Stand by Your Man
"Stand by Your Man" is a song co-written by Tammy Wynette and Billy Sherrill and originally recorded by Wynette, released as a single in the United States on September 20, 1968. It proved to be the most successful record of Wynette's career, and is one of the most familiar songs in the history of country music. The song was placed at number one on CMT's list of the Top 100 Country Music Songs.
Released as a single, it stayed number one on the U.S. country charts for three weeks. "Stand by Your Man" crossed over to the U.S. pop charts, peaking at number nineteen. It elevated Wynette—then one of many somewhat successful female country recording artists—to superstar status. It reached number one in the UK Singles Chart when the record was released in the United Kingdom in 1975, and also reached number one in the Netherlands. An album of the same name—which was also quite successful—was released in 1968. The song earned Wynette the 1970 Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female - her second Grammy win in that category - and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
Vocal accompaniment is provided by The Jordanaires, who provided background vocals on most of Wynette's hit recordings.
The song was selected by the Library of Congress as a 2010 addition to the National Recording Registry, which selects recordings annually that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Background and writing
"Stand by Your Man" was reportedly written in 1968 at Columbia Recording Studios in Nashville in all of 15 minutes. The song came from an idea that originated with Wynette's producer, Billy Sherrill, who along with Wynette is one of the two writers credited. Tammy was not very fond of the song at first because it was unlike anything she had ever written before, and because there is a high note that was hard for her to sing. She said that, over time, she got to love the song, and came to the point where she "couldn't do a show without it." Sherrill originally stated that, before "Stand by Your Man"'s release, he thought that Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" would be Wynette's signature song. However, after witnessing how successful the song came to be in America during that time, Sherrill then agreed that "Stand by Your Man" was definitely Wynette's career-defining hit.Content
Derided by the feminist movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Wynette in later years defended the song as not a call for women to place themselves second to men, but rather a suggestion that women attempt to overlook their husbands' shortcomings and faults if they truly love them. Wynette always defended her signature song. The song remained contentious into the early 1990s, when soon-to-be First Lady Hillary Clinton told CBS' 60 Minutes during the "Gennifer Flowers interview" that she "wasn't some little woman 'standing by my man' like Tammy Wynette." The condemnation from the public was immediate, even coming from Wynette herself.In popular culture
The song appeared at the beginning of the Academy-Award nominated 1970 film Five Easy Pieces, starring Jack Nicholson and Karen Black. It also appeared in The Blues Brothers , 1987 film The Fourth Protocol, starring Michael Caine and Pierce Brosnan, and at the end of the Academy-Award-winning 1992 film The Crying Game. The song resurfaced again in a string of other early 1990s films, including My Cousin Vinny, Poetic Justice, Sleepless in Seattle, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and GoldenEye.A 1976 answer song by Ronnie Milsap " Stand by My Woman Man" also topped the country music charts.
The song is referenced in songs by British punk rock groups The Slits and The Clash.
"Stand by Your Man" is the title song of the German comedy show Dittsche.
The song appears on the game Karaoke Revolution Country.
The song was referenced by Former First Lady of the United States of America Hillary Rodham Clinton during a 1992 TV interview on the CBS American news magazine show 60 Minutes.
In 2003, "Stand by Your Man" was rated number one on CMT's 100 Greatest Songs in Country Music. In 2004, "Stand by Your Man" was rated number sixteen on CMT's 100 Greatest Country Love Songs.
In 1968, Italian singer Palma Calderoni recorded this song with Italian text, written by Mogol and Claudio Daiano.
The song was spoofed on Sesame Street as "Stand By Your Can". It was performed by Hammy Swinette, a porcine parody of Wynette, who—with the help of a Muppet trash can—urges people to put their trash in a trash can.
The song was also used during the episode "Hatless" of the first season of Justified.
The song also appears in an episode of the popular 2008 show Gossip Girl, where an embarrassing video of Blair Waldorf singing "Stand By Your Man" is played at her 20th birthday party.
In 2016, the song appeared in the fourth-season premiere of Masters of Sex where a drunk Virginia Johnson is shown singing along in a hotel bar.
"Stand by Your Man" was one of the songs used in the 2018 South Korean television series Something in the Rain starring Son Ye-jin and Jung Hae-in, using the version covered by Italian-French singer and former French First Lady Carla Bruni.
On 2018's CMT Artist Of The Year Carrie Underwood with Maddie & Tae and Runaway June performed this song with another women hits country song.
"Stand by The JAMs" featuring Tammy Wynette
In November 1991, nearly 23 years after the original song, the single "Justified & Ancient " was released, with Tammy introduced in the sleevenotes as "the first lady of country". The KLF's Bill Drummond flew to Nashville to personally produce the recording of Wynette's vocals.In April 1992, Wynette collapsed while on tour in Australia; for this she cited overwork during the promotion of "Justified & Ancient".
The single reached number two on the UK Singles Chart. It also reached number 11 in the US Billboard Hot 100,, returning Wynette to the top-40 on that chart for the first time since 1969.
Chart performance
Weekly singles charts
Year-end charts
| Chart | Position |
| UK | 5 |
Certifications
Heike Makatsch version
In 1996, Heike Makatsch took her version of the song Stand by Your Man, which was used as the soundtrack of the movie Männerpension. In the German-speaking countries, the cover was a great success. In the genre of music, the cover remained true to the original, but more pop.Track listings
CD-Maxi- Stand By Your Man - 2:53
- Cat Calls - Detlef Petersen - 3:37
- Stand By Your Man - 3:37
Charts
Other cover versions
- Tina Turner's version is found on unofficial LP releases.
- In 1968, Patti Page covered the song and released it as an easy listening single, peaking at No. 20.
- In 1969, The Mirettes released a version of it on their album Whirlpool.
- In 1970, Candi Staton covered the song, peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard R&B chart and at No. 24 on the pop Hot 100. She also reached No. 21 on the Cash Box Top 100. • In 1971 a Plethora of Reggae Artist covered this song firstly the Jamaican group The Dynamites, followed in quick succession by Marlene Webber, Cynthia Richards, Hortense Ellis, And Bongo Tony aka, who sang the song from a Male Perspective entitled “Stand By Your Girl”. • In 1974 Cynthia Webber recorded a Reggae version. • In 1975 Claudette Miller recorded the song in Reggae.. • Nana McLean recorded a Reggae version in 1979. • In 1985 Christine Joy White And Cynthia Schloss both recorded the song in reggae.
- In 1982, Wendy O. Williams of the Plasmatics and Lemmy from Motörhead released the song as a 7" EP.
- In 1989, Lyle Lovett included the song on his third studio album, Lyle Lovett and His Large Band. • In 1993 Sally and Joseph recorded the song in reggae as a 12” Single for the UK Fashion Label-.
- In 1994, Lisa Brokop covered the song for the soundtrack to the film Harmony Cats. It was released as a single and peaked at number 88 on the RPM Country Tracks chart.
- In 1995, art punk band Country Teasers covered the song on their debut album, The Pastoral – Not Rustic – World of Their Greatest Hits.
- Debbie Rule, covered the song on her album Texas Girls.
- In 2017, Carla Bruni included a cover of the song on her album French Touch.