Tammy Wynette Twenty Years of Hits ~ Some of Tammy's Best Songs

Tammy Wynette Anniversary: Twenty Years of Hits is a wonderful collection of Tammy Wynette's hits. This was released in 1987. These are some of my favorite Tammy Wynette songs.

Background Info:

Tammy was born as Virginia Wynette Pugh on May 5, 1942. Before her singing career took off she was a cotton picker, beautician, waitress and worked in a shoe factory. In 1966 she and her three small girls moved to Nashville with dreams of her being a star. She had no job and no home. She got a break when she was able to sing for Billy Sherrill. He signed her to a recording contract and her next eleven albums went to #1. She also won two Grammy’s and was the CMA “Female Vocalist of the Year” three times.

During her career she sold over 30 million records which grossed more than $100 million. She was #1 on the charts twenty times and was the first female singer to sell a million records. Her life was plagued with health problems though. Sadly, she died in her sleep on April 6, 1998. She was only 55. The biographical information came from her website.

The Songs:

Apartment #9 was the first hit that Tammy had. This is a sad song about a woman that has been left. She waits in her lonely apartment in case her man changes his mind. There is the sound of a soft woman’s voice providing background vocals. Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad is probably my favorite Tammy song. It’s a fast paced song about a woman changing her ways and becoming a little wilder. ”Because your good girl's gonna go bad - I'm gonna be the swingin'est swinger you've ever had - If you like'em painted up powdered up then you ought to be glad - Cause your good girl's gonna go bad”.

I Don’t Wanna Play House is a sad song that tells a story of a mother watching her little girl outside at play. She knew that something wasn’t right so she listens to what they are saying. What she hears breaks her heart. The song has the sounds of guitars and drums throughout and a woman provides background vocals. ”I don't wanna play house; I know it can't be fun - I've watched mommy and daddy - And if that's the way it's done- I don't wanna play house; It makes my mommy cry - 'Cause when she played house - My daddy said good-bye. D-I-V-O-R-C-E tells the story of a couple that is divorcing that has a little four year old boy. The parents spell out the words that they don’t want the son to know. They try to hide their divorce from the little boy. "Our D-I-V-O-R-C-E; becomes final today - Me and little J-O-E will be goin' away I love you both and it will be pure H-E double L for me - Oh, I wish that we could stop this D-I-V-O-R-C-E.”

Stand By Your Man is probably the first song you think of when you hear the name Tammy Wynette. Tammy and Billy Sherrill wrote this in about twenty minutes. It is the biggest selling country single in country music. This song is about a woman standing by her man no matter what he does. ”Hey, but if you love him, you'll forgive him - Even though he's hard to understand - And if you love him, be proud of him 'Cause after all, he's just a man” ’Til I Get It Right is a slow song about someone who keeps falling in love until they get it right. This was certainly a personal song to Tammy as she had been married five times. The guitar and drums provide the music for this song with some other things adding a soft sound.

Kids Say The Darndest Things is quite a funny song. It’s about all of the things that kids say that you wouldn’t expect them to say. It is a fast paced song with several men providing background vocals. Another Lonely Song is a song about pain and heartbreak over losing the man she loves. Tammy co-wrote this song with Billy Sherrill and Norris Wilson. The music for this song is really beautiful. ” Time, Won't ease my memory, It's killing me now. - And Lord, how I need him here, Just to feel him near, And hear him breathing.”

We’re Gonna Hold On is a duet with George Jones. It starts out with them singing together. Then she has a solo and his solo is next. I think George and Tammy were made to sing together. They sound so wonderful together. This song is about staying together no matter how tough things get. Woman to Woman is like a conversation between two women. One of them is telling the other all of things that she needs to watch out for to hold on to her man. She warns her of the other women in the world that will be after him and tells her to not be too confident.

’Til I Can Make It On My Own is a story of a relationship that fell apart. Tammy co-wrote this song with her final husband, George Richey and Billy Sherrill. Out of all of the songs she had a part in writing this one was Tammy’s personal favorite. The woman is trying to get over the man. She wants to keep in touch with him until she can learn to make it by herself. Golden Ring is a duet with George Jones. It is my very favorite duet that they did. It tells the story of a couple who pick out wedding rings in a Chicago pawnshop. The couple’s marriage ends and the golden ring finds it way back to the pawnshop. It tells a story. The acoustic guitar gives the song such a great beat. This song has great background vocals.

You and Me is a beautiful song that has the piano softly playing. It is the story of a woman who has just made love to a man, but she is thinking of another man. The instrumental for this song is absolutely beautiful. ”When he touches me I feel your fingers and each time we kiss I see your face - when he locks the door behind us - then he thinks the world can't find us - but he can't see no he can't see that it should be you and me” Two Story House is another duet with George Jones. Tammy co-wrote this with David Lindsey and Glenn Tubb. This song has a great beat to it. It tells the story of a couple who dreams for a big two-story house. They have all of the most expensive things, but along the way the couple lost their love for each other. This is a reminder to me that being in love and happy is much more important than always trying to have so many material things.

Track Listing:

1. Apartment #9
2. Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad
3. I Don't Wanna Play House
4. D-I-V-O-R-C-E
5. Stand By Your Man
6. Singing My Song
7. Run, Woman, Run
8. We Sure Can Love Each Other
9. Good Lovin' (Makes It Right)
10. Bedtime Story
11. 'Til I Get It Right
12. Kids Say the Darndest Things
13. Another Lonely Song
14. We're Gonna Hold On (with George Jones)
15. Woman to Woman
16. 'Til I Can Make It On My Own
17. Golden Ring (with George Jones)
18. You and Me
19. One of a Kind
20. Two Story House (with George Jones)

Produced By: Billy Sherrill

Final Thoughts:

I have a lot of admiration for Tammy Wynette. She had courage and believed in herself. She came to Nashville with three little girls, no money and no place to live. She walked into record producer Billy Sherrill’s office and made him listen to her sing. Soon after she was signed to a record contract. Without her drive and determination she never would have made it.

The songs that she sang dealt with real life things. She sang about love, pain, heartbreak, children, and breaking up. She was married five times during her life. She lived the things she sang. When she sang about hurting or divorce she meant it. She is often said to sound like she has a tear drop in her voice. She put so much emotion into to her singing that I believed every word she ever sang. I knew she had been there and meant it.

From this collection of songs thirteen out of twenty of these songs went to #1 for Tammy. I love the sounds of the music in Tammy’s song. Many of the songs are filled with the sounds of an acoustic guitar and drums. They have a simple sound and most have a great beat. These songs are easy for me to listen to over and over.

After Patsy Cline, I'd have to say that Tammy Wynette is the greatest female singer that I've ever heard.