Tammy once said: "I spent 15 minutes writing "Stand by Your Man", and a lifetime defending it". She was born Virginia Wynette Pugh on May 5, 1942, on her grandfather's cotton farm in Itawamba County, Mississippi. Tammy picked cotton as a child, and as a young woman worked as a waitress, a doctor's receptionist, a barmaid and a shoe factory worker. Shortly before graduating high school, Tammy married high school sweetheart Euple Byrd, an itinerant construction worker who was unemployed more often than not. They were finally forced to live in an abandoned, 60-year-old, 3-room log cabin on a Mississippi farm with no indoor plumbing, no stove and only a wood-burning fireplace for cooking and heat. "Not even the poorest sharecropper would have paid to live there," Tammy noted, but it was rent-free. They had 3 daughters, Gwendolyn , she achieved a long-lasting marriage; they were married for 20 years, from 1978 until her death in 1998. "I've had a wonderful life", she said in a 1991 Associated Press interview. "I absolutely feel I've been blessed tremendously. I can't complain at all". In all, she had 5 daughters and one son. Tammy passed away in her sleep on Monday, April 6, 1998, in her beloved Nashville; she was 55. Tammy will be missed greatly by her fans all around the world.
Children: daughters Gwen, Jackie (Jackie Daly ), Tina and Georgette (Georgette Jones ), step-daughter Deirdre, and stepson Kelly.
Former beauty operator.
Named Female Vocalist of the Year Country Music Assn. 1968, 1969, 1970.
Born at 1:20am-CWT
Found herself in the news in 1992 when First Lady Hillary Clinton declared, on "60 Minutes" , that she wasnt idly supporting her husband "like some little woman standing by my man like Tammy Wynette". Wynette objected to the reference and Hillary apologized.
"Stand By Your Man" was written when an additional song was needed for a recording session.
Tammy last performed "Stand By Your Man" on "Prime Time Country" on The Nashville Network on March 9, 1998.
Tammy was given the Nickname "The First Lady Of Country Music" after becoming the first female country singer to sell a million copies of a single album, which was "Tammys Greatest Hits" in 1970.
Scored 20 #1 hits on Billboard magazines country singles chart, a record that stood for many years.
The remaining legal challenge resulting from Tammys death was resolved in a secret, out-of-court settlement between her four daughters and Pittsburgh physician Dr. Wallis Marsh in April, 2002. The family was seeking $50 million, claiming Dr. Marsh mismanaged their mothers case. They also sued the pharmacy, Care Solutions of Nashville, for delivering the painkiller and Wynettes last husband, George Richey , for helping to administer it.
Elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1998.
Ranked #73 on VH1s Greatest Women of Rock N Roll
Her widower, George Richey , married his girlfriend, ex-Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Sheila Slaughter. Tim McGraw sang at the small gathering. The best man was John Paul Daly, ex-husband of Wynettes daughter, Jackie Daly. 16 January 2001).
Her duet with British pop act The KLF , "Justified and Ancient", hit #1 in 18 countries, her biggest career hit.
Her marriage to Michael Tomlin lasted just 44 days.
Married Don Chapel and George Jones in Ringgold, Georgia.
Her song, "Stand By your Man" was voted the greatest country song, on the 100 greatest country songs concert.
[2006] Archive Audio: "The Tammy Wynette Story" BBC Radio 2, 16th May 2006
Stand by your man. Give him two arms to cling to and something warm to come to. .
