If there’s ever been more curious musical coupling than The KLF and Tammy Wynette, I’m at a loss to top it. Back in 1992, the British acid house duo and the “First Lady of Country Music” teamed up to issue the out-there “Justified & Ancient.”

The track’s origins stretch back to 1987, long before Wynette’s involvement. The song refers to an earlier KLF incarnation, the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, and the first “Justified & Ancient” captured on record was more political. Four years later, the new Wynette-led version was pure pop, with its lyrical nod to her hit, “Stand By Your Man”:

I’m still not entirely certain how this odd pairing ever came to pass. How did The KLF ever convince Wynette to sing such nonsensical lyrics (and appear in the over-the-top video)? Together they rode that ice cream van to #11 on the Billboard Hot 100, and even journeyed all the way to #2 over on the Hot Dance/Club Play chart. “Justified & Ancient” was the biggest pop hit of Wynette’s career, whose “Stand By Your Man” had only reached #19.

The KLF quite theatrically self-destructed not long after the success of “Justified & Ancient,” though Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty would continue to record under new aliases. Their most recent incarnation was 1997’s 2K. Wynette passed away in 1998.