I first tried to listen to Tammy Wynette seriously in 1994, after I'd gone to San Francisco for grad school and was still incredibly lonely (despite my "fresh start") and seeking fresh music to make me feel better. A two-pronged approach: Rap and Country. Neither of which I'd ever listened much to before. But at that point I needed to try SOMETHING different, anything. In '94, there wasn't Internet, but there was a monthly CD club, similar to the Book of the Month Club. I ordered some Country (Hank Williams, Tammy's Greatest Hits, then-modern stuff like Garth Brooks), and some '94-popular rappers like Warren G. I ended up feeling nothing for either Warren G or Hank Williams. And with the Tammy Greatest, I didn't like 75% of it --- I loved "Apartment No. 9" and "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad" and "Til I Can Make It On My Own," but most of the rest of her solo stuff was treacly.
BUT: On the "Tammy Hits" CD, there were some duets with her one-time husband George Jones like "Golden Ring," "Two Story House," "We're Going to Hold On"... 1994 is the year that I became a George Jones fan, thanks to Tammy. Since then, saw him twice in concert in Austin, bought multiple collections and solo albums, etc.
Over the past few weeks, I've been revisiting George (and loving his music more, and ordering expensive United Artists and Musicor collections from his early years) and, in tandem, trying to appreciate Tammy more. The collection I bought in San Fran in '94 that I didn't like so much was from 1987: "Tammy Wynette Anniversary: Twenty Years of Hits." A few weeks ago, I tried again with her with the 1999 "Tammy Wynette: The Definitive Collection." Same reaction: I loved "Apartment" and "Your Good Girl's" and "Til I Can Make It" plus things like "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" (1993 with Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn). But thought most of the rest was filler. I did find one song from 1978, though, that I liked --- and had to dig around to figure out what I suspected: that it was George Jones singing backup on it! (They'd divorced in '75, but he would continue to hang around until '81 or so.)
BUT: On the "Tammy Hits" CD, there were some duets with her one-time husband George Jones like "Golden Ring," "Two Story House," "We're Going to Hold On"... 1994 is the year that I became a George Jones fan, thanks to Tammy. Since then, saw him twice in concert in Austin, bought multiple collections and solo albums, etc.
Over the past few weeks, I've been revisiting George (and loving his music more, and ordering expensive United Artists and Musicor collections from his early years) and, in tandem, trying to appreciate Tammy more. The collection I bought in San Fran in '94 that I didn't like so much was from 1987: "Tammy Wynette Anniversary: Twenty Years of Hits." A few weeks ago, I tried again with her with the 1999 "Tammy Wynette: The Definitive Collection." Same reaction: I loved "Apartment" and "Your Good Girl's" and "Til I Can Make It" plus things like "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" (1993 with Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn). But thought most of the rest was filler. I did find one song from 1978, though, that I liked --- and had to dig around to figure out what I suspected: that it was George Jones singing backup on it! (They'd divorced in '75, but he would continue to hang around until '81 or so.)
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