Tanya Tucker

Tanya Denise Tucker was born in Seminole, Texas, the youngest of three children born to Alma Juanita (née Cunningham; 1927–2012) and Jesse Melvin "Beau" Tucker (1927–2006). Prior to managing Tanya's career, Beau was a heavy equipment operator, so the family moved often as he sought better work. Her early childhood was spent primarily in Willcox, Arizona, where the only radio station in town, KHIL, played country music. The Tuckers attended concerts of country stars such as Ernest Tubb and Mel Tillis, and Tanya's sister LaCosta was praised in the family for her vocal abilities. At the age of eight, Tanya told her father that she also wanted to be a country singer when she grew up. When the Tuckers moved to St. George, Utah, Juanita took Tanya to audition for the film Jeremiah Johnson. Tanya did not win the bigger role for which she tried out, but she was hired, as was her horse, as a bit player (as Quallen's oldest daughter). About this time, she also received one of her first musical breaks, when her father drove the family to Phoenix for the Arizona State Fair, on the chance that the featured performer, country singer Judy Lynn, could use Tanya in her show. Tanya sang for the fair's entertainment managers, and she was engaged to sing at the fair itself. Tucker made her debut with Mel Tillis, who was so impressed by her talent that he invited her onstage to perform. In 1969, the family moved to Henderson, Nevada, where Tucker regularly performed. Eventually, she recorded a demonstration tape that gained the attention of songwriter Dolores Fuller, who sent it to producer Billy Sherrill, the head of artists and repertoire at CBS Records. Sherrill was impressed with the demo tape and signed the teenage vocalist to Columbia Records. ==Career==

1972–1979: Teen country star Sherrill initially planned to have Tucker record "The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA", but she chose "Delta Dawn"a song Billy Sherrill heard Bette Midler sing on The Tonight Showinstead as her first single while Donna Fargo, the writer of "The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA", released her own version as a single. A year later, Australian singer Helen Reddy scored a number-one U.S. pop hit with her version of "Delta Dawn". "I thank the lucky stars and the Good Lord for that song," Tucker told Nine-O-One Network Magazine in 1988. "If I cut it now for the first time I think it would be a hit. I was fortunate to have latched onto that one, and that was all Sherrill's doing. If it hadn't been for Sherrill, I probably would have been a rodeo queen or something." Her second single, "Love's the Answer", also became a top-10 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. Despite having a top 10 hit in March 1983 ("Feel Right") from her first and only Arista album Changes, she struggled to have her music played on the radio. By mid-1983, her singles were no longer making the top 40. She moved to Nashville after her breakup with Campbell in 1982 and began to lead a more secluded life. Finally, in 1988, her family confronted her and persuaded her to enter the Betty Ford Center. Her music was now more country pop-styled and up-tempo, but this material made Tucker popular again. Between 1988 and 1989, Tucker enjoyed one of her most popular years on the charts, racking up eight country top-10 hits in a row. Her albums around this time were also achieving "Gold" certifications by the RIAA, after selling 500,000 copies. A Greatest Hits album followed in 1989. It also contained a new single called "My Arms Stay Open All Night". Radio responded well; the song peaked at number two. In 1988, Tucker was nominated by the Country Music Association for "Female Vocalist of the Year", and was nominated for other major awards during this time. Her contribution to the country music genre was rewarded when the Country Music Association voted her the "Female Vocalist of the Year" in 1991, though she missed the event, having just given birth to her second child. from Time-Life. Tucker's "Lonesome Town" project was put on hold to do the first cover album of her career, My Turn, which was released in June 2009 and placed number 27 on the Billboard country charts. The first single, "Love's Gonna Live Here", was released to radio and was also available as a digital single. It is a remake of the classic hit by Buck Owens. The album includes classic country hits such as "Wine Me Up", "Lovesick Blues", "You Don't Know Me", "Ramblin' Fever", "Walk Through This World With Me", "Big Big Love", "Crazy Arms", "After The Fire Is Gone", and "Oh Lonesome Me". Tucker appeared on Terri Clark's 2012 album Classic in a remake duet of her first single "Delta Dawn". In June 2017, Tucker was featured in Rolling Stone as one of the 100 Greatest Country Artists of All Time. After the death of former flame Glen Campbell on August 8, 2017, Tucker released her first single since 2009, "Forever Loving You", a song co-penned by Tennessee State Senator Rusty Crowe. The song's release the following day, on the eve of Campbell's funeral, drew ire and criticism being exploitative. Tucker claimed that a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Alzheimer's Foundation of America, but the foundation stated it was not involved in the promotion and has not received any funds. Tucker released ''While I'm Livin''', her first collection of original material since 2002's Tanya, in 2019 via Fantasy Records. It was produced by Shooter Jennings and Brandi Carlile, with Carlile brought onto the project after initially being approached for songs by Jennings but after having professed such an admiration of Tucker and her work, Jennings felt it necessary for her to co-produce the record alongside him. Tucker performed "Bring My Flowers Now" at Loretta Lynn's all-star 87th birthday concert at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena with Carlile playing piano. The album's first single, "Hard Luck", was released on June 28, along with its accompanying music video. On January 26, 2020, Tanya Tucker won her first two Grammy Awards for "Bring My Flowers Now" and "While I'm Livin'". Tucker released a live album, Live from the Troubadour on October 16, 2020. In a 2021 interview with Rolling Stone, Tucker revealed that she was working on a follow-up to ''While I'm Livin''' with Carlile and Jennings. Tucker collaborated with RuPaul for "This is Our Country" in September 2021. During her 2022 set at Stagecoach Festival, Tucker revealed completing a new album. Tanya announced her studio album Sweet Western Sound on April 5, 2023, releasing the first single, "Kindness". Sweet Western Sound was produced by Tucker along with Brandi Carlile and Shooter Jennings, and released June 2, 2023, on Fantasy Records. Outlaw image Tucker is one of the few and best-known female country singers to be classified as an "Outlaw" in the Outlaw country movement, which was most popular in the late 1970s. As Tucker matured by the end of the 1970s, her Outlaw image grew. Like the other Outlaw artists in the business at the time (Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Jessi Colter, Emmylou Harris, David Allan Coe, Hank Williams Jr.), Tucker was able to combine qualities of country and rock music into her voice to make the Outlaw sound that was popular at the time. These qualities could be heard on some of her biggest hits at the time, including 1978's "Texas (When I Die)". Tucker also had a spirit of independence, which was another Outlaw quality. She ranked number nine on CMT Greatest Outlaws: The Dirty Dozen, the only woman to appear on that list. As the 1980s progressed, Tucker continued to add the Outlaw qualities to her hits. At the beginning of the 1990s, Tucker was still identified as an Outlaw. Today, Tucker continues to be recognized as one, regularly attending Outlaw events among regular shows. Gretchen Wilson made reference to Tucker in her 2004 hit song "Redneck Woman", and Tucker appears briefly in the video of the song, showing Tucker with other Outlaws. ==The Return of Tanya Tucker==

Decades after Tucker slipped from the spotlight, musician Brandi Carlile collaborated with her on an album, as well as a documentary based on Tucker's life. The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile was released in New York and Los Angeles on October 21, 2022, and nationwide on November 4. It was accompanied by the track "Ready As I'll Never Be". ==Other works==

Tucker appeared as a celebrity judge on Dance Fever in 1979. She appeared in two country music-themed episodes of The Love Boat in 1983. She published a 1997 autobiography, Nickel Dreams: My Life. She starred in her own reality show, Tuckerville, on TLC in 2005. It ran for two seasons for 18 episodes. The show covers an in-depth visit with Tucker in her home with her family. Tucker continues to perform for the military doing benefits with newer country acts such as Eric Agnew and Cole Deggs & the Lonesome. In 2019, she launched her own brand of tequila called Cosa Salvaje. ==Personal life==

Tucker had a relationship with Glen Campbell in the early 1980s. She also dated Merle Haggard, Andy Gibb, and Don Johnson. She later had a relationship with actor Ben Reed, with whom she had daughter Presley Tanita (b. July 5, 1989) and son Beau "Grayson" (b. October 2, 1991). Tucker has had an on-again, off-again relationship with Jerry Laseter, a Nashville musician. They were engaged in 1997 and again in 1999. Just days before their 1999 wedding, Tucker canceled the ceremony when she discovered she was pregnant with her third child, Tucker's daughter Layla LaCosta (b. June 25, 1999), saying she did not want to walk down the aisle pregnant in her wedding dress. Laseter was co-producer of Tucker's albums in 2002 (Tanya), 2005 (''Live at Billy Bob's Texas), and 2009 (My Turn''). Tucker's brother is Don (deceased) and her sister is country singer La Costa. In 2022, Tucker sold her Brentwood, Tennessee, home (purchased three years earlier for $1,510,000) for $2,275,000. ==Awards and nominations==

Studio albums • Delta Dawn (1972) • ''What's Your Mama's Name'' (1973) • Would You Lay with Me (In a Field of Stone) (1974) • Tanya Tucker (1975) • ''Lovin' and Learnin''' (1976) • ''Here's Some Love'' (1976) • ''Ridin' Rainbows'' (1977) • TNT (1978) • Tear Me Apart (1979) • Dreamlovers (1980) • Should I Do It (1981) • Changes (1982) • Girls Like Me (1986) • Love Me Like You Used To (1987) • Strong Enough to Bend (1988) • Tennessee Woman (1990) • Greatest Hits Encore (1990) • What Do I Do with Me (1991) • ''Can't Run from Yourself'' (1992) • Soon (1993) • Fire to Fire (1995) • Complicated (1997) • Tanya (2002) • My Turn (2009) • ''While I'm Livin''' (2019) • Sweet Western Sound (2023) ==Notes==