Last night (October 22), more than five decades after bursting on the country music scene as a teenager, Tanya Tucker was at last inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Tucker was inducted alongside Patty Loveless and songwriter Bob McDill in a Medallion Ceremony held at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. Tucker, who was inducted by country stars Connie Smith and Brenda Lee, was also honored with three special tribute performances that included Country Music Hall of Famemembers Wynonna and Charlie McCoy performing “Delta Dawn,” Margo Price and Jessi Colter performing “It’s a Little Too Late,” and Brandi Carlile performing “Two Sparrows in a Hurricane.”
In her touching remarks, Tucker expressed her love for her family and the many friends in attendance affirming, “You’ve been through the ups and downs with me at different times in my life. Thank you for not giving up on me.” Regarding her long journey, she added, “Looking back on the past 52 years, it’s hard to make sense of it all. But if we lived in a world that made sense, and was logical, it would be a man who rode sidesaddle.”
Back in June, Tucker shared a music video for “When the Rodeo is Over (Where Does the Cowboy Go?).” Dedicated to the late Larry Mahan, a professional rodeo cowboy who won six all-around world championships and two bull riding world championships, the video celebrates the lives and careers of rodeo legends and features several prominent figures from that community including champion saddle rider, Bobby “Hooter” Brown—a member of both the Rodeo Hall of Fame and Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame. The video also features Craig Dillingham, who wrote the song alongside Billy Don Burns.
“When the Rodeo is Over (Where Does the Cowboy Go?)” is from Tanya’s acclaimed new album, Sweet Western Sound, which debuted at No.3 on Billboard’s Americana/Folk Albums chart and No.4 on the Current Country Albums chart earlier this month, garnering over a million streams across platforms to date.
Buy or stream Sweet Western Sound.