Wynette was born and raised near Tremont, a small town in Itawamba County, Mississippi, by her mother, stepfather, and maternal grandparents.

In the late sixties, Wynette's career rose further with the number one Billboard country singles "I Don't Wanna Play House", "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and the self-penned "Stand by Your Man".

Not officially divorced, the couple agreed to give their marriage one final chance and they lived in a Birmingham housing project near the steel industry.

[36][37] The recordings appeared on Wynette's third studio disc, Take Me to Your World / I Don't Wanna Play House, which reached number three on the Country LPs chart in 1968.

Reportedly written by Wynette and Billy Sherrill in 15 minutes,[42] the song's emphasis on women standing by their husbands made her a spokeswoman for the working class housewife.

[48][49] Her 1969 compilation, Tammy's Greatest Hits, was among the first female country albums to certify gold (and later platinum) by the Recording Industry Association of America.

[51] Writer Kurt Wolff found her material "from the mid-60's onward" created "a solid female perspective on country radio that the listening public badly craved.

[65] Wynette included up-tempo gospel songs to energize the audience along with slow ballads that were "extraordinarily intimate," according to writers Mary A. Bufwack and Robert K.

[43] AllMusic's Thom Jurek found 1977's One of a Kind LP to evoke the performances of a "true diva" and "country music's reigning queen".

The New York Times commented, "The rags-to-riches sagas, presumably meant to be inspiring, tend to get trapped under a cloud of dreariness," wrote John O'Connor.

"[107] Richard Harrington of The Washington Post wrote, "It seems to capitalize on the creative achievement and financial success of the Loretta Lynn film bio, 'Coal Miner's Daughter.'

[122] Nashville writer Alanna Nash recalled watching one of Wynette's final music videos and remembered her physical condition: "Tammy looked ancient, like a plant that had withered up about to die.

[134] In April 1999, Wynette's daughters filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her doctor, Wallis Marsh, Care Solutions, and George Richey.

[122] Richey was later dropped as a defendant from the suit,[139] a court dismissed the claims against Care Solutions, and the remaining parties reached a confidential settlement with the doctor.

[149] He would later write several popular country songs, including one made commercially successful by George Jones titled "When the Grass Grows Over Me".

[170] Following the couple's honeymoon in Hawaii, Wynette claimed that Tomlin spent a lot of money and attempted to fire a gun on the beach, which scared her children.

However, the reference to cookie-baking more likely comes from an unrelated remark by Hillary Clinton: "I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas, but what I decided to do was to fulfill my profession, which I entered before my husband was in public life.

"[85] Marcus K. Dowling of CMT commented that "the birth of the blend of blue-collar roots and countrypolitan flair that defined four decades of female country stars can be associated with Wynette.

[218][28] Mary A. Bufwack and Robert K. Oermann stated that the song "typecast Tammy as the long-suffering housewife, forlornly putting up with abuse for the sake of love.

"[43] Jon Pareles wrote in 1998 that it "established Ms. Wynette in the role of a long-suffering but determinedly loyal wife, holding the family together even when her husband strayed.

[219][45] Sherrill explained to The Wall Street Journal his reasons for composing it: "I reworked the lyrics so the story came from the perspective of a woman singing to another woman—as if she were giving advice to a friend who was a little unsure about how to hold on to her man.

The 1967 single "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad" warned a husband that his wife will start behaving like the rowdy women he interacts with at the bar.

[225][111] The Country Music Hall of Fame wrote, "Her gripping, teardrop-in-every-note vocal style seemed to weep with emotion, while she elaborated on the theme that suffering ennobles a woman.

"[226] The New York Times wrote, "When the songs moved toward honky-tonk or old-fashioned weepers, Ms. Wynette did more than navigate the melody dutifully; her voice showed the emotional depth that was smothered elsewhere.

[8][43][236] David Don Drehle of The Washington Post described the title in 1998: "Wynette's voice – raw, broken, sad, knowing – prophesied [...] The First Lady of Country, she came to be known for her string of hurtin' hits.

[238] Sara Kettler of Biography commented, "Despite many ups and downs – including two divorce filings – the pair still recorded some of the best duets in country music history.

"[58] Noah Berlatsky of The Atlantic wrote, "The part-schtick, part-sincere corniness that was in different ways so integral to both of their performance styles was multiplied to extravagant levels when they sang together under [Billy] Sherrill's auspices.

[241] Kellie Pickler wanted to bring awareness of her music to a new generation by recording a track titled "Where's Tammy Wynette" for her 2012 album 100 Proof.

[242] Reba McEntire credited her as influence and later recorded a song called "Tammy Wynette Kind of Pain" for her 2019 album Stronger Than the Truth.

Other artists who have cited Wynette as an influence include Garth Brooks,[244] Suzy Bogguss,[245] Rosanne Cash,[246] Brandi Carlile,[247] Terri Clark,[245] Sheryl Crow,[248] Sara Evans,[249] Melissa Etheridge,[111] Emmylou Harris,[246] Elton John,[250] Wynonna Judd,[246] Martina McBride,[217] Lorrie Morgan,[251] Carly Pearce,[252] Orville Peck,[253] Taylor Swift,[254] Pam Tillis,[245] Shania Twain,[255] Tanya Tucker,[256] Carrie Underwood,[257] Lee Ann Womack[258] and Trisha Yearwood.