Tanya Tucker is one of the most iconic female country music singers of all time. She first made waves in the country music scene at a very young age because of her mature vocal chops, Over the years, she has become a country-music mainstay due to her grit, tenacity, unwavering work ethic, and ability to overcome obstacles throughout her entire career.
Over the last five decades, Tucker has released 25 studio albums, three live albums, 30 compilation albums, nine video albums, and one box set. Amongst those releases, she has achieved more than 40 top-10 country hits and 10 number-one songs.
In the last few years (which is about 50 years since the start of her career and first hit), Tucker has finally received some deserved, slightly-overdue recognition from the music industry, She picked up her first two Grammys in 2019 and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame’s “Veterans Era Category” in April 2023.
With dozens of albums and so many amazing hit songs to consider — we had a hard time narrowing down to just a few of our favorites! (But we did our best!)
Here are just four of our favorite Tanya Tucker songs:
“Delta Dawn” (1972)
Tucker started cutting homemade demos with her father at only nine years old. A few years later, she made a splash in the Nashville country music scene with her 1972 album, “Would You Lay With Me (In a Field of Stone),” released when she was only 13 years old! The raw power of Tucker’s vocals and the mature lyrics sung on each track are striking — suggesting they hail from a woman well beyond Tucker’s age at the time of the release.
That album featured six, consecutive Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot Country chart. The first hit from that album was “Delta Dawn.” Tucker went on to release 10 chart-toppers and 41 Top 10 country hits throughout her career, but this track remains one of her most notable hits and is still celebrated to this day.
“I’ll Tennessee You in My Dreams” (1987)
Tucker struggled to maintain her footing and star power during the late-70s and early-80s, largely due to some personal struggles, a rocky crossover attempt, and a very public romantic relationship that went a little south. But none of that was going to stop her from releasing albums full of raw, real, relatable, and highly-regarded country songs.
In this era, she took some time off to focus on herself, moved back to Nashville, and then she made her first of many epic comebacks, releasing two consecutive hit albums, “Girls Like Me” (1986) and “Love Me Like You Used To” (1987). While there are more than a handful of No. 1 hits on both albums to love — as Nashvillians, we cannot help but sing along every time we hear, “I’ll Tennessee You in My Dreams,” a deep cut track from her 1987 album.
“Two Sparrows in a Hurricane” (1992)
Tucker continued to dominate the top of the country charts throughout the 1990s. She had eight consecutive hits throughout the decade, winning multiple honors for her work — including picking up the CMA for “Female Vocalist of the Year” in 1991, which she did not get an opportunity to accept in-person because she was busy at the hospital delivering her second child.
One of our favorites from this era of Tucker’s career, “Two Sparrows in A Hurricane,” was released the following year, in 1992. The song, written by Mark Alan Springer and performed by Tucker, hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Country chart as well as picked up a CMA for “Video of the Year.”
“Bring Me Flowers Now” (2019)
While she would say she never really left — Tucker released another hit album, “While I’m Livin,” in 2019. The album, produced by Brandi Carlisle and Shooter Jennings, is earmarked as another one of her “comebacks.”
“People ask me, ‘How do you think you lasted so long?’” she told Billboard in 2022. “I won’t go away, so you’ll just have to put up with me.”
It earned her four more Grammy nominations and two wins—the first of her career—for Best Country Album and Best Country Song (for “Bring Me Flowers Now”).
Did you know? Tanya Tucker is coming to visit RFD-TV!
Tucker will be joining us in-studio to discuss her new album, “Sweet Western Sound,” and offering viewers a chance to purchase signed copies! You do not want to miss it!
