Stuart, FL Concert
Tanya Tucker delivers at Lyric show
By Bill DeYoung
entertainment editor
April 23,
2005
Tanya Tucker opened Friday night's Lyric Theatre concert with "Some Kind of Trouble," a sexy, sinuous hit from the early 1990s.
Like many of the veteran vocalist's best songs, its lyrics are a nod and a wink to Tucker's three decades-plus career as country music's "bad girl."
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Tucker's earliest records — cut when the singer was barely 13 years old — exploited her nascent sexuality. Eventually, she was re-marketed as a sort of Nashville sex kitten, and as a young woman her public affairs and exploits with substance abuse made frequent headlines.
Maturity looks, and sounds, good on Tanya Tucker: She's actually grown into the songs.
From the oldest number performed at Friday's early show, 1975's "Lizzie and the Rainmaker," to her 1993 smash "A Little Too Late," her strutting stage demeanor and effortless growl of a voice were all about solid and utterly convincing delivery.
She dedicated "Two Sparrows" to her parents, who have been together 66 years ("I think they deserve a medal," Tucker declared) and spoke warmly about her children (daughter Presley, 15, was attending her school prom in Nashville Friday night).
Tucker, who was wearing a navy blues pants suit with silver embroidery, seemed genuinely thrilled with the Lyric — most of her shows these days are at county fairs and outdoor festivals, where the music tends to mix with the midway sounds and float away on the wind.
Friday, everybody could hear her just fine. And they hung on every word. (also in Tanya Fan Corner)