20 Greatest Hits

By some distance the biggest thing to ever come out of Denver City, Texas, Tanya Tucker took the country world by surprise with her 1972 debut smash, "Delta Dawn"; not since Brenda Lee's mid-1950s records had an adolescent country singer sounded so little like a gimmick. Unfortunately, following a healthy string of country hits, an ill-advised move into rock & roll, starting with 1978's TNT, began a period of personal and professional turmoil. For most of the 1980s, Tucker was as well known for her tempestuous affair with Glen Campbell, which regularly landed the pair in the gossip pages with tales of chemically-fueled public spats. However, by the late '80s, Tucker had mounted an impressive comeback with the hits documented on this 20-track compilation. Recorded for Capitol Records between 1986 and 1997 and including one previously unreleased track--the slinky "Black Water Bayou"--these songs are crisp, soulful mainstream country with a slight R&B influence in Tucker's better-than-ever vocals. Fair warning: the version of "Delta Dawn" included here is a 1991 re-recording, not the original 1972 hit single.