“‘Til I Get it Right”
Tammy Wynette
Written by Larry Henley and Red Lane
Billboard
#1 (1 week)
March 10, 1973
We’re moving toward the end of Tammy Wynette’s impressive run of hits, with the chart-toppers becoming fewer and farther between.
But most of her remaining number one singles are bona fide classics that either skewer the Tammy Wynette archetype or openly subvert it.
“‘Til I Get it Right” is one of the latter kind, a gorgeous ballad of resilience that recasts Wynette’s string of heartbreaks as just lessons along the way to her getting it right.
It’s affirming and resilient enough a song that Trisha Yearwood covered it two decades later, a reminder that Wynette’s legacy runs both broader and deeper than her trad wife anthems.
“’Til I Get it Right” gets an A.
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This song is lovely and I feel it’s about resilience. I love both Tammy and Trisha’s versions.
“A+” 1973 looks to have been a very good year in country music. Tammy (along with Dolly & Loretta) was not a perfect vocalist. However, that is the magic of those 3. The vocals were never Trisha perfect, but you believed every word they said. That’s the magic. Tammy did not always get it right but when she did there was no one better. This song would have been a bit boring with most singers, but Tammy knew how to sing it!
My two favorite Tammy chart toppers are still to come. She was a damn good singles artist.
I adore Tammy but yes, a singles artist. Her albums were usually lacking. One exception: Chech out the “Higher Ground” album from 1987.
That album is amazing. I don’t mind the “Sometimes When We Touch” album – I have it on a 2-album CD with “Higher Ground” – either.
I also have that and I do agree. Both have the same producer “Steve Buckingham”. I wish she would have collaborated more with him.
When I Think of Tammy Wynette. This is one of 5 songs that come to mind. This is a great song. I’ve heard multiple versions and enjoy each one.
I knew Trisha Yearwood recorded this song but I had no idea it was originally a Tammy Wynette song. What a gorgeous performance.
A good Tammy Wynette song, but not among my favorites – “B+”
Bonus Beats:
Here’s the southern soul version of “Till I Get It Right” that Bettye Swann recorded later in 1973:
https://youtu.be/2j4ivzkGok4
Here’s the version Shawn Colvin recorded for her 2015 covers album Uncovered:
https://youtu.be/3wr01kXw294
And Here’s the version Patti LaBelle for her 2017 covers album Bel Hommage, which is primarily an album of jazz and pop standards:
https://youtu.be/6DA6HMuhMXI
And finally Here’s the version that Joan Osborne of “One of Us” fame recorded for her 2006 album Pretty Little Stranger:
https://youtu.be/ERvdvxNA6pU
Many other country artists beyond Trisha Yearwood have covered it as well, such as Lorrie Morgan, Wynonna, Kenny Rogers, and more.
Of course Red Lane had a hand in writing the line “Right now, I am like wounded bird hungry for the sky.”
This performance pulses like a broken-heartbeat, alternating between resilient strength and crippling weakness, confidence and vulnerability.
This is one of my all time favourite vocal performances. Wynette soars.
Just gorgeous.