Tammy Wynette had five marriages, and she often played the part of the tragic heroine. 'When asked about it, she'd say, 'I just thought it was a pretty little love song,' ' McDonough says. McDonough says Wynette remained proud of the song. Following its release, the song was widely criticized within the feminist movement in the mid-'90s, it became the subject of discussion again when soon to becoming first lady Hillary Clinton referenced it in a news interview. Her biggest hit, 'Stand By Your Man,' has had an incredible lifespan. 'In terms of a slow, sad song, nobody could rip it up like Tammy. 'I have a theory that great artists learn how to do one thing great. The book is called Tammy Wynette: Tragic Country Queen. And, judging by a new biography by Jimmy McDonough, there was no shortage of it in her own life. 1 hits, though she's still most widely remembered for signature songs of the late 1960s and early '70s, such as 'I Don't Wanna Play House' and 'Stand By Your Man.'ĭrama is what Wynette's music best expressed. By the time she was in her mid-20s, the hairdresser-turned-glittering-country-superstar was on her way to being the first artist in the genre to go platinum. She was born in 1942, as Virginia Wynette Pugh, in a rural county of Mississippi. When Tammy Wynette died in 1998, she was known as the First Lady of Country Music.