Stand by Your Man

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For the song "Stand by Your Man" by LL Cool J, see 14 Shots to the Dome.

"Stand by Your Man" was a 1968 song, cowritten by Tammy Wynette and Billy Sherrill and sung by Tammy Wynette. It proved to be the most successful record of Wynette's career and, arguably, one of the most covered songs in the history of country music. Released as a single in late 1968, the song reached number one on the U.S. country charts in early 1969; it also crossed over to the U.S. pop charts 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.

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. 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." Wynette demanded and received an apology from Clinton.

The song appeared at the beginning of the Academy-Award nominated 1970 film Five Easy Pieces, starring Jack Nicholson and Karen Black, as well as The Blues Brothers (1980), in which it was sung by Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi.

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.

Preceded by: "Oh Boy" by Mud

UK number-one single May 11, 1975

Succeeded by: "Whispering Grass" by Windsor Davies and Don Estelle

[edit] Covers

• In the movie The Blues Brothers (1980), Jake and Elwood Blues sing this song in a country music bar (Bob's Country Bunker), under the guise of another band (The Good Old Boys).
• Swedish pop and country singer Kikki Danielsson covered the song on her 1981 album Just Like a Woman.
• Motörhead covered the song in 1982 on an EP of the same name.
• In 1989, Québécoise singer Carole Laure covered the song on her album Western Shadows.
• Lyle Lovett covered the song for the soundtrack of The Crying Game
• Elton John covered the song for the 1998 tribute album Tammy Wynette Remembered.
• Actress Minnie Driver, player the character Irina in the James Bond film GoldenEye sings an off-key version.
• Other covers: Mandaryna, Dolly Parton, The Dixie Chicks, Tina Turner, Candi Staton, Lynn Anderson, Clodagh Rodgers, The Dresden Dolls, The Plasmatics, James Last, Wanda Jackson, Lyle Lovett, and Me First and the Gimme Gimmes.