4 minute read
Tanya Tucker wins Grammy
Tanya Tucker Wins First Grammy Awards in 50-year Career
By Sasha Dunavant
Dressed in classic attire, embroidered black leather and white ruffles designed by Double D Ranch, Tanya Tucker made her way to the night that she would never forget and had long deserved to be a part of during the 2020 Grammy Awards in January
At 61 years of age and with more than 50 years in the Country music business, Tucker was finally honored for the first time at the Grammy Awards in two categories. She received the Grammy for Best Country Album, “While I’m Livin’,” and for Best Country Song for “Bring Me Flowers Now.” Overwhelmed when accepting her awards, the Country music legend summed up her feelings in a few simple words.
Tucker has been doing just that all her life. Growing up in Wilcox, Arizona, she was the youngest of the four children of Jesse, a heavy equipment operator, and Juanita Tucker. Even as a young child she listened to her favorites such as Mel Tillis and Earnest Tubb on the town’s main radio station, KHIL. Her sister was the child in the family that was considered the good singer, but Tucker pleaded with her parents to let her try out for singing gigs as well. When Tucker sang at the Arizona State Fair, she had a chance to perform for singer Judy Lynn. Then Country singer and songwriter Mel Tillis invited her onstage to sing with him, and Tucker’s career began to take off.
In 1969 the Tucker family moved to Henderson, Nevada, where Tanya began performing on a regular basis.
The young singer made a demo tape that attracted the attention of legendary music producer Billy Sherrill, head of artists and repertoire at CBS Records. As a result of his admiration for the girl’s talent, Sherrill signed Tucker to Columbia Records. Tucker chose to record “Delta Dawn” instead of another previously picked song for her because she had heard Bette Midler
sing it on “The Tonight Show.” A new version of the song was written for Tucker, and in 1972 it became a hit. It climbed the Country charts to No. 6 and even touched the pop charts. When the world found out about her age and compared it with her talent, Tucker became a phenomenon at age before she was 14.
The second single Tucker released was, “Love is the Answer.” It became a Top Ten hit. In the Spring of 1973 Tucker released her first No. 1 hit called “What’s Your Mama’s Name.” The song was followed by three more No. 1 singles, “Blood Red,” “Goin’ Down” and “ Would You Lay With Me (In a Field of Stone).”
MCA Records signed Tucker is 1975. She had several hits such as, “Lizzie and Rainman,” “San Antonio Stroll,” “Here’s Some Love” and “It’s Cowboy Lovin’ Night.”
She decided to crossover with her “TNT” album. It was controversial, but it went Gold in 1979. Tucker had a couple of singles from the album, including "I'm a Singer, You're the Song" and "Texas (When I Die).” The latter reached No. 5 on the Country charts and its B-side, "Not Fade Away," a Buddy Holly cover, peaked at No. 70 on the Hot 100 pop charts. More than a singer, she began taking acting roles in a few feature films like “Jeremiah Johnson” “Hard Country” and appeared in “The Rebels” miniseries. Tucker’s 1986 album, “Girls Like Me,” yielded multiple singles, including four Top 10 hits. Between 1988 and 1989 she racked up eight country top-10 hits in a row. Eight consecutive singles reached the top 10 in the early 1990s, including "Down to My Last Teardrop," "(Without You) What Do I Do with Me" and "Two Sparrows in a Hurricane". Her 1993 album, “Greatest Hits 1990-1992,” rose to No. 15 and also went to No. 18 on the Top Country Albums chart. She has had numerous nominations from the Country Music Association (CMA) and Academy of Country Music as well as other recognition for her work. In 1990 Tucker was named "Female Video Artist of the Year" by CMT. She was awarded “Female Vocalist of the Year” in 1991 by the CMA. In 1994 she performed at the half-time show at Super Bowl XXVIII. She was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in 1997. In June 2017, Tucker was featured in Rolling Stone as one of the 100 Greatest Country Artists of All Time.
Sadly, on June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Tucker among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in a 2008 fire at Universal Studios. In 2009 she released her single “ Forever Loving You”, a tribute to Glenn Campbell, with whom she had a long and tumultuous relationship.
She’s founded her own recording company, starred in her own reality TV show, published an autobiography called “Nickel Dreams: My Life” and retained her status as one of the few female Country Outlaw singers alongside others of the genre like Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, Emmylou Harris, David Allan Coe and Hank Williams Jr.
The song for which she won the Best Country Song Grammy, “Bring Me Flowers Now,” which she cowrote was an appropriate recipient and has added meaning knowing that she waited half a century to be recognized for her work.
