But as I got older and started listening to her music, I discovered she was something much richer and more complex. I could hear in her voice an unashamed sense of fear, disappointment, and sometimes even defiance in the face of heartbreak. I heard an artist with a keen sense of tone calibration and intuitive emotional intelligence—a great storyteller and a much-needed chronicler of oft-dismissed tales of feminized pain.
Today’s playlist pays homage to Wynette in all her versatile glory. It works well as a supplement to my article, but it can also be a stand-alone introduction (or reintroduction) to her music. It features many of her own greatest hits, as well as some disciple tributes such as Reba McEntire, Kelly Pickler even Del Rey herself. I decided not to record one of Wynette’s many duets with her ex-husband George Jones, not because I don’t love most of them (I do), but because Wynette is so often reduced to her relationship with Jones and I wanted to give her music a chance to stand on its own. It does, however, feature a collaboration with her artistic peers and fellow Honky Tonk Angels, Parton and Lynn. May this playlist inspire sing-alongs, sing-alongs, and good girls to go bad.
Listen along on Spotify as you read.
1. Tammy Wynette: “Femininity”
This later hit from the 1978 album ‘Womanhood’ is one of Wynette’s strangest singles and – perhaps not coincidentally – one of my favourites. Here Wynette embodies a character tempted: “I’m a Christian, Lord, but I’m a woman too,” she sings amid rambunctious guitars that wouldn’t look out of place on a late ’70s Fleetwood Mac . file. “If you are listening, Lord, please show me what to do.” “Womanhood” was written by prolific Nashville songwriter Bobby Braddock, and in his memoir, he described the song as “about a girl tearfully talking to God about losing her virginity.” That Wynette was a 36-year-old woman entering her fifth marriage when she recorded the song—which would become her last Top 5 hit on the country charts—adds another layer of complexity, pathos, and even kitsch. (Listen on YouTube)
2. Tammy Wynette: “Your good girl goes bad”
Long before Rihanna went bad, there was Tammy. As with many of Wynette’s signature tunes, there’s a sense of resignation and even self-denial involved here: “I’ll change if it’s necessary to make you happy,” she tells a whiskey-guzzling, bar-dwelling husband she offers to adopt a lifestyle more like his own, on this swinging, upbeat song from her 1967 debut. But I also hear a playful challenge in Wynette’s voice here: she throws out the questionable behavior of a man back to his face and subtly points to a double standard in expectations of how men and women should behave. Plus, for once, it sounds like she’s having a good time. (Listen on YouTube)
3. Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn: “Silver threads and golden needles”
In 1993, trailblazing country queens Parton and Lynn teamed up with Wynette for a spirited collaboration album called “Honky Tonk Angels,” named after Kitty Wells’ classic 1952 folk song. Because Wynette works through grief on most of Jones’ best-known collaborations, it’s refreshing to hear her sing with this talented (and convincingly hellish) group of women. For the love of big hair and shoulder pads, stop what you’re doing and watch this video of them performing it live together. (Listen on YouTube)