How Hellbound Glory Helped in Tanya Tucker’s Big Comeback
The documentary film The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile is currently airing in select theaters across the United States. Directed by Kathlyn Horan, the film was made during the production of Tanya Tucker’s 2019 comeback record While I’m Livin’, which went on to win Tanya two Grammy Awards, including Best Country Album—Tanya’s first Grammy Awards of her career.
Though Brandi Carlile is given primary credit as the producer of While I’m Livin’, along with title-level credit for the documentary distributed by Sony Pictures as an Executive Producer and co-star, Shooter Jennings was also a co-producer on Tanya Tucker’s album, and was also the guy that had the idea of making a comeback record for Tanya Tucker in the first place, and to bring Brandi Carlile on board to help.
But the story goes even farther back than that, and believe it or not, legendary underground country band Hellbound Glory and frontman/songwriter Leroy Virgil played a pivotal role as well.
Hellbound Glory’s 2011 album Damaged Goods was a bit more of a stripped-down affair compared to their previous records, allowing the songwriting of Leroy Virgil to rise to the forefront. It was an album about those who’d spent their lives partying past their prime, and one of the jewels of the album was a song called “Better Hope You Die Young.”
In 2018, Hellbound Glory re-released the song as part of a Record Store Day exclusive of their 2017 album Pinball called Pinball (Junkie Edition), released on the record label of Shooter Jennings called Black Country Rock. The album included a cover of Tanya’s signature hit, “Delta Dawn.” Since “Better Hope You Die Young” seemed almost like it was written for Tanya Tucker, Tanya was solicited to see if she wanted to sing on a new version of the song as a duet with Leroy Virgil. Tanya took a listen to the song, and accepted.
“You can live your whole life just like there’s no tomorrow but, baby, it’s a fact/ that all them all-nighters are just time you borrowed; someday you’ll have to pay them back,” Tucker sings. When she recorded the song with Hellbound Glory, Tucker hadn’t released a new album in nearly 15 years, and had been pretty much put out to pasture by the country music industry.
Recording her parts for Hellbound Glory’s “Better Hope You Die Young” (the 2nd version is officially called “You Better Hope You Die Young'” got Tanya Tucker back in the studio, and back in the business. After Tanya Tucker won her two Grammy Awards in 2020, Shooter Jennings was interviewed backstage, and explained how it all went down.
“I was working with a band called Hellbound Glory, who is one of my favorite bands of all time, and she was singing one of their songs, and that’s how a guy named Adam Sheets … this whole project would have never happened if it hadn’t been for Adam Sheets and Hellbound Glory. We did this one cut of Tanya, and I told Brandi, ‘I just recorded Tanya Tucker.’ And she said, ‘I love Tanya Tucker!’ And I said, ‘Why don’t you co-produce [her album] with me?’ [At first] Tanya didn’t want to do it. We talked her into it, and now she has two Grammys.”
…even more backstory, Shooter Jennings first discovered Hellbound Glory when the band played a livestream here on Saving Country Music, and Shooter was enthralled by the band’s cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m On Fire.” Adam Sheets, who was referred to above, was another music blogger in the Shooter Jennings orbit at the time.
Now Tanya Tucker is enjoying a second wave in her career. And though the Grammy Awards, big names like Brandi Carlie and Shooter Jennings, and other industry types are involved in keeping the ball rolling, it was little ol’ Hellbound Glory and elements of the underground that helped get it started. Just remember that the next time you see Tanya Tucker on a big stage, or when you watch the new The Return of Tanya Tucker documentary.
Hellbound Glory’s new album The Immortal Hellbound Glory: Nobody Knows You was released on September 30th.
November 8, 2022 @ 12:42 pm
Brandi Carlile feels like the new Sheryl Crow; she attaches herself to anyone or any project with slightly more notoriety than her own, and she slaps her name all over it. Brandi needs Tanya way worse than Tanya needs Brandi, and it’s frustrating to see a legend like Tanya seemingly lost in Brandiworld instead of working with others that could push her even further. Both Johnny Cash and Loretta Lynn enjoyed late-career booms by reaching outside of their comfort zones and working with visionary producers, and even Tammy Wynette enjoyed a slight bump by working with The KLF. Tanya deserves way more than what she’s currently getting.
November 8, 2022 @ 4:37 pm
If you read the article it said that Shooter Jennings asked Brandi Carlile to join the project as co-producer. Didn’t see anything in the article stating otherwise.
November 8, 2022 @ 4:54 pm
Thank you for your comment! I read the article, and I am aware of that fact. However, in the general sense of it, you almost never hear about Shooter’s contributions to the project and only that Brandi Carlile was involved, as though it was all Brandi’s idea. Everyone involved in Tanya’s return deserves credit, as Trigger does so well to do here.
November 8, 2022 @ 1:21 pm
It’d be cool to see Patty Loveless get a good bump in her career too. I saw videos online of her performing with Chris Stapleton recently.
November 8, 2022 @ 3:45 pm
My impression was that with Patty it was more of her choice to withdraw from active performing?
November 8, 2022 @ 1:22 pm
Trigger, I was told a long time ago not to comment here. I hope that is all water under the bridge. I haven’t thought about all of the disagreements back in those days for years, but I have continued to enjoy the music both of us were trying, in our own way, to expose to the masses and I’ve continued to check this site regularly. For my part, I apologize for the way things escalated at times and I have nothing but respect for you and your work.
As for the story here, the idea of Tanya performing a duet version of the song came from an email exchange between Shooter and I where he was brainstorming ideas for a record store day release of the album. I mentioned a duet as a possibility based on Hellbound Glory’s version of “Delta Dawn” already being out in the world. As I recall, the idea I had was actually a 45 with Delta Dawn and a new version of Better Hope You Die Young on the flip side.
Shooter’s words are very kind and I will admit to speaking openly about my hopes for a Tanya Tucker comeback several times over the years. If my suggestion led to that in any way, I’m honored. But it was ultimately he and Tanya and Brandi who made the album happen and I’m thrilled that they did.
Keep up the great work, Trigger!
November 8, 2022 @ 2:01 pm
No bad blood here Adam.
What I love about this story is it illustrates how small actions can sometimes lead to very big results. A lot of pieces had to fall in place for Tanya Tucker’s career to be revitalized and in such a resounding way. Even just Hellbound Glory fans listening to the song and watching the video helped illustrate how there was an entirely new generation of artists and fans who would embrace Tanya if she decided to take this route. Yes, ultimately it was Tanya, Shooter, and Brandi in the studio sowing magic. But even when you do small things to support music, it can go on to have a big impact. It was a community effort.
November 8, 2022 @ 1:41 pm
Love to see “Hellbound Glory,” which should bring Tanya’s great career into further focus.
November 8, 2022 @ 3:48 pm
Good for you, Trig, for playing a role in her comeback.
November 8, 2022 @ 5:32 pm
Can’t you comment on Tanya’s new song too?
November 8, 2022 @ 5:40 pm
I’m planning to go see the documentary itself and perhaps write a review for it when I get a chance, highlight the new song, etc. I just wanted to tell this side of the story first and not bury the lede so to speak.
November 9, 2022 @ 7:19 am
Thank you so much. Indeed It’s a great part of the story. I was watching Tanya and Brandy the other day on “Today with Hoda & Jenna” and Tanya was talking about Loretta Lynn knowing about the Chorus of bring my flowers now. These little facts that we don’t know easily are the best.
November 8, 2022 @ 10:32 pm
Someone has a Brandi Carlile envy issue.
November 9, 2022 @ 9:56 am
long live hellbound!
November 9, 2022 @ 4:47 pm
When it comes to Tanya Tucker’s duets the best by far in my opinion has to be the song “Higher” by Tanya & Eddie Montgomery even tho it’s the one almost nobody ever say’s anything about good or bad but I really thought this one vocally was one of this best duets to have it also be more on today’s country music format than the Americana format I say this because the seems it’s one complaint i seem to hear over and over atleast with her older fans is they don’t like the americana format even to the point saying the format of her two rock albums is better. while I personally like Americana music format over country almost always other than the name and def of Americana i think alt country or alternative country it much better, I say format so much on this issue not by accident I say this because if there is someone who I believe there vocals and music quality is universal no matter what format nashville machine tries next it’s Tanya Tucker and Tyler Childers
November 10, 2022 @ 10:38 am
Any chance some of that old HBG live stream still exists somewhere?
November 10, 2022 @ 11:34 am
It may. I’m just not exactly sure where.