Maps of Music

My Man (1972)

Where the lyrics of My Man take you, and where it was really made.

The album reached the top of the American country albums chart, yet AllMusic gave it only two out of five stars.

Key places

Columbia Studio B, Nashville (1972)

Recording site Nashville — The sessions for My Man were recorded at Columbia Studio B in Nashville between May 1971 and May 1972. The map point uses the city centre, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• My Man: studio album by American country artist Tammy Wynette
• Released September 25, 1972 on Epic Records
• Fifteenth studio album of her career
• 11 tracks centered on spousal loyalty and heartache
• Two singles: "My Man (Understands)" and "'Til I Get It Right"
• Both singles topped the country charts, in 1972 and 1973
• The album reached the top position on the American country albums chart

Background

• Wynette was among the most successful country artists of the 1960s and 1970s
• A series of chart-topping and top ten singles earned her the title "The First Lady of Country Music"
• Between 1971 and 1973 she had five number one singles on the country charts, including "My Man (Understands)"
• The song served as the lead single and gave the album its name
• Most material follows housewives staying loyal to their husbands, such as the title track, "Hold On (To the Love I Got)" and "Good Lovin' (Makes It Right)"
• "You Can't Hang On" and "'Til I Get It Right" have lyrics describing heartbreak

Recording

• Sessions recorded between May 1971 and May 1972 at Columbia Studio B (the "Quonset hut studio") in Nashville, Tennessee
• Produced by Billy Sherrill
• Four tracks have writing credits from Carmol Taylor, two from Norro Wilson
• Wynette herself contributed to two of the album's tracks
• A cover of "The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A." by Donna Fargo also appears

Cover

• Bill Barnes: cover design
• Al Clayton: photography (front cover)
• Slick Lawson: photography (back cover)

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Born Virginia Wynette Pugh on May 5, 1942, in Itawamba County, Mississippi.
• Raised by her mother, stepfather and maternal grandparents; picked cotton on the family farm as a child.
• Married Euple Byrd at age 17; divorced in 1965.

Formation

• Moved to Nashville in 1966 and signed with Epic Records, produced by Billy Sherrill.
• Debut single "Apartment No. 9" (1966) reached number 44 on the US country chart.

Career

• Twenty singles topped the US country chart, including "Stand by Your Man" and "D-I-V-O-R-C-E".
• Joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1969 and won two Grammy Awards.
• Recorded numerous duets with George Jones before their divorce in 1975.
• Returned as a solo headliner and continued charting into the 1980s.
• Collaborated with KLF on "Justified and Ancient" (1991) and with Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton on Honky Tonk Angels (1993).
• Died April 6, 1998, in Nashville at age 55.

Legacy

• Estimated 30 million records sold worldwide; inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1998.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• AllMusic gave the album only two out of five stars
• Chart results after release were reported as the main public measure of its reception

Reappraisal

• AllMusic also reviewed a later compilation that included tracks from Wynette's 1972 LP Bedtime Story
• That review praised the recordings, saying Wynette performed with strong heartbreak and determination

Records

• The album reached the top position on the American country albums chart (album introduction)
• Billboard Top Country Albums: peaked at number two in January 1973
• Billboard 200: peaked at number 201
• "My Man (Understands)": number one on Billboard Hot Country Songs by November 1972
• "'Til I Get It Right": number one on the Billboard country chart by March 1973
• Both singles reached number one on Canada's RPM Country Tracks chart

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Donna Fargo's version of "The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A." was a number one country single in 1972, and this album also includes a cover of the song.
• "Hold On (To the Love I Got)" was released as a single by Barbara Mandrell, whose version was a top 40 country single.
• The album was originally distributed as both a vinyl LP and a cassette, and became available digitally decades later.
• The Jordanaires and The Nashville Edition sang backing vocals on the album.
• AllMusic later reviewed a compilation that also contained tracks from Wynette's 1972 LP Bedtime Story.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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