"The Wonders You Perform" is a song written by

Jerry Chesnut Jerry Donald Chesnut (May 7, 1931 – December 15, 2018) was an American country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American Sou ...

, and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music singer and songwriter, considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Lynn, Wynette helped bring a ...

. It was released as a single in November 1970.

Background and reception

"The Wonders You Perform" was first recorded on February 26, 1970 at the Columbia Recording Studio in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. Three additional tracks were recorded during a session produced by

Billy Sherrill Billy Norris Sherrill (November 5, 1936 – August 4, 2015) was an American record producer, songwriter, and arranger associated with country artists, notably Tammy Wynette and George Jones. Sherrill and business partner Glenn Sutton are regar ...

. Sherrill was Wynette's long-time producer. The song was written by Jerry Chesnut, who was Wynette's brother-in-law at the time. Chesnut originally wrote it as a

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

song about the "miracles of Jesus" and how he helps heal through challenging times. The song reached number 5 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart in early 1971. It did not chart within the ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

, but instead reached a charting position on the ''Billboard''

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

list. In September 1971 the song was included on Wynette's second compilation album with Epic Records entitled ''Tammy's Greatest Hits, Volume Two''. "The Wonders You Perform" was also notably recorded by

Jean Shepard Ollie Imogene "Jean" Shepard (November 21, 1933 – September 25, 2016), was an American country singer who was considered one of the genre's first significant female artists. Her commercial success ran from the 1950s to the 1970s while also be ...

for her 1971 album ''Here and Now'' and by

Connie Smith Connie Smith (born Constance June Meador; August 14, 1941) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Her contralto vocals have been described by music writers as significant and influential to the women of country music. A similarity ...

for her 1974 album '' That's the Way Love Goes''.

Track listings

;7" vinyl single * "The Wonders You Perform" – 3:25 * "Gentle Shepherd" – 2:40

Charts

Weekly charts

References

1970 songs 1970 singles Epic Records singles Tammy Wynette songs Jean Shepard songs Connie Smith songs Song recordings produced by Billy Sherrill Songs written by Jerry Chesnut {{1970s-country-song-stub