My father keeps his radio tuned to an oldies radio station with a really short playlist. In my limited listening (maybe two hours the entire trip, probably closer to half that), I head three songs twice* and this one three times. Dad and I were both familiar with the song**, though neither of us knew who sang it. I looked it up on my phone (Dad was driving) and saw it was Tanya Tucker. I’ve heard of Tucker, of course, but didn’t know much of anything about her. So I went to YouTube to see if there were any videos and was surprised by what she looked like. Then I saw that she was 14 when the video was recorded. So, less weird. You don’t expect the gap in the teeth, though.
* – “King of the Road”, “Seven Year Ache”, and “Ruby (Don’t Take Your Love To Town)” being the other three.
** – It’s covered quite a bit. It has that catchy refrain that’s a favorite of artists that like to switch songs in between the second and third verse of whatever their song is, or include at the end of a show where they are switching songs constantly.
About the Author
4 Responses to HCW: Delta Dawn
Leave a Reply
please enter your email address on this page.
Huh. I’d always associated that song with Helen Reddy. I wasn’t aware that it was a standard.
I saw that Reddy had a version, too, though when I saw Tucker’s name I knew it was hers. There is a similarity between Tucker’s voice and that of Natalie Maines from the Dixie Chicks.
Tucker and Reddy released the song within a year or so, apparently. Tucker’s came first, though Reddy’s hit number one.
A little over a decade ago, there was a song released by Trisha Yearwood and LeAnn Rymes the same year. An interestingly similar dynamic. A rising teenager star and an older more established talent.
And “Ring of Fire” by Anita Carter and Johnny Cash, of course. Though I’m not sure that Helen Reddy and Tanya Tucker had the “As your sibling’s partner in adultery, I’m going to let you have first crack at it” dynamic going on.
By the way, was the oldies station that you mentioned specifically a country oldies station? I’ve never heard of such a thing, but I guess it would make sense to have them in places where country music is popular.