Tag

country music legends

Sep 30
Love45

Tammy Wynette

By Music, Podcast No Comments

Before she was the First Lady of Country Music, Virginia Wynette Pugh was a little girl picking cotton in Itawamba County, Mississippi, raised by her grandparents while her mama worked in Memphis. Her daddy died before she turned one, leaving her only his instruments and stories told secondhand.

Nobody looking at that childhood would have predicted Nashville. But Tammy Wynette’s story is proof that talent finds a way out, even when everything else says stay put.

This week on Once Around the Country, we trace her path from beauty school and a teenage marriage to the night producer Billy Sherrill, who changed her name and changed her life. We talk about “D-I-V-O-R-C-E,” the firestorm around “Stand By Your Man,” her marriage to George Jones, and the health struggles that followed her all the way to her death at 55 under circumstances her own family still argues about. 

Listen now to her whole story, both the good and the hard parts. Give it a listen and let us know what you think.

This episode is sponsored by:

(Be sure to tell them Gary sent you!)

In this episode:

  • Her childhood in Itawamba County and the father she never really knew
  • How an uncle’s connection led to her first television audition
  • The Billy Sherrill meeting that turned Wynette Bird into Tammy Wynette
  • The making of “Stand By Your Man” and the backlash that followed
  • Her marriages, including the turbulent years with George Jones
  • The addiction, the surgeries, and the disputed circumstances of her death
  • What Gary saw backstage that he still thinks about

Bio:

Tammy Wynette, born Virginia Wynette Pugh in 1942, grew up on a cotton farm in Mississippi before becoming one of the most recognizable voices in country music. After working as a beautician and raising three children, she moved to Nashville in 1966 and signed with Epic Records.

Known as the First Lady of Country Music, Tammy sold more than 30 million records and recorded some of country music’s most enduring songs, including “Stand By Your Man.” Her deeply emotional singing style connected with millions of listeners because she sang about the things they knew firsthand: love, heartbreak, marriage, loneliness, and family.

Her life away from the stage was just as eventful. Her seven-year marriage to George Jones became one of country music’s most famous and complicated relationships. She later married songwriter and producer George Richey and continued recording despite years of health problems.

Tammy Wynette died in 1998 at her home in Nashville. Later that year, she was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Website: https://tammywynette.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialwynette/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TammyWynettemusic

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TammyWynette/

Aug 17
Love45

Shania Twain

By Music, Podcast No Comments

Before Taylor Swift, there was Shania Twain.

This week on Once Around the Country, Gary breaks down the real story behind one of the most successful and most underrated careers in music history. Shania Twain grew up as Eileen Edwards in Windsor and Timmins, Ontario, raising money for her family by singing in bars from age 8. She lost both of her parents in a car accident at 21 and stepped in to raise her younger siblings while working six nights a week at a resort. From there, she became Shania Twain and built a career that redefined what a country artist could be, from the record-breaking sales of The Woman in Me and Come On Over to a Super Bowl halftime show and a heartbreak so public it played out like a soap opera.

This episode covers her childhood, her early years playing bars for tips, the loss of her parents, her marriage to producer Mutt Lange, the explosion of Come On Over, her Lyme disease diagnosis and vocal struggles, and how she rebuilt her voice and her career on her own terms.

This episode is sponsored by:

(Be sure to tell them Gary sent you!)

In this episode:

  • Shania Twain’s childhood in Windsor and Timmins, Ontario
  • Growing up with food scarcity and family hardship
  • Singing in bars at age eight to help support her family
  • The loss of her parents and raising her siblings
  • How Eileen Edwards became Shania Twain
  • Meeting producer Robert “Mutt” Lange
  • The Woman in Me and Come On Over album success
  • Shania Twain’s record-breaking album sales
  • Her Super Bowl halftime performance
  • Her divorce from Mutt Lange and the story behind it
  • Her Lyme disease diagnosis and vocal cord dysfunction
  • Why Shania Twain deserves more credit as a music industry pioneer

Bio:

Shania Twain is one of the most successful and influential country music crossover artists of all time. Born Eileen Edwards in Ontario, Canada, she began performing as a child and overcame a difficult upbringing before building a career that would take her from small-town bars to the biggest stages in the world. With hits like “Any Man of Mine,” “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” and “From This Moment On,” along with the massive success of The Woman in Me and Come On Over, Shania helped redefine what a country music superstar could be. Her story also includes personal heartbreak, the loss of her singing voice, and an extraordinary determination to keep performing and creating.