What Was Tammy Wynette’s Net Worth When She Died?

Tammy Wynette, an iconic American country music star, had a net worth of $1 million at the time of her death. Best remembered for her hit “Stand by Your Man,” numerous chart-topping songs and a significant impact on the country music genre marked Wynette’s career. She earned the title “First Lady of Country Music” and became a pioneer for women in the industry.

Early Life

Born Virginia Wynette Pugh on May 5, 1942, in Itawamba County, Mississippi, she was the only child of Mildred Faye and William Hollice Pugh. Tragically, her father passed away from a brain tumor when she was just under a year old. Her mother moved to Memphis, Tennessee, to work at a defense plant after World War II, leaving Wynette in the care of her grandparents. Raised in a modest home without indoor plumbing or running water, she picked cotton in the fields and taught herself to play several musical instruments that had belonged to her father. She graduated from Tremont High School in 1960, where she was a popular basketball player.

Tammy Wynette Career

Tammy initially trained to be a hairdresser in Midfield, Alabama, in 1965. She performed songs on the side and made small TV appearances on “The Country Boy Eddie Show” in Birmingham. With three daughters to support, she moved to Nashville after leaving her first husband, aiming to secure a record deal. In 1966, she signed with Epic Records and released her debut single, “Apartment No. 9.” Her manager suggested she change her first name to Tammy.

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Her second single, “Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad,” reached #3 on the country music charts. By 1967, she had won her first Grammy for “I Don’t Wanna Play House” in the Best Female Country Vocal Performance category. She released five #1 hits between 1968 and 1969, including “Stand by Your Man,” written in under 15 minutes with Billy Sherrill. The song faced controversy during the burgeoning women’s rights movement but became hugely successful, earning her another Grammy and achieving platinum status by 1989.

Challenges

Wynette, along with singer Loretta Lynn, dominated the country charts in the early ’70s. She released several more #1 hits and popular duets with singer George Jones, such as “We’re Gonna Hold On” and “Golden Ring.” Her marriage to Jones ended in a very public divorce in 1976. Wynette’s solo hit “Til I Can Make It on My Own” became one of her signature songs and reached #1 on the U.S. country singles chart.

In the late ’70s, her popularity began to wane, but she continued to achieve Top 10 status until the end of the decade. A TV movie and memoir titled “Stand by Your Man” were released in 1981. Despite her declining chart success in the ’80s, she had a few top 20 hits and released the relatively successful album “Higher Ground” in 1987. Her 1988 single “Beneath a Painted Sky,” featuring Emmylou Harris, reached #25 and was her final top 40 single.

Wynette’s collaboration with the British band The KLF in 1991 on the song “Justified and Ancient” reached #1 in 18 countries. She recorded “Honky Tonk Angels” with Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn in 1993, but the album did not produce any hit singles. Her final notable contributions included a duet with Brian Wilson in 1996 and vocals for Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” in 1997, which became a UK #1 hit. Wynette performed her last concert on March 5, 1998.

Personal Life and Death

Wynette’s first marriage to Euple Byrd ended before her high school graduation. She later married Don Chapel in 1967 and had a high-profile marriage to George Jones in 1969, which ended in 1975 due to his alcoholism. Wynette was married a total of five times.

She suffered numerous medical problems starting in the 1970s and passed away in her sleep on April 6, 1998, from a blood clot in her lung. Her body was exhumed in 1999 for a new investigation, and her cause of death was changed to cardiac arrhythmia, leading to a wrongful death suit. She is buried at Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee.

First Lady Acres

In 1974, George Jones purchased a 9,600-square-foot equestrian estate in Nashville for Tammy, named “First Lady Acres.” She lived there until 1979. The home sold for $1.8 million two decades later and was bought by Train’s drummer, Scott Underwood, for $2.4 million in 2016. He listed it for sale a year later for $5.5 million and ultimately sold it for $3 million in October 2017.

Tammy Wynette Net Worth

Tammy Wynette net worth was $1 million when she died.