Few women in country music conveyed raw emotion quite like Tammy Wynette. On songs like “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” and “Stand By Your Man”, she gave a powerful voice to the plights of women that often went undocumented on the 1960s country scene. Although known mostly for her soaring vocals and often turbulent personal life, Wynette was also a talented songwriter. On this day (June 8) in 1969, she topped the country charts yet again with “Singing My Song”, a track she co-wrote with Billy Sherrill and Glenn Sutton.
Tammy Wynette released “Singing My Song” in March 1969 as the lead single from her compilation album Tammy’s Greatest Hits. The single spent 14 weeks on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, including two weeks at number one.
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Wynette starts the song off half-speaking: I’m his song when he feels like singin’ / And I swing when he feels like swingin’.
By the end, she’s belting, And when he’s home, I make sure he’s never alone… Oh, I just keep singin’ my song.
One of two previously unreleased tracks on Wynette’s 1969 greatest hits compilation, “Singing My Song” gave the two-time Grammy winner her fifth career number-one hit.
Additionally, Tammy’s Greatest Hits landed an Album of the Year nod at the 1970 Academy of Country Music Awards. However, it lost to Merle Haggard’s Okie From Muskogee.
Tammy Wynette Co-Wrote Multiple Hits
Tammy Wynette earned a reputation as “the first lady of country music”—primarily due to her relationships with men, namely country superstar George Jones.
However, the Mississippi-born artist commanded more autonomy in her career than many realize. She co-wrote many of her biggest hits with producer Billy Sherrill—including her signature song “Stand By Your Man”, inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
Other Top 5 co-written hits include “The Ways To Love A Man,” “We Sure Can Love Each Other,” “Reach Out Your Hand,” “Another Lonely Song,” and “Two Story House”.
In 1976, Wynette returned to the top of the country charts with “‘Til I Can Make It on My Own”, her first number-one solo hit in almost three years.
Co-written with Billy Sherrill and George Richey—who would become her fourth husband two years later—the song reflected Wynette’s life after her divorce from Jones. It also proved that Tammy Wynette could soar on her own merits, rather than simply as one-half of a famous duo.
In 2009, she was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Featured image by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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