Why Tammy Wynette Matters

[An] illuminating debut...Easton paints a riveting portrait of an oft-misunderstood star. Country music fans won’t be disappointed. * Publishers Weekly *
Easton’s book incorporates the author’s relationship to Wynette’s music and vocal performances in a critical biography that focuses on the artist’s musical talents...Fans of Wynette and country music will be drawn to this reappraisal. * Library Journal *
Why Tammy Wynette Matters ventures beyond the usual narrative of Tammy Wynette as a tragic country star whose numerous marriages and early death have often defined her. In this slim yet rich book of criticism, Steacy Easton considers the singer’s 'ambitious, transparent, and haunted work' in a feminist context, drawing out Wynette’s artistry and paying respect to her impact on country music...What makes Why Tammy Wynette Matters exceptional is that it considers how [Wynette's life] experiences gave her work its power...Easton is 'deeply committed to Wynette as a performer and writer.' They approach their subject with curiosity, generosity, and love. * Chapter 16 *
[An] exemplary deep-dive into the life of Tammy Wynette...Country fans will be delighted with this short but incisive and fond remembrance. * Bay Area Reporter *
Easton’s arguments are compelling…Reading Easton’s book you start to understand how Wynette may well have used the perceptions of her and her position as an icon of domestic femininity in a quite subversive way, and that she was far less of a victim than she herself often encouraged people to believe...Read this book; it’s unlike anything else you might have read about this artist and it will change your perception of who you think Tammy Wynette was. * Americana UK *
[Why Tammy Wynette Matters] weaves the stress of maintaining stereotypical Southern womanhood into the country legend's complex legacy. * The Tennessean *
[A] brilliant new book...Why Tammy Wynette Matters is a tour-de-force work of critical genius, and Easton’s book prompts us to listen once again to Wynette and to hear her performances in fresh ways. Their book is revelatory, offering insightful and illuminating readings of the ways that Wynette’s life and work intersect. * No Depression *
The book is full of beautiful sentences. . . as Easton waxes poetic about why Wynette matters. . . As Easton explores all the layers to Wynette’s gendered, larger-than-life persona, they allow us to expand the way we interpret and understand the world, and to expand our understanding of queerness itself. * Autostraddle *
A slim but thoughtful new book...Easton effectively makes the case that Wynette is underappreciated and worthy of a serious critical reappraisal. * New York Times *

One thing is certain: wherever one falls on the Tammy Wynette continuum — fan, casual observer, or someone simply interested in how art gets made and how gender, for better or worse, influences both its creation and perception — is going to be knocked out by Why Tammy Wynette Matters . . . Their endlessly compelling book succeeds in proving its title beyond a doubt. No small feat.

* Parton & Pearl *
It’s really a fantastic queer reading of Wynette, a great piece of criticism by a trans writer who had thought very deeply about Wynette . . . this is one of the best pieces of country music criticism I’ve ever read and I will be checking out more of these books, which range from Marianne Faithful to Bushwick Bill (by my friend Charles Hughes, who some of you may be familiar with). * Lawyers, Guns, and Money *