NOVEMBER 2016 PARKER COUNTY TODAY didn ’ t have a lot of time with Robert Redford then , but she met him in a social setting a couple of years later .
“ I ’ ve got him on home movies ,” she said . “ Of course I met him later on at Billy Sherrill ’ s house when I was about 15 . That was kind of another cool piece of history for me .”
By the time Jeremiah Johnson was released in the U . S ., in December 1972 , Tucker was only 13 or 14 , but she already had a hit Country Western record on her hands .
Tucker had recorded a demo tape that gained the attention of songwriter Dolores Fuller , who in turn got it into the hands of record producer Billy Sherrill .
At the time , Sherrill was the head of A & R at CBS Records , and he was
10 so impressed with the demo tape that he signed the teenager to Columbia Records .
“ There were two songs on that demo that I had done in Las Vegas ,” Tucker said . “ We did six songs on that tape including Proud Mary and I ’ m so Lonesome I Could Cry , and Put Your Hand In The Hand .”
One would guess that it was spectacular to grab the attention of Sherrill .
“ It was awful ,” Tucker said . “ But I guess he saw something in it . He was one of the greatest record producers of all time .”
Sherrill initially planned for Tucker to record The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA , but she passed on the tune and chose instead Delta
Dawn . Tucker had heard Bette Midler sing it on The Tonight Show . Released in the spring of 1972 , the song became a hit almost overnight on the country charts , and was making its way through the Top 40 Rock charts .
What was it like to be a 13-yearold C & W star , to come of age on stage with the whole world watching ?
“ It was a lot of hard work ,” Tucker said . “ My dad always said , ‘ You ’ ve got to be in love with a goal .’ That ’ s because there ’ s a lot of crap you have to put up with . It wasn ’ t glamorous . It was a lot of WBAP appreciation shows . They stick you on a stage with a house band where you can ’ t hear and you sing your songs .”
But , then there were times when it was almost magical .
“ The first time I ever heard ( my recording of ) Delta Dawn I was outside our family ’ s trailer house , in Henderson , right outside of Vegas , in our 1957 Chrysler station wagon and I was tuning in to Bill Mack ’ s show on WBAP on the A . M . channel . He was a hero to us . I could just barely hear Bill Mack saying , ‘ This is a new little girl in country music . Listen to this .’ And it was Delta Dawn . It was great . I will always remember that . He was such a big hero of mine . He was the artists ’ connection to the truckers . They bought a lot of 8-track tapes just goin ’ down the road .”
These days Mack is a close friend and still a hero to her .
“ He ’ s a great human being ,” Tucker said . “ He brought me a song he had written . It was called Blue . But I didn ’ t think I could do it . I think it got to who it needed to get to , to be recorded .”
In the beginning , Columbia Records tried to keep Tucker ’ s age quiet , but that didn ’ t go well . She became a sensation . Her second single , Love ’ s the Answer , hit the Top Ten later in 1972 followed by her third single , What ’ s Your Mama ’ s Name . It was Tucker ’ s first recording to become a number one hit in the spring of 1973 . She scored two more with Blood Red and Goin ’ Down , then Would You Lay with Me ( In a Field of Stone )? Tucker was definitely a star .
Early in 1973 , Tucker was the