George Jones and Tammy Wynette ‘Rushed Into Things’ (Exclusive)

Even after their divorce, George Jones and Tammy Wynette remained “Mr. and Mrs. Nation Music” within the hearts and minds of their followers. Their tortured love, which spawned reunion excursions and a number of other No. 1 hits on the nation music charts, together with “We’re Gonna Maintain On,” made George and Tammy’s story the stuff of legend.

However what if the parable had been mistaken? Writer and podcaster Tyler Mahan Coe seeks to separate reality from fiction in his e book, Cocaine & Rhinestones: A History of George Jones and Tammy Wynette. “There’s rather a lot that must be corrected to get an correct sense of their lives,” Coe explains to Nearer. “And within the means of correcting these misunderstandings, there’s rather a lot to study in regards to the world and their music.”

George and Tammy fell in love whereas touring collectively in 1969, however Coe says the honeymoon didn’t final very lengthy. “They actually rushed into issues based mostly on their very own fantasies about each other,” he says. “It didn’t take lengthy for them to appreciate there have been main variations between fantasy and actual life. However by that point, they’d already begun promoting their relationship to their followers and the media. It made it tougher for them to only minimize their losses.”

The pair had been by no means completely matched. George, who was 11 years older, wasn’t a celebration man, however Tammy liked to be social. “He preferred to remain dwelling and watch TV,” says Coe. “Tammy could have been uninterested in the truth of George from the very starting.”

It’s additionally no secret that their union was impacted by George’s alcoholism and Tammy’s addictions. “She was already taking pace and routinely being prescribed sturdy painkillers,” says Coe, who provides that one among Tammy’s docs prescribed amphetamines for George to assist him management his weight. “So, then George was taking amphetamines and consuming on the similar time, which made issues a lot worse.” The singers divorced in 1975 after six years and one baby collectively, daughter Georgette Jones.

Life After George Jones and Tammy Wynette’s ‘Two Story Home’ Collaboration

In 1980 George and Tammy recorded the album Collectively Once more, which included the hit “Two Story Home,” largely to shore up Tammy’s cooling profession. “There was a transparent understanding behind the scenes that it could assist the narrative if the viewers believed that George and Tammy would all the time have a factor for one another,” says Coe. “It’s a theme that comes again each time they’d carry out once more for the remainder of their lives and careers.”

Backstage, Tammy’s final husband and supervisor, George Richey, was pulling the strings. The singer felt he wouldn’t have as a lot visitation along with his daughter if he didn’t comply with carry out with Tammy. “For George to proceed working with Tammy was only a fixed reminder of how he was being manipulated and the way he wasn’t in command of his personal life,” Coe explains.

Tammy’s sudden loss of life in 1998 at age 55 set George free however left him devastated. Their love could not have been as everlasting as individuals believed, however it had a big impact on each their lives. “After the memorial, George received on the tour bus with his wife Nancy and had the motive force simply drive him throughout Nashville,” says Coe. “George was simply sitting silently within the again, not talking for hours.”