Turbulent lives filled with emotional angst appear to be the norm for female country and western singers. Tammy Wynette’s broken life is highlighted in a new miniseries which takes a journey through her tumultuous third marriage with alcoholic and abusive country artist George Jones. Her father died when she was nine months old and she was brought up largely by grandparents. She had a breakdown during her first teen marriage and received ECT, careered on through six marriages in total, none of them happy, and had a hysterectomy without her consent at one point which led to chronic abdominal pain, drug addiction and eventually killed her at 55 from a blood clot.
She was born 5 May 1942 1.20am Red Bay, Alabama, and was a Sun Taurus trine a 12th house Capricorn Moon; with an unsettled Uranus Saturn in Taurus in her domestic/family 4th house and an intense Pluto in her 7th. Her saving grace came from a creative Venus in Pisces opposition and 8th house Neptune squaring onto an enthusiastic and lucky Jupiter in her performing 5th house. Her emphasised Neptune would raise her to musical heights though also skew her judgement when it came to emotional relationships. She’d opt for Neptunian types who walked on the dark Plutonian side.
George Jones, 12 September 1931, has a Virgo Sun, Venus and probably Moon conjunct her Neptune so a deep but illusory connection.
Shania Twain, one of the world’s biggest-selling female recording artists, is still with us and has a new album out soon. She grew up in poverty in Canada, one of five children. Aged 8, her mother would get her out of bed to take her to sing on stage in bars, at midnight. At 14, she got a job at McDonald’s which she did after school, then worked the bar at night. Her stepfather was physically and sexually abusive, which taught her to downplay her appearance. By the time she was 22 her parents were killed in a car crash, so she had to raise her younger siblings. Her first marriage split after her husband had an affair with her best friend and she married her best friend’s husband. A straight swap.
She lost her voice in 2004 due to Lyme’s disease, only recovering it seven years later after risky open-throat surgery.
She was born 28 August 1965 3.30pm Windsor, Ontario, and is Sun Uranus Pluto in Virgo sextile an ambitious 10th house Mars in Scorpio which in turn is in a hard-edged, can-be-victimised trine to Saturn. Her Mercury in entertaining Leo squares Neptune.
Skipping across other country and western female signers similarities emerge.
Dolly Parton, 19 January 1946 8.25 pm Little River, TN, has a harsh Mars Saturn in Cancer opposition Venus and Sun in Capricorn square Jupiter.
Patsy Cline, 8 September 1932 11.05pm Winchester, VA, has her Mars in Cancer conjunct Pluto opposition Saturn square Uranus – and that is tough and scary. She grew up in a dysfunctional, poor family, moving frequently with an abusive father and nearly died of a throat infection aged 13. The second of her two marriages was “fueled by alcohol, argument, passion, jealousy, success, tears and laughter.” Her Capricorn Moon was trine a Jupiter Neptune conjunction in Virgo close to her Virgo Sun.
Tanya Tucker, 10 October 1958 – another poor, peripatetic childhood and a constantly changing, chequered romantic life as an adult. She’s another with a Jupiter Neptune conjunction and an afflicted Mars in Gemini square Pluto.
What stands out is the combination of fear and mistreatment from an oppressed Mars alongside strong Jupiters, which would help to give them the optimism to rise out of their misery (mainly).
Jupiter Neptune can live in cloud cuckoo land but having an ever-hopeful approach, however unrealistic, helps to overcome the depression and damage of ill-treatment and look to a better future. Plus the anguish does give a bite to their plaintive, melancholic songs.
Loretta Lynn who recently died had a difficult relationship life in her own way to.
@KT Greetings from a fellow fan of Dolly’s good works in East TN! I grew up there and love that part of the world.
I consider Dolly’s Capricorn Sun-Virgo Moon connected to her efforts to help others, practically and significantly. For those who might not know, her Dollywood complex makes a real economic impact by providing jobs and attracting many tourist dollars to the area, and her Imagination Library (the organization that recently received $100 million dollars from Jeff Bezos!) is an educational nonprofit that distributes free books to young children to promote literacy. Initially started to serve the children in her home county the program has expanded across the USA and into other countries.
Marjorie describes Dolly’s Mars-Saturn in Cancer opposition Venus as harsh which in Dolly’s case may reflect a difficult start, as you say, growing up “dirt poor” yet with a strong upbringing that instilled love and respect for her roots (family, home, birth place). Sometimes growing up in poverty can result in a focus on ambition, success, and financial security in adulthood. Perhaps this particular astrology reflects that kind of experience and dynamic in Dolly’s life.
Jupiter squares her Capricorn Venus-Sun and she sure has made-makes a big personal impression on others. Agree, definitely a spirited, loving, buoyant quality about Dolly introduced with a not-to-be-ignored Jupiter-size ‘look’ (with the big hair and large bust line :)).
My mom was born about a month after Patsy Cline, reasonably close to Patsy’s birth town. The “Great Depression babies” had awful squares, T-Squares, and/or Grand Crosses in their charts–obviously reflective of the times. In my mom’s case, she had a cardinal grand cross with Moon in Capricorn/5th. She was a very creative person (drawing, painting, etc. rather than music, though) who, with hindsight, often found herself stymied by circumstances and having to sacrifice her own needs and wants so that others could survive and thrive. She didn’t marry until her first Saturn return (which was quite late in her day and age) and was widowed in her mid-40’s, among other things; she never dated or remarried afterward. After she retired and my sisters and I were grown, she was resolutely committed to putting herself first. I’m glad she did that.
Thanks Marjorie – you’re on fire since your move! This is so interesting. The very challenging childhoods, very early starts to their careers, often turbulent love lives – and all of them conveying such tender emotions in their voices.
Away from the Country and Western genre, I had a quick look at Edith Piaf, Billie Holiday, and Maria Callas. Their voices also conveyed intense emotions. Piaf and Holiday in particular had very challenging starts in life, and both lived in brothels at some point in their young lives.
Edith Piaf, 19 December 1915 – Sun/Mercury opposition Pluto, Saturn opposition Venus. Jupiter in Pisces is conjunct Chiron, making a wide t-square with the Sun, Mercury and Pluto. Mars is trine her Sun/Mercury, which must have given her a fiery boost.
Billie Holiday, 7 April 1915 – born with an emotional and musical Pisces stellium – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter. Jupiter is in the middle of the stellium, maybe that helped her a little? Mercury Mars is square Saturn and Pluto – so difficult. Mars is trine Neptune.
Maria Callas, 3 December 1923, also began singing very young, and had an eventful childhood and famously difficult love life. She has Saturn in Libra conjunct Mars in Libra. Sun is square Uranus, and Jupiter makes a t-square with her Virgo/Pisces Nodes.
Dolly Parton has Jupiter in Libra advanced, and to me she has always had a bouyant quality. I am from East Tn, the DOE National Labs are here. She has done so much good in this area. Late degree Capricorn suns seem to have difficult starts but then grow to something interesting.
@KT, she also provided major funding for development of the Moderna vaccine, is famously generous in her philanthropy, especially for the local Black community, and is in a long and stable marriage.