Stand by Your Man

"Stand by Your Man" was reportedly written in 1968 at Columbia Recording Studios in Nashville in all of 15 minutes. The song came from an idea that originated with Wynette's producer, Billy Sherrill, who along with Wynette is one of the two writers credited. Tammy was not very fond of the song at first because it was unlike anything she had ever written before, and because there is a high note that was hard for her to sing. She said that, over time, she got to love the song, and came to the point where she "couldn't do a show without it." 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 signature song. However, after witnessing how successful the song came to be in America during that time, Sherrill then agreed that "Stand by Your Man" was definitely Wynette's career-defining 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 (and in fact, the last line in the final verse says "after all, he's just a man"). 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 the "Gennifer Flowers interview" that she "wasn't some little woman 'standing by my man' like Tammy Wynette." The condemnation from the public was immediate, even coming from Wynette herself.

The song appeared at the beginning of the Academy-Award nominated 1970 film Five Easy Pieces, starring Jack Nicholson and Karen Black. It also appeared in The Blues Brothers (1980) (in which it was sung by Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi), 1987 film The Fourth Protocol, starring Michael Caine and Pierce Brosnan, and at the end of the Academy-Award-winning 1992 film The Crying Game (in which it was sung by Lyle Lovett). The song resurfaced again in a string of other early 1990s films, including My Cousin Vinny (1992), Poetic Justice (1993), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), and GoldenEye (1995).

A 1976 answer song by Ronnie Milsap "(I'm A) Stand by My Woman Man" also topped the country music charts.[5]

The song is referenced in songs by British punk rock groups The Slits ("Typical Girls") and The Clash ("Train in Vain").

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

The song appears on the game Karaoke Revolution Country.

The song was referenced by Former First Lady of the United States of America Hillary Rodham Clinton during a 1992 TV interview on the CBS American news magazine show 60 Minutes.

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).

The song was spoofed on Sesame Street as "Stand By Your Can". It was performed by Hammy Swinette, a porcine parody of Wynette, who—with the help of a Muppet trash can—urges people to put their trash in a trash can.[6]

The song was also used during the episode "Hatless" of the first season of Justified.

The song also appears in an episode of the popular 2008 show Gossip Girl, where an embarrassing video of Blair Waldorf singing "Stand By Your Man" is played at her 20th birthday party.

In 2016, the song appeared in the fourth-season premiere of Masters of Sex where a drunk Virginia Johnson (played by Lizzy Caplan) is shown singing along in a hotel bar.

"Stand by Your Man" was one of the songs used in the 2018 South Korean television series Something in the Rain starring Son Ye-jin and Jung Hae-in, using the version covered by Italian-French singer and former French First Lady Carla Bruni.

On 2018's CMT Artist Of The Year Carrie Underwood with Maddie & Tae and Runaway June performed this song with another women hits country song.

In 1996, Heike Makatsch took her version of the song Stand by Your Man, which was used as the soundtrack of the movie Männerpension. In the German-speaking countries, the cover was a great success. In the genre of music, the cover remained true to the original, but more pop.

• Tina Turner's version is found on unofficial LP releases.
• In 1968, Patti Page covered the song and released it as an easy listening single, peaking at No. 20.
• In 1969, The Mirettes released a version of it on their album Whirlpool.
• In 1970, Candi Staton covered the song, peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard R&B chart and at No. 24 on the pop Hot 100.[17] She also reached No. 21 on the Cash Box Top 100.[18] • In 1971 a Plethora of Reggae Artist covered this song firstly the Jamaican group The Dynamites, followed in quick succession by Marlene Webber, Cynthia Richards, Hortense Ellis, And Bongo Tony aka (Tony Binns), who sang the song from a Male Perspective entitled “Stand By Your Girl”. • In 1974 Cynthia Webber recorded a Reggae version. • In 1975 Claudette Miller recorded the song in Reggae.. • Nana McLean recorded a Reggae version in 1979. • In 1985 Christine Joy White And Cynthia Schloss both recorded the song in reggae.
• In 1982, Wendy O. Williams of the Plasmatics and Lemmy from Motörhead released the song as a 7" EP.
• In 1989, Lyle Lovett included the song on his third studio album, Lyle Lovett and His Large Band.[19] • In 1993 Sally and Joseph recorded the song in reggae as a 12” Single for the UK Fashion Label-(FAD 120-B).
• In 1994, Lisa Brokop covered the song for the soundtrack to the film Harmony Cats. It was released as a single and peaked at number 88 on the RPM Country Tracks chart.[20]
• Debbie Rule, covered the song on her album Texas Girls (2015).
• In 2017, Carla Bruni included a cover of the song on her album French Touch.