On This Day in 1971, One of Country Music’s Most Famous Couples Dropped Their First Album Together

Country music is known as much for its solo artists as it is for big country bands. Duos, particularly husband and wife duos, make up a smaller percentage of artists. You don’t see them quite as often nowadays. And they certainly don’t make ‘em quite like George Jones and Tammy Wynette in the early 1970s.

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This famous country music couple dropped their very first album together, We Go Together, on this very day in 1971. The record was Jones’ first album with famed producer Billy Sherrill. Even though Jones and Wynette had been married for several years, it marked their first official collaborative album. That wasn’t due to lack of interest, though. The pair had been itching to make music together and had toured together since they were wed. However, recording contracts kept them from putting out work together. Jones eventually left his label to join Wynette on Epic Records. The result was this gorgeous country record, which became quite a hefty hit for the pair.

The First of Many Duet Records Between George Jones and Tammy Wynette

George Jones and Tammy Wynette’s debut collaborative album, We Go Together, was released on October 18, 1971. Upon its release, the country album made it to No. 3 on the Billboard Country Albums chart. Many praised Jones and Wynette for their easygoing, natural chemistry with one another. And it opened the door for a career as a duo that lasted for some time.

Following We Go Together, the pair released Me And The First Lady in 1971, which made it to No. 6 on the Top Country Albums chart. They also released We Love To Sing About Jesus that same year, which didn’t chart quite as well, and Let’s Build A World Together in 1973, which produced no hits for the pair. 

They continued to make music together until their split in 1975, and even then, they continued to release music (Golden Ring in 1976, for example). Epic Records was desperate to capitalize on the mainstream attention the pair had earned and released a compilation album of their greatest hits in 1977.

For several years, it seemed like the divorced artists were done making music together for good. They surprised everyone by releasing Together Again in 1980, despite still being very much divorced, and the album did not yield any substantial hits. One, their final album together, was released in 1995.

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