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Jan. 11: The Tammy Wynette Highway, a stretch of road in her hometown of Red Bay, Ala., was dedicated on this date in 1990. Here’s the song that, 24 years earlier, started Wynette down the road to her position as the First Lady of Country Music, “the best female country singer of her time.”
That assessment belongs to songwriter and author Michael Kosser, expressed in his book How Nashville Became Music City, U.S.A.: 50 years of Music Row. Kosser spoke with Billy Sherrill, who meant so much to country music as a producer and a songwriter, not in small measure because of the partnership he forged with Wynette. On Pages 141-143, Kosser relates Sherrill’s story of the day in September 1966 when he met aspiring singer Virginia Wynette Pugh, and how her take on “Apartment #9” impressed a group of Nashville studio musicians who’d pretty much seen it all. Give it a read.
Tammy didn’t have a huge hit with “Apartment #9”; her first single, it stalled just short of the Billboard country Top 40. Listening to it now, that’s hard to imagine. Pete Drake nailed it on steel, and Wynette’s interpretation of the Johnny Paycheck lyric is impeccable. But unimaginable success was just one record away. Of her next 22 singles, 14 would hit No. 1, with seven others reaching the Top 5.
Having a road named in her honor was hardly the extent of the accolades the Mississippi native (just over the state line from Red Bay) earned in her 32-year career. Tammy Wynette is in the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and – if they know what’s good for them – the iPod or music collection of every fan of true country music.
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January 11, 2010 at 8:01 PM
Paul W Dennis
Tammy’s version was a cover of Bobby Austin’s version , which was released on the Tally label. Bob co-wrote the song with Johnny Paycheck. His recording was first charted on 10/8/66 and was on the charts for 14 weeks, reaching a peak of #21 (Cashbox had it chart for 17 weeks reaching a peak of #15 and Record World had it reach #11). The success of Austin’s record landed him a deal with Capitol
Tammy’s version was released 12/10/66 meaning that the Bobby Austin version was still on the charts at the time Tammy’s version was released. Tammy’s release, being on a major label may have cost Austin some spins and sales
Johnny Paycheck recorded the song placing it on his 1967 album JUKEBOX CHARLIE with the great Lloyd Green playing the steel guitar. Paycheck’s version is the best version of the song I’ve heard
January 11, 2010 at 10:43 PM
3chordsaday
I haven’t heard Austin’s record, but I have heard Paycheck’s. I do like it, but I’m still partial to Tammy’s.
Paul, did you read the book excerpt I linked to? I thought it was interesting that, according to Sherrill, Tally turned down the lease deal with Epic. Austin’s record might have made the Billboard Top 10 had it been on a major. What do you think?
January 12, 2010 at 7:10 AM
Paul W Dennis
No- I didn’t read the link until this morning. Hard to say if the song would have gotten much higher – if it had been picked up early in it’s chart run perhaps so, but if it was eight weeks or more into its chart run probably not
An interesting analogy is Gene Watson’s “Love In The Hot Afternoon” . It went to #1 in virtually every market but only reached #3 on Billboard. It was originally released on a minor label (Resco) and it had already reached the top and was sliding down the charts in places like Texas, the Southwest and California by the time Capitol purchased the masters and released it nationwide.
June 28, 2010 at 3:02 AM
“I Don’t Wanna Play House” | Tammy Wynette « 3 CHORDS A DAY
[...] the artist: Revisit this 3 Chords post from January for more on Tammy Wynette, including her first single and a book passage in which Sherrill talks [...]