Why Tammy Wynette Matters
Steacy Easton
With hits such as “Stand By Your Man” and “Golden Ring,” Tammy Wynette was an icon of American domesticity and femininity. But there were other sides to the first lady of country. Steacy Easton places the complications of Wynette’s music and her biography in sharp-edged relief, exploring how she made her sometimes-tumultuous life into her work, a transformation that was itself art.
Wynette created a persona of high femininity to match the themes she sang about—fawning devotion, redemption in heterosexual romance, the heartbreak of loneliness. Behind the scenes, her life was marked by persistent class anxieties; despite wealth and fame, she kept her beautician’s license. Easton argues that the struggle to meet expectations of southernness, womanhood, and southern womanhood, finds subtle expression in Wynette’s performance of “Apartment No. 9”—and it’s because of these vocal subtleties that it came to be called the saddest song ever written. Wynette similarly took on elements of camp and political critique in her artistry, demonstrating an underappreciated genius. Why Tammy Wynette Matters reveals a musician who doubled back on herself, her façade of earnestness cracked by a melodrama that weaponized femininity and upended feminist expectations, while scoring twenty number-one hits.
Duration - 5h 19m.
Author - Steacy Easton.
Narrator - April Doty.
Published Date - Monday, 23 January 2023.
Copyright - © 2023 Steacy Easton ©.
Location:
United States
Networks:
Steacy Easton
April Doty
Why Music Matters
Spotify Audiobooks
English Audiobooks
Findaway Audiobooks
Description:
With hits such as “Stand By Your Man” and “Golden Ring,” Tammy Wynette was an icon of American domesticity and femininity. But there were other sides to the first lady of country. Steacy Easton places the complications of Wynette’s music and her biography in sharp-edged relief, exploring how she made her sometimes-tumultuous life into her work, a transformation that was itself art. Wynette created a persona of high femininity to match the themes she sang about—fawning devotion, redemption in heterosexual romance, the heartbreak of loneliness. Behind the scenes, her life was marked by persistent class anxieties; despite wealth and fame, she kept her beautician’s license. Easton argues that the struggle to meet expectations of southernness, womanhood, and southern womanhood, finds subtle expression in Wynette’s performance of “Apartment No. 9”—and it’s because of these vocal subtleties that it came to be called the saddest song ever written. Wynette similarly took on elements of camp and political critique in her artistry, demonstrating an underappreciated genius. Why Tammy Wynette Matters reveals a musician who doubled back on herself, her façade of earnestness cracked by a melodrama that weaponized femininity and upended feminist expectations, while scoring twenty number-one hits. Duration - 5h 19m. Author - Steacy Easton. Narrator - April Doty. Published Date - Monday, 23 January 2023. Copyright - © 2023 Steacy Easton ©.
Language:
English
Opening Credits
Duration:00:00:13
Introduction
Duration:00:18:25
Domesticity
Duration:00:24:39
High Femme Armor
Duration:00:27:13
Soft Politics
Duration:00:34:56
Pain
Duration:00:22:14
Melodrama
Duration:00:31:10
Sex
Duration:00:22:31
Fame
Duration:00:26:53
Tradition
Duration:00:15:22
Reprieve
Duration:00:19:46
Camp
Duration:00:26:10
Funeral
Duration:00:28:09
Conclusion
Duration:00:20:46
Closing Credits
Duration:00:00:36