After getting done with Willeford, I started reading Jimmy McDonough’s book Tammy Wynette: Tragic Country Queen (Viking, copyright 2010, 366 pp.). My mother read this one and recommended it to me, or I probably wouldn’t have read it. Also, I read an online article that McDonough wrote about honkytonk singer Gary Stewart that I thought was amazing. (It’s here –http://www.furious.com/perfect/garystewart.html).
McDonough starts with a strong introduction that makes clear his love for Wynette’s work. It’s obvious right from the start that this is going to be one of those “got-everything-she-wanted-and-still-wasn’t-happy” stories. Wynette thirsted for fame, got it, but remained unfulfilled.
One thing that I like about McDonough’s work is that it serves as a corrective for the myths regarding Wynette – many of which were promoted by Tammy. McDonough establishes early on that Tammy enjoyed telling tall tales about herself. For instance, someone once robbed Zsa Zsa Gabor of a her jewelry in an elevator; Tammy appropriated that story and said that it had happened to her.
So far, I’m really enjoying McDonough’s book. I’ll give it a 9.5 out of 10.
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