TAMMY WYNETTETammy Wynette, who died on 6 April, 1998, was one of the greatest and most influential country singers of all time.She dominated the US Country charts with no less than 16 number one singles during the 1960s and ’70s. But as well as producing classic records, she was known for her mournful and heartfelt singing style, born out of the hardships of her youth from which music offered her an escape route.She was born Virginia Wynette Pugh on 5 May, 1942 in Mississippi and raised on a farm by her maternal grandparents. Her musician father had died when she was just a few months old, leaving a legacy of musical instruments which she learned to play when not working on the farm. The country stars of the day became her relief from the toils of the field.She married young and had three daughters. She left her husband after the birth of the third, supporting the family working as a hairdresser. But when her youngest daughter developed spinal meningitis she began performing in the evenings to earn extra money.Appearances on radio and television shows and a recording of the song Apartment No. 9 earned her a contract with Epic Records in 1966, setting her on the road to stardom with a move to Nashville. Her debut album Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad was released the following year and Tammy began enjoying instant success – later that year she scooped two Grammy awards.Many of her hits during the late ’60s, most notably the sorrowful D-I-V-O-R-C-E and paean to patience Stand by Your Man (hated by feminists at the time), became country standards. By the turn of the decade she was known as the First Lady of Country and a Greatest Hits compilation went platinum.Her success endured into the ’80s, though her song titles – which had always seemed like a document of her often turbulent private life – suggested her romance with the charts was coming to an end: Let's Call it a Day, I'm Turning You Loose and We're Strangers Again.In 1991 her career took an unpredictable turn when she sang for British dance outfit The KLF on Justified and Ancient which became a worldwide hit. This sparked a revival of interest in her work. In 1994 her influence beyond the sphere of country was shown when she dueted with the likes of Elton John, Smokey Robinson and Sting on the album Without Walls.Tammy Wynette’s eventful life ended at the age of just 55 after a period of bad health. She battled through various illnesses to continue performing right up until her death. Three days later fans remembered her with a memorial service broadcast from Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry which wasshown around the world.
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