George Jones and Tammy Wynette - 16 Biggest Hits

 (14 customer reviews)

George and Tammy were already legends before they started recording duets. It was natural that they should, because country duets were very fashionable, thanks in no small measure to the successful recording partnership between Porter and Dolly. Unlike those two, George and Tammy were married to each other. Many of their biggest hits told of some aspect of their life together.So, there is Take me (before marriage), The ceremony (the actual wedding), Let's build a world together (looking forward to years of happiness), Near you (wedded bliss), We're gonna hold on (problems in the marriage, but it can be saved), We loved it away (marriage beyond repair) and Two story house (we live in the same house, but we ignore each other). By the time they recorded Two story house, they had divorced and each had found a new marriage partner. Of course, they did have other hits as well, including Golden ring (the saddest song they recorded as a duet), We're not the jet set and Southern...Read more

By the time they stepped into the CBS recording studio in 1971 George and Tammy had been married two years, he was already considered one of the great traditional artists in the genre and she was the industry's First Lady. They were sitting on top of the country music world. The downhill slide was only a few years away, but for a brief time they were country music's camelot ... they were the original "Mr. & Mrs. Country Music". Only a few of their duets went number one (GOLDEN RING, WE'RE GONNA HOLD ON) and some seemed to miss the mark all together (THE CEREMONY, A PAIR OF OLD SNEAKERS), but the simple joining of two of country music's most famous voices makes this BIGGEST HITS collection a haunting, biographical journey into the country music of yesterday that shouldn't be forgotten nor missed.

Besides Conway & Loretta, noone sang a duet like George and Tammy........although I was partial to George and Melba Montgomery. George Jones is one of the most sincere stylists in Country Music history; and Tammy had the most "vulnerable" voices around. This album showcases the combining of these two legends, and out of 16 numbers, there's not a bad one here. All of the usual suspects are included: "Golden Ring", "...Hold On", and "Two Story House", as well as a few of their cover songs (which they made their own) like "Something to Brag About". Great recordings and mixing.