 1998 |
| Labels | Epic, MCA Nashville |
| Associated acts | George Jones, Georgette Jones, David Houston, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton |
| Website | tammywynette |
Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music singer-songwriter and one of country music's best-known artists and biggest-selling female singers.
Wynette was called the "First Lady of Country Music", and her best-known song, "Stand by Your Man", is one of the best-selling hit singles by a woman in the history of country music. Many of her hits dealt with classic themes of loneliness, divorce, and the difficulties of life and relationships. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Wynette charted 20 No. 1 songs. Along with Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton, she is credited with having defined the role of women in country music during the 1970s.
Wynette's marriage to country music singer George Jones in 1969, which ended in divorce in 1975, created a country music "couple", following the earlier success of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. Jones and Wynette recorded a sequence of albums and singles that hit the charts throughout the 1970s and early eighties.
Tammy Wynette was born Virginia Wynette Pugh near Tremont, Mississippi, the only child of Mildred Faye (née Russell; September 3, 1921 - June 24, 1991) and William Hollice Pugh (June 2, 1916 - February 13, 1943). Wynette's father was a farmer and local musician who died of a brain tumor when Wynette was nine months old. Her mother worked in an office, as a substitute school teacher, as well as on the family farm. After her husband's death, Mildred Pugh left her daughter in the care of her own parents, Thomas Chester Russell, and his wife, Flora, and moved to Memphis to work in a defense plant during World War II. In 1946, Mildred Pugh married Foy Lee, a farmer.
Wynette grew up in her maternal grandparents' home, which had no indoor toilets or running water. She was raised with an aunt, Carolyn Russell, who was only five years older, thus more of a sister than an aunt. As a girl, Wynette taught herself to play a variety of musical instruments that had been left by her deceased father.
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