Tanya Tucker Recalls Recording “Delta Dawn” at 13, Talks Hall of Fame Induction

If there ever was a trailblazer in country music, Tanya Tucker is it. With her first hit, “Delta Dawn,” coming at the age of 13, a number of country music awards under her belt, and numerous Top 10 hits including “Two Sparrows in a Hurricane,” “It’s a Little Too Late,” “If It Don’t Come Easy” and “I Won’t Take Less Than Your Love,” it’s fitting that the legendary artist made an appearance on the most recent episode of Trailblazer’s Radio on Apple Music Country,

Host Fancy Hagood was joined by Tucker and they discussed all thing music, including being 13 while recording her song “Delta Dawn,” working with Shooter Jennings and Brandi Carlile, who produced her latest album, and her recent induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Check below for excerpts from the show and listen to the conversation in full anytime on demand, HERE.

Tanya Tucker on Being 13 While Recording “Delta Dawn”…

I remember distinctly Billy talking to someone on—Billy Sherrill—I’m talking about, my first producer. He was talking to somebody on the phone. He said, “Now, listen. Because I don’t want anybody to know she’s 13, I want to keep that a secret.” Because he said, “I want this record to make it on its own merit not because we got a damn circus act here,” because this is unusual, and I want to keep it a secret for as long as we can. So, obviously, we kept it quite a while if you didn’t know. I had a preconceived idea that it was going to be all luxurious, but it was nothing like that. I mean, the first time I walked in with Billy and all the musicians were waiting on us because they were waiting. The session started at 10:00 am. And I think I was so tired from the night before trying to learn the song—my dad would play it over and over and over for me until I went to sleep. And then, the next day at 10 o’clock, I was at Columbia in Billy’s office, and he let me sleep until noon. So, the guys had been waiting for a couple of hours, and then finally, he walked into his office and said, “Hey, you ready to do something about your career? So, let’s go cut a hit song.” So, I got up and walked in the back of the studio from the offices of Columbia, and I’m like, “Oh my God.” I mean, there are stains on the carpet, music stands tipped over, and a big old Coke stain over here. Somebody spilled a Coke and it just wasn’t anything like I thought it was going to be. But it didn’t take me long to know that Studio B at Columbia was an incredible studio. And of course, it birthed a lot of incredible records. 

Tanya Tucker on Working With Shooter Jennings And Brandi Carlile…

Shooter came to see me in Vegas, and I had bronchitis. I was so sick. I could barely walk to the stage, and brought his mother, Jessi Colter to boot, and they were going to see my show. And they did. And Jesse told me the other day, I went to her wedding out in Scottsdale, and she said, “You could not tell you were sick.” She goes, “I couldn’t believe that you performed like you did.” Well, it turned out great. Thank you, Lord. And that’s when Shooter said, “I got to produce an album on you.” I went, “Okay.” I kept walking. He goes, “On my dime.” And I went, “Okay.” Now, that stopped me. I turned back around and said, “Hey, what?” I’ll do that. Because some of these producers, man, I got you might as well be the star. He said that he mentioned it to Brandi. I don’t know where they were, or what they were doing, but she said, “Oh, no, no, no, no. You’re not going to produce Tanya Tucker without me.” 

Tanya Tucker on Being Inducted Into The Country Music Hall Of Fame…

I’m not sure. It’s not quite sunk in yet. Maybe in 10 or 15 years I’ll be, “Wow, man, that’s pretty cool.” But my first thought was, “God, I wish my dad was here.” Then the second one was, “I wish Billy Sherrill was here. I wish Jerry Crutchfield was here.” Those are the three people that were very instrumental in my life, in my career, in my music. It takes a lot of people. It takes somebody to put me there. And it wasn’t just me. It wasn’t just my producers. It wasn’t just people that do the PR. It was the people that buy the records, and the people that come to my shows. That’s the people that are important. 

Later in 2023, the new class of inductees—Tucker, Patty Loveless and Bob McDill— will be formally honored during the Country Music Hall of Fame’s Medallion Ceremony at the CMA Theater, located at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

By the time Tucker was 15, she already had three albums out and three No. 1 hits. Throughout her 50-year career, Tucker has placed 41 singles in the Top 10 of Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart, including 10 No. 1s. Her catalog also spans 25 albums, including her most recent While I’m Livin’ (2019), produced by Brandi Carlile and Shooter Jennings.

Tucker is currently out on her Sweet Western Sound Tour making stops in Vancouver BC, Montana, New York, Georgia and Tennessee before wrapping on October 4 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Tanya Tucker remaining tour dates:

July 22—Fort St. John, BC—Energetic County Fair
July 26—Vancouver, BC—Commodore Ballroom
July 30—White Sulphur Springs, MT—Red Ants Pants Music Festival
September 7—Marietta, OH—The Peoples Bank Theatre (on-sale May 1)
September 9—Orillia, ON—Casino Rama Entertainment Centre (on-sale date TBA)
September 14—New York, NY—Venue TBA
September 15—Shippensburg, PA—H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts Center
September 22—Florence, KY—Turfway Park Event Center
September 28—Knoxville, TN—Tennessee Theatre
September 29—Atlanta, GA—Atlanta Symphony Hall
October 4—Fayetteville, AR—Walton Arts Center – Baum Walker Hall

*with The Highwomen
+co-headline with Ashley McBryde and special guests Neal McCoy and Easton Corbin

Listen to Trailblazer’s Radio on Apple Music Country HERE.

Photo by Michael Franz/ Sacks & Co.