A Conversation with Author Jimmy McDonough Can we get a hamburger? No, Jimmy, we have to discuss your new book. Oh, right, this is where the author toots his own horn for a few pages. Well, I already tooted the horn for close to 400 pages. The horn is tired. The horn is flaccid. Thank you for that lovely image, Jimmy, but let’s get to business: why Tammy Wynette? Why Tammy? I’ll tell you why. Wynette’s one of the greatest singers this country has ever produced, yet you never hear about her. Tammy’s taken for granted. And if you do her about her, it’s because of her anthem, "Stand By Your Man." Some people never got past that one. They assume Tammy is just some sort of one-dimensional anti-feminist mouthpiece. She’s much more complex than people give her credit for. Until illness and drug addiction sidelined her, Tammy was very, very independent. She sold millions of records and changed the game for female country singers. Madonna? Lady Gaga? Wynette created that kind of frenzy back in the sixties/seventies, only with a steel guitar. She sang for five presidents, and was known to smooch both Ronald Reagan and George Wallace on lips after belting one o