Tammy Wynette, an Alabama native and legendary figure in country music, will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Recording Academy during Grammys week in 2024.

Wynette (1942-1998) is one of six artists to earn the accolade this year, along with Gladys Knight, Donna Summer, N.W.A., Laurie Anderson and the Clark Sisters. Recipients were announced on Friday by the Recording Academy, and will be honored on Feb. 3 during a ceremony at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles.

The event is part of the festivities surrounding this year’s Grammy Awards, which are presented by the Recording Academy and intended to honor music excellence. Grammy winners will be announced on Feb. 4 at two ceremonies in Los Angeles: an afternoon Premiere Ceremony at the Peacock Theater and a televised ceremony that evening at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is a “Special Merit Award … presented by vote of the Recording Academy’s National Trustees to performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording,” the academy said in a press release. Previous recipients have come from a variety of music genres, and range from Roy Acuff to Frank Zappa.

Here’s what the Recording Academy had to say about Wynette:

“Tammy Wynette first hit the musical scene in 1966 with ‘Apartment #9′ after moving to Nashville and teaming up with record producer Billy Sherrill. Together, the duo wrote songs that reflected the yearnings and the things Wynette felt were important in her life. In 1968, Wynette released ‘Stand By Your Man,’ which sold more than five million singles and became the largest-selling single ever recorded by a female artist. By 1970, she racked up five No. 1 country hits, was named the Country Music Association’s Female Vocalist of the Year three times, and won two Grammys. Wynette was the first female country music singer to sell over one million albums and has sold more than 30 million records grossing more than $100 million, earning her the title ‘The First Lady of Country Music.’”

Wynette was born on May 5, 1942, as Virginia Wynette Pugh in a doctor’s office in Red Bay, Alabama. She grew up in nearby Itawamba County, Mississippi. As a result, she claimed both states as her home. (“My top half comes from Mississippi and my bottom half from Alabama,” Wynette was known to say.)

As a hairdresser in Midfield during the early 1960s, Wynette received her first break by appearing on “The Country Boy Eddie Show,” a variety series that aired mornings on Birmingham’s WBRC-TV.

Wynette then headed to Nashville in search of more fame, signing a recording contract and charting with the 1967 single, “Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad.” Her hit list continued with “I Don’t Wanna Play House,” “Stand By Your Man,” “D-I-V-O-R-C-E,” “The Ways to Love a Man” and many more. She married George Jones — a talented and volatile artist who earned the nicknames “Possum” and “No Show Jones” — in 1969. Their marriage, a tumultuous affair, lasted until 1975.

As duet partners, Wynette and Jones released nine studio albums and more than a dozen successful singles such as “Golden Ring,” “We’re Gonna Hold On,” “Two Story House,” “Near You” and “(We’re Not) the Jet Set.” In 2023, Showtime aired a miniseries about their relationship, “George & Tammy,” starring Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain.

Wynette is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Alabama Music Hall of Fame and more. She died on April 6, 1998, at age 55, and has continued to influence country artists over the decades.

READ: In memory of Country Boy Eddie, Tammy Wynette and a star-studded day in Nashville

It’s unclear who will accept the Lifetime Achievement Award for Wynette at the ceremony on Feb. 3, but we know that Georgette Jones, her daughter with George Jones, will be in attendance at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre.

Georgette Jones, 53, posted Friday on Facebook about her mother’s new award, saying “Well, y’all … the day has finally come. We’ve been holding a secret for months until today, and our family couldn’t be more thrilled to announce: The 66th annual Grammy awards are giving our Mom the highest possible musical award. She’s receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award!”

She also said, “And did I mention that my sister, Jackie Daly, my niece, Kristina Bagby and I getting to go to LA for the special event ceremony honoring Mom AND the Grammys???!!! It’s a bucket list once in a lifetime dream to see Mom honored this way and to actually go to the Grammys! Please don’t pinch me or wake me up!”

Georgette Jones plans a live chat on Facebook at 6 p.m. CT on Friday to talk about Wynette and the Lifetime Achievement Award.

In a 2008 interview with Kathy Kemp of AL.com, Georgette — a registered nurse who lived in Alexander City at the time — talked about starting her own music career and evoked her family legacy.

“I had two parents in the business, with really big shoes to fill,” she told Kemp. “I was worried people would compare me to them, and I knew I couldn’t live up to that. I’m OK with it now. At a certain age, you realize it’s really not worth worrying about. … I just love music and want to do whatever I can with it.”