
DATE: Thursday, August 28, 1997             TAG: 9708280066

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E6   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   97 lines

HEADLINER TANYA TUCKER STANDS REVEALED WITH NEW BOOK, RECORD

WHAT DO YOU talk about to a woman who has already bared it all, literally and figuratively?

You can talk about her impressive figures - record sales, that is.

Tanya Tucker, a headliner at the American Music Festival on the Fifth Street Stage in Virginia Beach on Sunday, has five greatest-hits albums and is the youngest female in any genre of music to release a boxed set of career recordings.

She has more than 30 Top 10 singles to her credit, and her new album, ``Complicated,'' is getting critical acclaim. But she's used to that.

``I told the marketing people I cut 11 singles,'' Tucker said during a phone interview from Washington. ``I've done my job - theirs is to pick the right ones.''

She has had a knack for hitmaking since 1972 when she recorded ``Delta Dawn'' which, she said, ``is still my favorite.''

Tucker is a favorite with the tabloids - and, for that matter, the mainstream press.

``I've been asked everything I could imagine,'' she said, ``and probably a few things I couldn't imagine.''

Her book leaves nothing to the imagination. ``Nickel Dreams'' is atop the New York Times best-selling list.

It is a tell-all piece, but has she told it all?

``I'm sure, when I get really old, I'll write another book,'' Tucker said. ``I'll cover the years after the first one and, maybe, add a few more things that come to mind since the first book.''

Tucker has plenty to write about. She has been one of the music world's most successful singers, and one of its most avid partygoers. She has messed with, and been messed up by, drugs and booze. There have been hot romances and tumultuous relationships.

The world awaits the two-hour movie-of-the-week which, if it is made, would probably include this scene: Recently, in Nashville, she crashed a party and tossed off some off-color epithets.

She even answered some fan requests - not for songs, but for an honest look at her upper torso.

A great deal of her time is devoted to helping others.

The Doris Kupferle Breast Centers as well as the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, St. Jude's Hospital, and the Coors Literary Project are only a few of Tucker's many philanthropic interests.

Currently, a lot of time is being spent working on her about-to-change show.

``Virginia Beach will be one of the last times you'll see the show we're doing now,'' Tucker said. ``There'll be drastic changes next month. The next show will be more autobiographical - going along with the book.''

Tucker shows are not production-laden.

``They're straight-ahead,'' she said. ``I can't sing all the hits, so I try to pick the ones people will enjoy.''

Tucker enjoys what she is doing, but would like to settle down on her huge Tennessee ranch with 7-year-old Presley Tanita, 5-year-old Beau Grayson, and her pink Harley.

She has cut her touring schedule and is concentrating on pushing ``Complicated,'' her mostly biographical album. She uses the title to describe herself.

``I want the album to be successful. That takes a lot of hard work,'' said Tucker. ``It takes so many people to make it happen. I'd like to have my ducks in a row, but some of my ducks have gotten out of line.

``There will be more internal changes - things like that,'' she said. ``Changes are difficult, but we'll get 'em made. We'll be back and running.''

Will heads roll? Check the headlines.

Right now, nothing headline-ish.

``We're enjoying ourselves fishing - just did the Oregon coast,'' Tucker said, noting that she caught some black bass and mother-in-law fish.

Don't ask.

She would like to catch up with Eric Clapton and Merle Haggard as duet partners.

The latter, it is said, was a romantic partner for a spell. Other names: Don Johnson, Andy Gibb, Desi Arnaz Jr., Clint Eastwood, and Robert Duvall. The most successful pairing was with soap opera actor, Ben Reed, the daddy of her handsome children.

Tucker's most famous liaison was ex-fiancee Glen Campbell, who penned his own biography, in which he blamed her for leading him astray.

She credits her children with reining her in, calling them ``the greatest thing that ever happened to me.

``Now, instead of spending time in the fast lane, I'd rather be home riding horses with them on the back roads of my ranch,'' Tucker said. ``Of course, every so often, you might still find me at a party. . . .''

Her husky voice trailed off. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MARK TUCKER

Tanya Tucker has had a knack for hitmaking since 1972.

Graphic

WANT TO GO?

What: Tanya Tucker and David Lee Murphy.

When: Gates open at noon and show begins at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Where: American Music Festival, Fifth Street Stage, Virginia

Beach.

Tickets: Call 491-SUNN. KEYWORDS: INTERVIEW PROFILE