Tanya Tucker - Country Greats - Tanya Tucker '1997

Tracks list

Tracklist:

1. Strong Enough To Bend (02:44)
2. Love Me Like You Used To (03:48)
3. Just Another Love (03:12)
4. One Love At A Time (02:54)
5. Texas (When I Die) (04:02)
6. I Won't Take Less Than Your Love (03:40)
7. San Antonio Stroll (02:56)
8. Would You Lay With Me (In A Field Of Stone) (02:50)
9. What's Your Mama's Name, Child (03:13)
10. Blood Red And Going Down (03:13)
11. Highway Robbery (03:29)
12. Walking Shoes (02:38)
13. The Jamestown Ferry (03:02)
14. If It Don't Come Easy (03:24)
15. Something (03:17)


 moreTucker was born in Seminole, Texas, and much of her childhood was spent
moving throughout the Southwest as her father pursued construction jobs. At the
age of six, she began taking saxophone lessons; two years later, she decided she
wanted to sing and made an auspicious debut with Mel Tillis, who was so
impressed by her talents that he invited her on-stage to perform. In 1969,
Tucker and her family moved to Las Vegas, where she regularly performed.
Eventually, she recorded a demo tape that gained the attention of songwriter
Dolores Fuller, who sent it to producer Billy Sherrill. At the time, Sherrill
was the head of A&R at CBS Records, and he was so impressed with the demo tape
that he signed the teenaged vocalist to Columbia. Sherrill initially planned to
have Tucker record "The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.," but she passed on
the tune, choosing "Delta Dawn" -- a song she heard Bette Midler sing on The
Tonight Show -- instead. Released in the spring of 1972, the song became an
instant hit, peaking at number six on the country charts and scraping the bottom
of the pop charts.

At first, Columbia tried to downplay Tucker's age, but soon word leaked out and
she became a sensation. Her second single, "Love's the Answer," also became a
Top Ten hit later in 1972. Tucker's third single, "What's Your Mama's Name,"
became her first number one hit in the spring of 1973. Two other number ones --
"Blood Red and Goin' Down" and "Would You Lay with Me (In a Field of Stone)" --
followed, establishing Tucker as a major star. In 1975, she signed with MCA
Records, where she had a string of hit singles that ran into the late '70s. She
decided to radically change her image in 1978 and cross over to rock with her
T.N.T. album. Despite the controversy over the record and its sexy cover, it
went gold the following year.

By the end of the '70s, her sales were declining; in 1980 she only had two hits.
She recorded a few singles with Glen Campbell, with whom she was romantically
linked. She also made her feature film debut in Hard Country. She switched to
Arista in 1982, where she had several hits, highlighted by the Top Ten "Feel
Right." She didn't chart in 1984 or 1985, and signed with Capitol Records. In
early 1986, she returned with "One Love at a Time," which rocketed to number
three. For the rest of the decade, she scored a constant stream of Top Ten
singles, including four number one hits. Her success continued in the early
'90s, even though her sales began slumping as the decade wore on. By the new
millennium, Tucker was still in the game.

Several retrospectives and various hits collections were released. In 2002,
Tucker issued her 31st album -- her most personal to date -- Tanya. More
compilations followed, culminating in the live recording/DVD Live at Billy Bob's
Texas in 2005. What could be termed a comeback album, the Pete Anderson-produced
and arranged My Turn, a collection of classic country covers, appeared in 2009
from Saguaro Road. While Tucker continued to perform, she didn't record for a
decade.

In January 2019, Tucker spent three weeks recording in a Nashville studio with
producers Brandi Carlile and Shooter Jennings. Carlile wrote a handful of tunes
specifically for the album, and co-wrote "Bring My Flowers Now." On April 1,
2019, Tucker and Carlile performed the song at Loretta Lynn's All-Star Birthday
Celebration Concert in Nashville. The duo performed "Delta Dawn" at the 2019 CMT
Music Awards, joined by Martina McBride, Trisha Yearwood, Deana Carter, and
others. The album's first official single, "Hard Luck," and an accompanying
music video appeared in June. A second pre-release single, a cover of Miranda
Lambert's "The House That Built Me," along with the LP, While I'm Livin',
appeared in August.

While I'm Livin' proved to be a big comeback for Tucker, earning the artist her
first Billboard Country Top Ten album since 1991 and her first two Grammy Awards
(Best Country Album and Best Country Song for "Bring My Flowers Now"). She kept
up her momentum the following year, releasing Live from the Troubadour, a
concert album recorded during an L.A. appearance on the While I'm Livin' tour. ~
Sandra Brennan

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