Tammy Wynette was always one of my favorite singers. Her voice is so pure and beautiful. It has often been said that she sounds like she has a tear in her voice. Her songs of heartache and pain throughout the years have told the story of her life. She was Country Music's First Lady and is sadly missed by many. Her daughter tells the story of the life of this great woman in her book Tammy Wynette A Daughter Recalls Her Mother's Tragic Life and Death.
The book I read is a hard back book that I purchased at Walmart for the reduced price of $18.71. It is 296 pages. Her daughter, Jackie Daly, had often thought of writing the story of her mother's life and after her death she felt it was something that had to be done. Tom Carter helped her to write the book. It was published in 2000. Tammy wrote her autobiography in 1979, but it was outdated and many things had happened in her life since then.
It is divided into three parts: The Long Salute, Neon Rainbows and Blood Secrets. There are 25 chapters plus an introduction and a postscript.
Jackie tells of before her mother's death how she would often be sleeping on the couch. She would sometimes sleep 15 hours a day. She knew something wasn't right and felt that all of the pain medications and things she was taking was just not healthy for her. April 6, 1998 she got a call that her mother had passed away. She got the call around 7:30 and got to her mother's house at 9:30. Jackie found it very odd that her mother's dead body would still be lying on the couch where she had died. George Richey was Tammy's husband. All of his children were there before Tammy's children were even notified. No local doctor was even called to the scene. Instead her doctor in Pittsburgh was phoned to come sign her death certificate. Things that happened on the day of her death were so strange. There are questions that to this day have not been answered.
Tammy's daughters would have little to say on the funeral arrangements for their mother. Jackie felt as if she were an intruder at her own mother's funeral. There were so many weird things that happened leading up to her death. There are so many things that could not be explained. The book goes into detail about the actions of her husband, her doctor and others that should have been protecting Tammy. Jackie shows us through her eyes the thoughts and feelings she had about all of these questionable things. She goes through all of the events of her mother's death and the events that happened from her funeral and after.
After the first three chapters of telling about her death, funeral and memorial service she leads us to the story of her life. She tells her background information, where she was born and about her parents and grandparents. She tells about her childhood and those that made an influence in her life. In 1964 Tammy headed out to Nashville with her 3 daughters. She came from a life of poverty working as a hairdresser and earlier picking cotton.
Tammy Wynette had a life that she began singing about in her songs. The public found someone they could relate to, someone that was a real person. She was married 5 times, had 26 major surgeries, went into the Betty Ford Center for drug addiction, had a mysterious 1978 abduction. Aside from all of that she had multiple platinum hits. She was loved by many and had a voice like no other person.
So many things happened in her life that was strange and that just didn't make sense. I could not believe how many different medications, especially pain pills, that she was taking. She had a huge addiction to Demerol, which is more addictive than cocaine or heroin. Jackie tells of the great drug addiction that her mother had.
She also goes into detail about the 1978 alleged kidnapping and beating. Jackie was 16 at the time that this happened and there are so many things that just don't make sense. Why was this subject so taboo in their household? If Tammy had been stalked couldn't her children be at risk? She would not even discuss it with her kids. Everything they learned was from the newspaper. Then 12 years later she confessed to her daughter that the whole kidnapping was made up. That it was actually her husband, George Richey, would beat her up. They came up with the phoney kidnapping to explain the bruises that she would have for days.
The story of her life is interesting and intriguing. I am glad that her daughter Jackie spoke out. I believe the words that she has written. I feel that George Richey played a role in her death each day by giving her Demerol shots and excessive pain medication. Jackie tells so many details of Tammy's life and her marriage to George Richey. She tells how he controlled the money and how he drove her into bankruptcy.
This book includes 18 black and white photos. Some of the things I read in this book I could not believe. I love reading stories of people and their lives. It was a book that I found very interesting and one that was hard to put down. It is one that tells all: about her marriages, children, drug problems, financial troubles, her successful career, her trials, her friendships and so much more. For any fan of Tammy or anyone that enjoys reading biographies this book is defintly worth reading.
Recommended:
