Almost 30 years have passed since the world said goodbye to Tammy Wynette. The Country Music Hall of Fame member died in 1998, following decades in the limelight and a fraught battle with her health. But on March 30, some of her most dedicated admirers (and closest friends) will gather at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, breathing new life into her legacy.
Frank Empson / The Tennessean Frank Empson / The Tennessean /
Dubbed The First Lady of Country Music — Tammy Wynette Tribute Concert, the show will feature a star-studded cast of artists spanning country, Americana, rock, and soul, with one piece of connective tissue between them — bold voices, raised in tribute to a true original. Led by Wynette’s vocal protégé, Wynonna Judd, a broad group of powerhouse singers will revive choice selections from Wynette’s illustrious catalog, letting the Ryman audience feel her magic once more.
Speaking with Nashville Lifestyles, Judd says the night will be a family affair at heart. Georgette Jones (the daughter of Wynette and fellow country legend George Jones) is taking part. Over the years, Judd grew to know her idol as more than a creative inspiration. Now, she wants to help keep Wynette’s memory fresh.
“For me, it’s personal,” Judd says. “We were very close. The kind of close when you’re on the road and your grandmother dies, Tammy (changed the run of show) so I could get out of there fast enough to go to my grandmother’s funeral. She cooked for me on her bus and gave me presents, and she was my light. But also, no one sang like she did. … There’s a generation out there of people who don’t know who she is, so we must pass this on to them.”
She’ll have some help. Joining Judd is a diverse lineup of talented performers, dominated by vocal dynamos like Ann Wilson (from Heart), The War and Treaty, Randy Houser, and Mandy Barnett. Country will be well represented, with everyone from Gretchen Wilson and Terri Clark to Brittney Spencer and Tami Neilson taking the stage. Big names from Americana, including Lucinda Williams, Margo Price, Valerie June, and Katie Pruitt, will also be on hand, plus gospel group The Isaacs, contemporary Christian and Latin pop singer Jaci Velasquez, and soul stunner Macy Gray. The commonality seems obvious — a one-of-a-kind voice, like the one Wynette fashioned for herself.
The event is being filmed for an episode of PBS’ Great Performances series and produced by the same team that presented Walkin’ After Midnight: A Tribute to Patsy Cline in 2024. Musical director Cactus Moser (who is also Judd’s husband) says he learned a few things from the Cline tribute, and the team hopes to honor Wynette on her own terms.
“I was very adamant [during the Patsy Cline show] about making it sound very time-centric to what those artists sounded like then — not making it into a modern country kind of thing,” Moser explains. “And I like that. I like the fact that we make it sound like we’re taking the time machine back.”