Tammy Wynette - Tammy Wynette: Legendary Performances

Tammy Wynette: Legendary Performances Bottom Line:

Tammy Wynette: Legendary Performances is a collection of archival footage from the Country Music Hall of Fame. It goes through a time-line of the artist's career spanning from the late sixties until the early eighties. If you want to see the First Lady of Country Music at her finest, then look no further than this DVD.

The Performances:

The first performance is from Tammy Wynette's 1967 appearance on The Stonemans, a syndicated program taped in Nashville, Tennessee. "Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' (With Lovin' On Your Mind)" was the song, which Loretta Lynn had only recently taken to No. 1 on the charts. An interesting thing to note about the performance is that she was playing the guitar. Not something I've really seen before. In the short interview before-hand she talks about how she loves the traveling part of her career and that she had been to thirty-three different states since September of that year.

Also from 1967 are two performances taken from The Bill Anderson Show. First up was "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad" and then "I Don't Wanna Play House." In between the songs, Bill Anderson talked with her a little bit about what the past year was like for her, mentioning the records she had released so far in her career. Sharing the microphone for background duties was her step-daughter Donna Chapel, who was a staple in Tammy's live (weekend) shows.

A year later, Tammy appeared on the CMA Awards to sing "D-I-V-O-R-C-E," which was nominated for the best single record of the year. Out of the whole collection, this is hands-down my favorite. To stand there on the stage and put out so much of yourself makes me wonder if many of our current country stars would be able to do that. It gives proof that she really deserved the title "Heroine Of Heartbreak." The pain and hurt in her voice is something you can't ignore.

She paid a visit to The Wilburn Brothers Show in 1969 to sing another classic, "Stand By Your Man." Again I must mention the emotion in her vocals, even if she was simply sitting on a porch swing belting out the words. It's almost as if she was born to sing about life's painful situations.

There are a total of four performances with George Jones. The first one ("We Loved It Away") is from a Pop! Goes The Country show in 1974. The second and third duets are from the 1977 show Country Music Hit Parade.

My favorite from the pair is "Golden Rings," with "Near You" a close runner-up.

With the two from Country Music Hit Parade, I can't help but talk about the little looks given between the pair as they are singing. You just know there was something going on between the two of them. Who knows if it was good or bad given the fussing and fighting that went on behind the scenes. On the very same show, Tammy sang a solo song called "You And Me."In 1980 Tammy had her own television special. The first footage from that special is her singing "He Was There (When I Needed You)" and then George Jones introduces his "favorite next ex-wife" before their fourth and final duet on the DVD - "We're Gonna Hold On." Despite whatever was going on with them at the time, they still sounded fantastic together. One of Country Music's greatest duets happened because of them.

Bonus Material:

Another great feature of this DVD is the fact there is bonus material. The bonus features are just as wonderful as the performances because the interviews give you more insight into the mind of the artist, and the George Ritchie wedding footage gives you a more personal side to Tammy.

The footage of Vince Gill, Pam Tillis, and Lorrie Morgan helping to induct Tammy into the Country Music Hall of Fame shows just what kind of impact she left on Country Music. Not only was she known as the "Heroine of Heartbreak," but the "First Lady Of Country Music." With the talent she had and the "all" she gave with every song, there's no doubting she deserved it. What a fantastic collection of performances and songs from this DVD.

Release date: August 19, 2008 - Shout Factory

Tammy Wynette: Legendary Performances Track List:

1. Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' (With Lovin' On Your Mind)
2. Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad
3. I Don't Wanna Play House
4. D-I-V-O-R-C-E
5. Stand By Your Man
6. Reach Out Your Hand
7. We're Gonna Hold On (with George Jones)
8. We Loved It Away (with George Jones)
9. Woman To Woman
10. 'Til I Can Make It On My Own
11. Golden Ring (with George Jones)
12. You And Me
13. Near You (with George Jones)
14. Cowboys Don't Shoot Straight (Like They Used To)
15. He Was There (When I Needed You)

Extras:

• Two mid-'80s interviews
• Country Music Hall of Fame induction
• Footage from her wedding with George Richey