Tanya Tucker will play special, select shows this fall celebrating the release of her new album, While I’m Livin’ (out August 23 via Fantasy Records). The intimate performances will be held August 22 at Exit/In in Nashville, September 17 at The Bowery Ballroom in New York (presented by SiriusXM), and October 16 at The Troubadour in Los Angeles. Public onsale starts Friday, July 12 at 10 a.m. local time, purchase tickets (including VIP packages) here.
Tucker is enjoying a career renaissance with the release, her first album of all new material in 17 years—as well as the recent announcement that she will receive a star on the The Hollywood Walk of Fame next year.
While I’m Livin’ is largely comprised of songs written by Brandi Carlile and the twins Tim and Phil Hanseroth. “It’s a musical biography of sorts,” explains Carlile, “about Tanya’s real life and the places she’s seen, and it’s narrated by the greatest country and western singer this side of Johnny Cash.”
“The Day My Heart Goes Still” is a reflection of Tucker’s enduring love for her late father, while “Mustang Ridge” recalls her hardscrabble childhood in central Texas. While I’m Livin’ also contains some well-chosen covers including “High Ridin’ Heroes,” a 1987 song Jennings selected that featured David Lynn Jones and his dad, Waylon Jennings, “The House That Built Me,” a track made famous by Miranda Lambert, and the aforementioned “Hard Luck” by country-rockers Josefus.
In many ways, the album’s cornerstone is “Bring My Flowers Now,” the only tune that was co-written by Tucker, Carlile and the twins. The album closer, told through Carlile’s solo piano and Tucker’s plaintive vocal, speaks to the importance of showing appreciation to those we love before it’s too late.
Born in Seminole, Texas, Tucker had her first country hit, the classic “Delta Dawn,” at the age of 13 in 1972. Since that auspicious beginning Tucker has become one of the most admired and influential artists in country music history, amassing 23 Top 40 albums and a stellar string of 56 Top 40 singles, ten of which reached the #1 spot on the Billboard country charts. Tucker’s indelible songs include some of country music’s biggest hits such as the aforementioned “Delta Dawn,” “Soon,” “Two Sparrows in a Hurricane,” “It’s a Little Too Late,” “Trouble,” “Texas (When I Die),” “If It Don’t Come Easy” and “Strong Enough To Bend.” Tucker is also the recipient of numerous awards, including two CMAs, two ACMs, three CMT awards and 10 GRAMMY nominations.
