Tanya Tucker had her first country hit in 1972, when she was just 13 years old. Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature into adulthood without losing her audience, and during the course of her career, she notched a remarkable streak of Top Ten hits. In 1969, Tucker and her family moved to Las Vegas, where she regularly performed. Eventually, she recorded a demo tape that gained the attention of Billy Sherrill, the head of A&R at CBS Records. He signed the teenaged vocalist to Columbia Records. Soon, she became a sensation. Her second single, “Love’s the Answer,” became a Top Ten hit in 1972. Tucker’s third single, “What’s Your Mama’s Name,” became her first number one hit in the spring of 1973. Two other number ones — “Blood Red and Goin’ Down” and “Would You Lay with Me (In a Field of Stone)” — followed, establishing Tucker as a major star. In 1975, she signed with MCA Records, where she had a string of hit singles that ran into the late ’70s. In 1978, she decided to radically change her image and cross over to rock with her T.N.T. album. Through the rest of the century, she scored a constant stream of Top Ten singles, including four number one hits. More recently, Tucker collaborated on the album Willie Nelson and Friends with Willie Nelson, Asleep at the Wheel and Shirley Collie. Tanya Tucker continues to tour the world.
