Tanya Tucker burst onto the country music scene in 1972 with her debut single 'Delta Dawn' whe she was just 13-years-old. The song remains her best-selling single, although she had a string of hits throughout the next five decades. Her early life was spent moving around the country as her father looked for work. She was exposed to country music and began saxophone and singing lessons at an early age. She enjoyed performing at festivals and made a demo tape which led to her being signed by Colombia Records in the early 1970s. When 'Delta Dawn' was released it became an instant hit, reaching number six in the US Billboard Hot Country Singles Chart. Her second single 'Love's the Answer' (1972) also reached the top ten and with her third single, 'What's Your Mama's Name', she reached number one for the first time. Five more number one singles followed for Tucker in the 1970s - 'Blood Red and Goin' Down' (1973), 'Would You Lay With Me (in a Field of Stone)' (1973), 'Lizzie and the Rainman' (1975), 'San Antonio Stroll' (1975) and 'Here's Some Love' (1976). The song 'Lizzie and the Rainman' (1975) was her only hit to reach the top 40 in the mainstream charts, peaking at number 37. It was also a top ten hit in the Adult Contemporary Charts. Her album releases in the early 1970s were also popular. The first, 'Delta Dawn', reached number 32 in the Billboard Country Albums Chart. It was followed by five top ten album releases between 1972 and 1976 including 'Here's Some Love' (1976) which was her first number one album. The title single from the album reached number one in the Billboard Country Singles Chart in 1976 and also number two in the Canadian Country Singles Chart.
At the beginning of the 1980s, Tucker's popularity waned. She released three albums in the first half of the decade - 'Dreamlovers' (1980),'Should I Do It' (1980) and 'Changes' (1982) - which all reached the top 50 of the Country Albums Chart but did not enjoy quite the success of her music from the '70s. Tucker released a total of 24 singles during the 1980s, and again saw a resurgence of popularity later in the decade with number one singles in the Country Music Singles Chart for 'Just Another Love' (1986), 'I Won't Take Less Than Your Love' with Paul Davis and Paul Overstreet and 'If It Don't Come Easy' (1988). She continued to release singles and albums throughout the 1990s, with a total of five albums reaching the top 20 in the Country Albums Chart. 'Tennessee Woman' (1990) was the first of these and also contained the top ten singles 'Walking Shoes', 'Don't Go Out' featuring T. Graham Brown and 'It Won't Be Me', all released in 1990. 'Tanya' was released in 2002. The album reached number 39 in the Country Albums Chart and contained two single releases both of which were top 40 in the Country Singles Chart. She took a break before releasing 'My Turn' in 2009 and the single 'Love's Gonna Live Here' with Jim Lauderdale. Tucker celebrated her longevity in the charts with the release of the album 'While I'm Livin'' in 2019 and the singles 'Hard Luck' and 'Bring My Flowers Now' in the same year.