Tammy Wynette

Induction Year: 2009

Birth Name: Virginia Wynette Pugh

Birth Date: 05-05-1942

Place of Birth: Itawamba County, Mississippi

Known for her powerful, soaring voice and for her often-troubled, rags-to-riches life story, Tammy Wynette was also a hit writer who conveyed as much nuance and emotion in her compositions as she did in her singing.

Born Virginia Wynette Pugh, Tammy was raised on a Mississippi cotton farm, where she worked the fields as a child. Later earning a beautician’s license, she saw hairdressing as a means to pay her bills while she pursued a singing career. In her early 20s she began traveling to Nashville in hopes of securing a recording contract. After a year of rejections, the divorced mother of three made the move to Music City, where in 1966, Epic Records producer Billy Sherrill signed her to the label and persuaded her to adopt the professional name of Tammy Wynette.

Chief among Tammy’s biggest hits (many co-written with Sherrill) is her iconic “Stand by Your Man.” (That 1968 single was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. Additionally, the song became a #4 R&B hit in 1970 for Candi Staton.) In 1976, Tammy’s “’Til I Can Make It on My Own” was a Country Music Association (CMA) song nominee, as was her “(I'm A) Stand By My Woman Man” in 1977.

As an artist, Tammy reached the Top 5 with more co-written songs: “Singing My Song,” “The Ways To Love A Man,” “We Sure Can Love Each Other,” “Reach Out Your Hand,” “Another Lonely Song,” and “Two Story House” (duet with George Jones). Tammy’s songs also proved hits for other artists, such as “Holdin' On (To The Love I Got)” by Barbara Mandrell, “These Days (I Barely Get By)” by George Jones, and a remake of “’Til I Can Make It On My Own” by Kenny Rogers & Dottie West.

A three-time CMA Female Vocalist of the Year, Tammy was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1998,

She died in Nashville on April 6, 1998, at age 55.

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Song Catalog

"'Til I Can Make It on My Own"

(written with George Richey, Billy Sherrill)

Tammy Wynette1976 #1 country, #41 adult contemporary, #84 pop
Kenny Rogers & Dottie West1979 #3 country
Faron Young1988 
Martina McBride1998 
Billy Gilman2000 
Kate Campbell2003 
 

"A Lifetime Left Together"

George Jones & Tammy Wynette1971 

"Another Lonely Song"

(written with Norro Wilson, Billy Sherrill)

Tammy Wynette1974 #1 country
Andy Williams1974 
Lorrie Morgan2005 
 

"Holdin' On (To the Love I Got)"

(written with Norro Wilson, Carmol Taylor)

Barbara Mandrell1972 #27 country
 

"I Just Heard a Heart Break"

(written with George Richey, Jerry Taylor)

Tammy Wynette1983 #46 country
 

"I Stayed Long Enough"

Billie Jo Spears1970 #30 country
 

"It's So Sweet"

(written with George Jones)

George Jones & Tammy Wynette1971 
 

"Old Fashioned Singing"

(written with Earl Montgomery)

George Jones & Tammy Wynette1972 #38 country
 

"Reach Out Your Hand"

(written with Billy Sherrill)

Tammy Wynette1972 #2 country
 

"She Should Belong to Me"

(written with George Jones)

George Jones1975 
 

"Singing My Song"

(written with Billy Sherrill, Glenn Sutton)

Tammy Wynette1969 #1 country, #75 pop
Lynn Anderson1969 
Tommy Cash1969 
Jimmy Dean1971 
Vikki Carr1997 

"Stand by Your Man"

Tammy Wynette1968 #1 country, #11 adult contemporary, #19 pop
Timi Yuro1969 
Lynn Anderson1969 
Bobby Vinton1969 
Kitty Wells1969 
Billie Jo Spears1969 
Dottie West1969 
Loretta Lynn1969 
Tracy Nelson1969 
Candi Staton1970 #4 R&B, #24 pop
Wanda Jackson1970 
Patti Page1970 
Henry Mancini1970 
Jody Miller1971 
Boots Randolph1972 
Tammy Wynette1975 
David Allan Coe1981 #88 country
Motorhead1984 
Lyle Lovett1989 #82 country
Roseanne Barr1990 
Tina Turner1991 
Erasure1992 
Elton John1998 
Queen Esther2004 
Daniel O'Donnell2005 
Tammy Wynette (disco remix)2012 
 

"That's the Way It Could Have Been"

Dolly, Tammy and Loretta1993 

"The Ways to Love a Man"

(written with Billy Sherrill, Glenn Sutton)

Tammy Wynette1969 #1 country, #18 adult contemporary, #81 pop
Kitty Wells1969 
Lynn Anderson1970 
Vikki Carr1982 

"These Days (I Barely Get By)"

(written with George Jones)

George Jones1975 #10 country
Daryle Singletary2007 
 

"Together We Stand"

(written with Don Chapel)

David Houston & Tammy Wynette1967 
 

"Two Story House"

(written with David Lindsey, Glen Tubb)

George Jones & Tammy Wynette1980 #2 country
 

"We Sure Can Love Each Other"

(written with Billy Sherrill)

Tammy Wynette1971 #2 country
 

"You'll Never Grow Old (To Me)"

(written with Earl Montgomery, Charlene Montgomery)

George Jones1973 
 

"You're Everything"

George Jones & Tammy Wynette1971 

Other Media

Tammy Wynette

Induction Year: 2009