Tanya Tucker

Episode notes

(Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for CMT)

Tanya Tucker is a legend in the country music industry. She’s been singing professionally since she was nine years old and recorded her first single, “Delta Dawn,” at 13 years old. It was a country smash, prompting dozens of covers of the song, from Bette Midler to Loretta Lynn.

Tanya’s released about two dozen records since then. When she was last on Bullseye in 2020, she’d just cut “While I’m Livin’.” It was her first record of original material recorded in over 15 years, and eventually went on to win best Country Album at the 2020 Grammys. Tucker has since released 2023’s “Sweet Western Sound.”

If you’re in Nashville, good news: she now has her own drinking establishment! Tanya Tucker’s Tequila Cantina features, among many other things, a $300 cocktail that’s basically a 60 ounce margarita.

To celebrate, we’re cracking into our interview with Tanya. She talks to us about how she approaches songs she’s been singing since she was a teen, traveling on the road with her family and turning down the romantic advances of one Mr. Elvis Presley! The one and only.

A version of this interview originally aired in January of 2020.

In this episode...

Jesse Thorn

Host

Kevin Ferguson

Senior Producer

Jesus Ambrosio

Producer

Richard Robey

Maximum Fun Producer

Daniel Huecias

Maximum Fun Production Fellow

Guests

Tanya Tucker

About the show

Bullseye is a celebration of the best of arts and culture in public radio form. Host Jesse Thorn sifts the wheat from the chaff to bring you in-depth interviews with the most revered and revolutionary minds in our culture.

Bullseye has been featured in Time, The New York Times, GQ and McSweeney’s, which called it “the kind of show people listen to in a more perfect world.” Since April 2013, the show has been distributed by NPR.

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