''My Man'' is a
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by American
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
artist,
Tammy Wynette
Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music artist, as well as an actress and author. She is considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Ly ...
. It was released on September 25, 1972 via
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America
Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...
and was the fifteenth studio album of her career. The disc was a collection of 11 tracks whose themes centered around spousal loyalty and heartache. Two
singles
Singles are people not in a committed relationship.
Singles may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series
* ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe
* ''Singles'' ...
were spawned from the album: "
My Man (Understands)" and "
'Til I Get It Right
"Til I Get it Right" is a song recorded by American country music artist Tammy Wynette. It was released in December 1972 as the second single from the album '' My Man''. The song was Wynette's twelfth number one, spending one week at number one a ...
". Both topped the country charts in 1972 and 1973, respectively. The album itself reached the top position on the American country albums chart.
Background, recording and content
Tammy Wynette was among the most successful country artist of the sixties and seventies decades. She had a series of chart-topping and top ten country singles that earned her the title of "The First Lady of Country Music". Between 1971 and 1973, she had five number one singles on the country charts including "My Man (Understands)".
The song served as the lead single and name for Wynette's next studio release. The sessions for ''My Man'' were recorded between May 1971 and May 1972 at
Columbia Studio B, located in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
. The sessions were produced by
Billy Sherrill
Billy Norris Sherrill (November 5, 1936 – August 4, 2015) was an American record producer, songwriter, and arranger best known for his association with country artists, notably Tammy Wynette and George Jones. Sherrill and business partner Gle ...
.
The project contained a total of 11 tracks.
Most of the album's material followed themes centered around housewives staying loyal to their husbands, such as the title track, "
Hold On (To the Love I Got)" and "Good Lovin' (Makes It Right)". Other selections such as "You Can't Hang On" and "'Til I Get It Right" had lyrics that described heartbreak.
Four tracks on the project had writing credits from Carmol Taylor, while two had credits from
Norro Wilson
Norris Denton "Norro" Wilson (April 4, 1938 – June 8, 2017) was an American country music singer-songwriter, producer, and member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Wilson wrote or co-wrote numerous hit songs during more than 40 yea ...
. Wynette herself contributed to two of the album's tracks.
A cover version of "
The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A." by
Donna Fargo
Donna may refer to the short form of the honorific ''nobildonna'', the female form of Don (honorific) in Italian.
People
*Donna (given name); includes name origin and list of people and characters with the name
* Roberto Di Donna (born 1968), Ita ...
also appeared.
Fargo's version was a number one country single in 1972. The track, "Hold On (To the Love I Got)" was released in 1972 as a single by
Barbara Mandrell
Barbara Ann Mandrell (born December 25, 1948) is an American country music singer and musician. She is also credited as an actress and author. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was considered among country's most successful music artist ...
whose version was a top 40 country single.
Release, chart performance, reception and singles
''My Man'' was originally released on September 25, 1972 on Epic Records. It was originally distributed as both a
vinyl LP
The LP (from "long playing" or "long play") is an analog sound storage medium, a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and a ...
and a
cassette
Cassette may refer to:
Technology
* Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback
** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in the ...
.
Decades later, it became available digitally.
''My Man'' later peaked at number two on the American ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Top Country Albums
Top Country Albums is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The 50-position chart lists the most popular country music albums in the country, calculated weekly by Broadcast Data Systems based on physical sales a ...
chart in January 1973. It peaked outside the
Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...
, at number 201 during this period as well.
''My Man'' was given only two out of five stars from
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
.
A compilation release (that also contained tracks from her 1972 LP ''Bedtime Story'') was also reviewed by
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
. However, the recordings were given praise: "Wynette is in fine form as well, delivering heartbreak and determination in equal measure."
Two singles were spawned from the album. The first was the title track, which was originally released by Epic Records in August 1972. By November 1972, the song reached the number one spot on the ''Billboard''
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States.
This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...
chart. The album's second single was "'Til I Get It Right" and was released in December 1972. By March 1973, the single also reached the number one position on the ''Billboard'' country chart.
On Canada's ''
RPM
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
'' Country Tracks chart, both singles also reached number one.
Track listing
Personnel
All credits are adapted from the
liner notes
Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes.
Origin
Liner notes are desce ...
of ''My Man''.
*Bill Barnes – cover design
*Al Clayton – photography (front cover)
*
The Jordanaires
The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Vocal ...
– backing vocals
*Slick Lawson – photography (back cover)
*The Nashville Edition – backing vocals
*Billy Sherrill – producer
Charts
Release history
References
{{Authority control
1972 albums
Albums produced by Billy Sherrill
Epic Records albums
Tammy Wynette albums