Multi-Grammy-winning artist Tanya Tucker has been turning country songs inside out with her cut-to-the-core emotional interpretations for more than 35 years. She has found a home in the Top 40 50 times during her long illustrious career with hits like "Delta Dawn," "What's Your Mama's Name," "Texas (When I Die)," "Pecos Promenade", "Strong Enough to Bend," "Down to My Last Teardrop," "Two Sparrows in a Hurricane," and "It's a Little Too Late.” Then in 2006, her father/manager Beau Tucker, the guiding influence in her life, died of lung cancer, causing Tucker to put the brakes on recording.
When she returned to the studio, she channeled her emotions into a set of her father's favorites. The resulting CD, My Turn (Saguaro Road Records/Time Life), is a tribute to her dad and homage to some of the country classics that shaped her early life.
"It's kind of reliving the early years of my first falling in love with country music," says Tucker. "My dad introduced me to them--not all of them. I had heard them all, but I didn't sing them all. There were a couple in there that my dad always wanted me to record. "You Don't Know Me" [recorded by Eddy Arnold] was the perfect example. He really loved that song, and he wanted to make a record of that. "Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You"--he wanted me to do that right after he heard Joe Sun sing it. I said, 'Joe Sun already done it.' Then, Dolly Parton come out with it and had a big number one record. He goes, 'See, I told you.' My dad was usually right. He had a good ear. Anytime I didn't listen to him I regretted it."
The feisty, fun-loving Tucker reworked memorable hits like Buck Owens' "Love's Gonna Live Here," George Jones' "Walk Through This World With Me," and Merle Haggard's "Ramblin' Man."
"I made a career doing guy's songs, so that wasn't anything new for me," Tucker says of the female perspective she put on the tunes. "People say I put my own footstep on it. I don't know how to do that. I just do it. I just sing it, and it happens. and I'm thankful for that. A lot of songwriters have told me that through the years. 'Man, I had wrote a song and you cut it, and it like totally changed it for me. It was like a new song. You made it your own.' I'm grateful for that. Whatever it is, I hope it stays with me."
Tucker says if she had given a lot of thought about recording some of the unforgettable numbers, the pressure might have been too great.
"I just went in the studio and did it," Tucker said. "I just sang the songs at that time to the best of my ability. I'm never completely happy with any of my performances. I never will. There's always something I think I could do better. I just hope my dad would put his stamp of approval on it. I'm sure there would be something about it he didn't like. And I hope the fans like it."
Recording for Tucker has always been a "fairly simple process," but until recently, it always took a backseat to her time on stage.
"It used to be I enjoyed performing in the early years more than I like to record. But now I really like to record as much as I like to perform. Maybe more so. Because I can go back and go over my mistakes, if I have the time, which is hard to get sometimes. We were on a tight schedule with this album. So Pete Anderson---he was the producer--did the tracks in L.A., and I did the vocals here (in Nashville) and sent them back and forth. That's not my favorite way to do a record, but it was the only way we had at the time. "
On the project, Tanya turned one last time to her dad for his influence by using one of his hats in the artwork for the CD.
"I felt very strongly about having it," she recalls. "We were originally going to do the album cover session in Nashville, but I was back in L.A. So, they had to fly a photographer to L.A. and it was the day of the photo session, and I had to get my sister to FedEx the hat to me."
"More than just the music, I wanted the artwork to speak as a tribute to my dad...wearing his hat. It's quite a hat to fill. Never could do it. I'd put it on for a little bit and held it close to my heart. It represented him in all ways. "
Now, at age 50, the legendary singer is looking ahead to the next chapter of her life and how she would like the story to play out.
"I've looked at a lot of things and tried to look at my life, backwards and forwards and upside down, and every which way. I've come to some conclusions, but as a whole, I really don't know. It's a road that's unknown.
"I take one day at a time, and I try to focus on the good stuff. There's been a lot of bad lately--not necessarily with me--just losing a lot of our really, really staples in all of our lives, people who meant so much to us as far as inspiration and artists that were truly some of the greats, like Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett, a true pop culture icon."
"Just think about doing the good things in life. Not so much about the world evolving around me. I want to evolve around the world. I'm just in this world. I ain't of it. I want to make a difference in other people's lives. Some people might say I have already, but I haven't enough. Haven't had my fill yet."
Bill Conger is a freelance writer for various publications including Bluegrass Unli
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