On This Day in 1995, Country Music’s Most Beloved Couple Released Their Final Duets Album Two Decades After Their Divorce

On this day (June 20) in 1995, George Jones and Tammy Wynette released One. It had been 15 years since Mr. and Mrs. Country Music released a collaborative album and 20 years since their divorce. Additionally, One was the last album Wynette recorded before her death in 1998.

One was not the first joint album Jones and Wynette released after their divorce. Golden Ring, which topped the country albums chart, dropped in August 1975, months after they signed the papers. Five years later, they released Together Again. Then, they made fans wait another 15 years before they returned with One. While it wasn’t as successful as some of their previous collaborations, it was a strong farewell from one of country music’s favorite duos.

The album was only half of their last hurrah. They kicked off their reunion tour during the 1995 International Country Music Fan Fair at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds in Nashville. Their three-song performance was the beginning of a trek that kept them on the road until October, when they closed the tour with a pair of shows at the Grand Ole Opry.

Unfortunately, One didn’t get the love it deserved. Some fans were excited to see the pair of legends together again. They were more than happy to lay their money down for the chance to take a fresh trip down memory lane. However, the wider country music industry had moved on from the Nashville Sound of the 1960s and ’70s. At the same time, the neotraditional country boom that characterized the genre in the first half of the 1990s was starting to fade. Radio programmers were too focused on sharing hot, new, pop-leaning artists to give much airtime to the album’s title cut and sole single, which failed to reach the top 40.

George Jones and Tammy Wynette Discuss Their Reunion

According to the Spokesman-Review, George Jones’ 1994 album The Bradley Barn Sessions sparked their reunion. Tammy Wynette joined him to record their hit “Golden Ring” for the album, and it reminded them of how well they worked together.

“As soon as we got started on that, we knew it was just like the old days,” Jones said. “Everything fell in place. She knew what to do when I did it, and I knew what to do when she did it. We hadn’t forgotten a thing,” he added.

“It feels like we never stopped singing,” Wynette agreed. “He knew what I was going to do, and I knew what he was going to do. We just walked in and did it.”

Featured Image by Harry Langdon/Getty Images

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