Stand by Your Man

For the song "Stand by Your Man" by LL Cool J, see Stand By Your Man (LL Cool J song).

"Stand by Your Man"
Song

"Stand by Your Man" is a song co-written by Tammy Wynette and Billy Sherrill and originally recorded by Tammy Wynette, released as a single in September 1968 in the USA. It proved to be the most successful record of Wynette's career and is one of the most covered songs in the history of country music.

About the song

Released as a single in late 1968, the song reached number one on the U.S. country charts in late 1968 for three weeks. "Stand by Your Man" also crossed over to the U.S. pop charts peaking at number nineteen, and elevated Wynette, then one of many somewhat successful female country recording artists, to superstar status. It reached number one in the UK when the record was finally released in Britain in 1975. An album of the same name, which was also quite successful was released in 1968.

"Stand by Your Man" was reportedly written in the Epic studios in 1968 in all of 15 minutes, from an idea that came from Wynette's producer, Billy Sherrill, one of the two writers who wrote the song, Wynette was the other writer. 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 career hit. However, after witnessing how successful the song came to be in America during that time, Sherrill then stated that "Stand by Your Man" was definitely Wynette's career hit.

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 an interview that she "wasn't some little woman 'standing by my man' like Tammy Wynette."

The song appeared at the beginning of the Academy-Award nominated 1970 film Five Easy Pieces, starring Jack Nicholson and Karen Black, in The Blues Brothers (1980), where it was sung by Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, and it appeared (hilariously) at the end of the Academy-Award nominated 1992 film The Crying Game, sung by Lyle Lovett. The song resurfaced again in a string of other early 1990s films, including Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) and GoldenEye (1995) each showcasing its tendency to be poorly covered.

Stand by Your Man is the title song of the German comedy show Dittsche.

The song appears on the game Karaoke Revolution Country.

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 (title is Io voglio te).

Chart performance

Chart (1968)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	19
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	11
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1
Canadian RPM Top Singles	15
Chart (1975)	Peak position
U.K. Singles Chart	1

Cover versions

• In 1968, Patti Page covered the song and released it as an easy listening single, peaking at #20.
• In 1971, Candi Staton covered the song.
• In 1981, David Allan Coe released a cover version as the 6th track on his Invictus (Means) Unconquered album.
• In 1992, The Chipettes covered the song for the album Chipmunks in Low Places featuring Tammy Wynette herself.
• In 2000, The Dixie Chicks covered the song and released it as a 'B-Side' on the CD Single for Goodbye Earl.
• Also covered or partly covered by Motörhead feat. Wendy O'Williams, Lyle Lovett, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, The Dresden Dolls, Heike Makatsch, Candi Staton and many others.