Only 13 when her provocative “Delta Dawn” caused a nationwide stir and became a Top 10 country hit, Tucker has built one of the most successful and compelling careers in music. Considered one of the very few females of the “outlaw” country movement, she holds a Grammy award, two Country Music Association awards, Two Academy of Country Music awards, and three CMT Awards. 23 of her albums have landed in the country Top 40 chart since her 1972 debut, and she has amassed 10 #1 country singles, 33 that have reached the Top 5, and 41 in the Top 10.
Recent accolades listed here:“….try My Turn by Tanya Tucker. She takes songs traditionally sung by men, such as ‘You Don’t Know Me,’ and interprets them from a female perspective….”
—Parade Magazine“Tucker was the Taylor Swift of her day, scoring her first hit when she was just 13. Now 50, she flips the script on country classics recorded by men, like “You Don’t Know Me.” Appealing? Yes.…”
—People Magazine, Chuck Arnold“Few artists have had longer or more colorful careers than Tanya Tucker….”
—Billboard Magazine, Deborah Evans PriceOn MY TURN, Tanya Tucker got to work with famed producer Pete Anderson (Dwight Yoakam, Michelle Shocked). Tucker selected songs from her childhood that inspired her career and completely transformed their delivery and meaning with her inimitable earthy, passionate and unflinching style. Tucker reworked classics such as Buck Owens’ “Love’s Gonna Live Here” (featuring Jim Lauderdale), “You Don’t Know Me” by Eddy Arnold, George Jones’ “Walk Through This World With Me” and even invited The Grascals to join her on a flip-flop of the Conway Twitty/Loretta Lynn duet “After The Fire Is Gone.” Bluegrass stars Rhonda and Darrin Vincent also appear on the album and producer Anderson does double duty, playing guitar on each track. ''I always knew Tanya was a great singer,” said Anderson, “but not until she went up against the classic country songs and singers of all time did I realize that she is one of the greatest alive ....she made these songs her own.” “I am extremely proud of the record we made,” he added.“I picked the songs my daddy always wanted me to sing,” explains Tucker. “This is really a tribute to him because he was with me throughout my entire career. He’s now with God above but I know he’s watching over me still and loving these songs and this record.”Mike Jason, Senior Vice President Audio & Video Retail for Saguaro Road said “Tanya is one of the few country superstars able to deliver searingly honest country songs and still relate to fans of every age and musical interest.” He then added, “she is a one of a kind artist and personality and epitomizes what we at Saguaro Road are all about.”Upcoming media appearances include Better TV (Syndicated), Fox News Channel’s Huckabee, Fox Business Channel, Fox Entertainment, SiriusXM Radio, NYC Profiles (CUNY TV), Game Show Network, Joey Reynolds Show and Associated Press Television.
As a grade-schooler in Arizona,
Tanya Tucker and her father,
Beau Tucker, would convince touring country singers like
Ernest Tubb and
Little Jimmy Dickens to give
her a moment in the spotlight, too. And by the time she was 13,
Tucker was working her own shows in a Las Vegas nightclub,
fearlessly performing honky-tonk classics like
Faron Young's "Wine Me Up." So
it's no surprise the 50-year-old singer sounds perfectly
comfortable on her new album of country classics, My Turn.
She says she recorded famous songs by the likes of
Lefty Frizzell,
Buck Owens,
Ray Price and
Hank Williams to honor her late
father.
"He's the one that got me started in this business, and he's the one that got me hooked on country music from the very beginning, so it only makes sense that I dedicate this album to him," she said. "I wanted to call it The Songs My Dad Wanted Me to Sing ... but I finally decided on My Turn, which I think is a good title, too. He's the one that had these records when I started singing. He was my mentor."
Tucker possesses one of the most familiar voices in country music, with 40 Top 10 singles and 10 No. 1 hits. These days, she divides her time between Malibu, Calif., where her daughters are pursuing film work, and Franklin, Tenn., a small town about 20 miles south of Nashville. During a phone interview, she discusses the healing power of music, the first demos she was pitched and why she's keeping her vinyl collection.
CMT: Preparing for this record, did you go back and listen to the original versions?
Tucker: Not really. [Producer] Pete Anderson came over to my house in Malibu one night, and it was the first time I ever met him. We started talking about the songs that we really liked. There was a list about 20 to 30 songs. He was dead set about some things. There was one that I wasn't really sure of -- "Big Big Love." I was hoping to do something like "It's Such a Pretty World" by Wynn Stewart. But he was set on "Big Big Love" and even right up until I recorded it, I really didn't know if I was going to like the song. But after I recorded it, I really loved it. That's one of my favorites on the record.
When you moved to Malibu, did you keep all your vinyl records, and do you listen to country music on vinyl?
Oh, absolutely. I haven't lately because I don't have anything to play it on. All my turntables are in storage. I haven't gotten to listen to them in a long time. But I love all the white noise.
You can't bear to part with those.
No, never will. That's the beginning, you know. That was the core. That's what got us here.
When you listened to material for your studio records, were most of those demos sung by men?
Yeah, it's true. I've made a career out of singing songs that mostly were men's songs. I mean, I have definitely cut some songs that had female demos, but I have always been attracted to men's songs. I always turned them around into stronger kind of songs. I have made a career out of that. Nobody would really know, I guess, but me and my producer.
Did the industry ever tell you that since you're a female country singer, you're only going to appeal to women?
Oh, no, no, I was never told that. I think they wanted me to appeal more to men, especially when I got a little older. The facts are that women buy the records. It's always been that way. Somehow through them wanting me to appeal to men, I ended up appealing to women because of the strong songs. There is just a little more strength in a woman's song these days. I never have really been attracted to "poor little me" songs -- "I'll do anything if you take me back." I never have liked that kind of attitude. (laughs) I have had a lot of women come to me and say, "Man, you helped me get through a divorce." It's amazing how powerful music is. It never fails to amaze me. I think sometimes artists get so involved in making the music, we forget really how important it is as far as changing lives and helping people through a bad part of their lives. It's very, very powerful.
In your early career, one of the first songs you were pitched was "Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.," which later became a Grammy-winning song for Donna Fargo. What was going through your mind the first time you heard it?
I thought it was a good song, but I didn't think at that time it was for me. Of course [music publisher] Al Gallico brought it in because he had the publishing on it. He knew Billy Sherrill had this new 13-year-old kid he was producing, so he put it together and brought it in and said, "This is a monster." ... So we really could have recorded it if we had wanted to, but I just said it wasn't my song. Billy told the guys, "Well, you heard her." And they're going like, "Oh, God, he's lost his mind. He's starting to listen to a 13-year-old kid." (laughs) Billy was a little left-of-center anyway. It was to be expected, I guess. But when I heard "Delta Dawn," which is what he played me next, it was an Alex Harvey guitar vocal, and I said, "Now that's my song."
So they thought, "He's lost it." But, in fact, it was the best thing he could have done. As kids, we're unafraid. I was unafraid. That's the way you've got to be when you're starting out in this business -- and when you want to stay in this business, that's for sure. You can't get scared too much.
"He's the one that got me started in this business, and he's the one that got me hooked on country music from the very beginning, so it only makes sense that I dedicate this album to him," she said. "I wanted to call it The Songs My Dad Wanted Me to Sing ... but I finally decided on My Turn, which I think is a good title, too. He's the one that had these records when I started singing. He was my mentor."
Tucker possesses one of the most familiar voices in country music, with 40 Top 10 singles and 10 No. 1 hits. These days, she divides her time between Malibu, Calif., where her daughters are pursuing film work, and Franklin, Tenn., a small town about 20 miles south of Nashville. During a phone interview, she discusses the healing power of music, the first demos she was pitched and why she's keeping her vinyl collection.
CMT: Preparing for this record, did you go back and listen to the original versions?
Tucker: Not really. [Producer] Pete Anderson came over to my house in Malibu one night, and it was the first time I ever met him. We started talking about the songs that we really liked. There was a list about 20 to 30 songs. He was dead set about some things. There was one that I wasn't really sure of -- "Big Big Love." I was hoping to do something like "It's Such a Pretty World" by Wynn Stewart. But he was set on "Big Big Love" and even right up until I recorded it, I really didn't know if I was going to like the song. But after I recorded it, I really loved it. That's one of my favorites on the record.
When you moved to Malibu, did you keep all your vinyl records, and do you listen to country music on vinyl?
Oh, absolutely. I haven't lately because I don't have anything to play it on. All my turntables are in storage. I haven't gotten to listen to them in a long time. But I love all the white noise.
You can't bear to part with those.
No, never will. That's the beginning, you know. That was the core. That's what got us here.
When you listened to material for your studio records, were most of those demos sung by men?
Yeah, it's true. I've made a career out of singing songs that mostly were men's songs. I mean, I have definitely cut some songs that had female demos, but I have always been attracted to men's songs. I always turned them around into stronger kind of songs. I have made a career out of that. Nobody would really know, I guess, but me and my producer.
Did the industry ever tell you that since you're a female country singer, you're only going to appeal to women?
Oh, no, no, I was never told that. I think they wanted me to appeal more to men, especially when I got a little older. The facts are that women buy the records. It's always been that way. Somehow through them wanting me to appeal to men, I ended up appealing to women because of the strong songs. There is just a little more strength in a woman's song these days. I never have really been attracted to "poor little me" songs -- "I'll do anything if you take me back." I never have liked that kind of attitude. (laughs) I have had a lot of women come to me and say, "Man, you helped me get through a divorce." It's amazing how powerful music is. It never fails to amaze me. I think sometimes artists get so involved in making the music, we forget really how important it is as far as changing lives and helping people through a bad part of their lives. It's very, very powerful.
In your early career, one of the first songs you were pitched was "Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.," which later became a Grammy-winning song for Donna Fargo. What was going through your mind the first time you heard it?
I thought it was a good song, but I didn't think at that time it was for me. Of course [music publisher] Al Gallico brought it in because he had the publishing on it. He knew Billy Sherrill had this new 13-year-old kid he was producing, so he put it together and brought it in and said, "This is a monster." ... So we really could have recorded it if we had wanted to, but I just said it wasn't my song. Billy told the guys, "Well, you heard her." And they're going like, "Oh, God, he's lost his mind. He's starting to listen to a 13-year-old kid." (laughs) Billy was a little left-of-center anyway. It was to be expected, I guess. But when I heard "Delta Dawn," which is what he played me next, it was an Alex Harvey guitar vocal, and I said, "Now that's my song."
So they thought, "He's lost it." But, in fact, it was the best thing he could have done. As kids, we're unafraid. I was unafraid. That's the way you've got to be when you're starting out in this business -- and when you want to stay in this business, that's for sure. You can't get scared too much.
