''Sweet Western Sound'' is the 27th solo studio album by American country music singer

Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature int ...

. It was released on June 2, 2023, by

Fantasy Records Fantasy Records is an American independent record label company founded by brothers Max and Sol Stanley Weiss in 1949. The early years of the company were dedicated to issuing recordings by jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, who was also one of its invest ...

. The album was produced by

Brandi Carlile Brandi Marie Carlile ( ; born June 1, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and producer whose music spans many genres, including folk rock, alternative country, Americana, and classic rock. , Carlile has released seven studio albums. She has ...

and

Shooter Jennings Waylon Albright "Shooter" Jennings (born May 19, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He is the only son of country singers Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter. In a career spanning over two decades, Shooter Jenn ...

and is the follow-up to Tucker's

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

-winning 2019 album, ''

While I'm Livin' ''While I'm Livin is the twenty-fifth studio album by American country music singer Tanya Tucker. It was released on August 23, 2019, by Fantasy Records. The album was produced by Brandi Carlile and Shooter Jennings. It is Tucker's first album in ...

''.

Release and promotion

On October 21, 2022, Tucker released the single "Ready as I'll Never Be" to promote the documentary '' The Return of Tanya Tucker''. The song won Best Original Song for a Documentary at the

13th Hollywood Music in Media Awards The 13th Hollywood Music in Media Awards recognized the best in music in film, TV, video games, commercials, and trailers. The ceremony was held on November 16, 2022 at The Avalon in Hollywood, Los Angeles, becoming the first in-person ceremony ...

. Tucker was announced as one of the 2022 inductees into the

Country Music Hall of Fame The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the world's largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has amas ...

on April 3, 2023. The album was officially announced on April 5, 2023, along with the release of its lead single, "Kindness". Tucker celebrated the album's release with two shows at

Ryman Auditorium Ryman Auditorium (also known as Grand Ole Opry House and Union Gospel Tabernacle) is a 2,362-seat live-performance venue located at 116 Rep. John Lewis Way North, in Nashville, Tennessee. It is best known as the home of the ''Grand Ole Opry'' fr ...

in Nashville on June 3 and June 4.

Background

"Letter to Linda" is a tribute to

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

and makes reference to several of her songs, including "

Heart Like a Wheel ''Heart Like a Wheel'' is the fifth solo studio album by Linda Ronstadt, released in November 1974. It was Ronstadt's last album to be released by Capitol Records. At the time of its recording, Ronstadt had already moved to Asylum Records and re ...

" and "

Desperado Desperado may refer to: * Outlaw, particularly in the American Old West Books * ''Desperadoes'' (comics), a comic book series * ''Desperadoes'' (novel), a 1979 novel by Ron Hansen * Desperado Publishing, an American independent comic book publi ...

". " That Wasn't Me" was previously recorded by Carlile and featured on her 2012 album '' Bear Creek''.

Track listing

Charts

Personnel

Musicians *

– vocals (tracks 2–10) *

Billy Joe Shaver Billy Joe Shaver (August 16, 1939 – October 28, 2020) was an American outlaw country singer and songwriter, as well as an actor. Biography Shaver was born in Corsicana, Texas, and raised by his mother, Victory Watson Shaver. Until he was 12 ...

– vocals (1) *

– background vocals (2–6, 9, 10), vocals (3, 7, 8), piano (5) *

Ted Russell Kamp Ted Russell Kamp is an American singer-songwriter. He is the bassist for Shooter Jennings' backing band. As a solo artist, Kamp has released 11 albums. Biography Born in New York, Kamp grew up in the Northeast U.S. before moving to Seattle wher ...

– banjo (2, 3), bass guitar (3, 7–10) * Phil Hanseroth – bass guitar (2, 5, 6), acoustic guitar (3), background vocals (5) *

Matt Chamberlain Matthew Chamberlain (born April 17, 1967) is an American session musician, drummer, producer and songwriter. Biography Life and career Chamberlain was born in San Pedro, California on April 17, 1967. He began learning how to play the drum ...

– drums, percussion (2, 3, 5–9) * Chris Masterson – electric guitar (2–5, 7, 9, 10),

baritone guitar The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Sch ...

(6), acoustic guitar (8) *

– piano (2–10), synthesizer (2),

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. ...

(9) * John Schreffler –

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

(2–6, 8, 9) * Tim Hanseroth – acoustic guitar (3, 7, 9, 10), background vocals (5) * Alabama Jennings –

celesta The celesta or celeste , also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five- octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music box ...

, organ, strings (7) * Paul Franklin – steel guitar (7, 8, 10) * Jamie Douglass – drums, percussion (10) Technical * Brandi Carlile –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

* Shooter Jennings – production,

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

Pete Lyman Pete Lyman is a mastering engineer, and owner of Infrasonic Mastering, an audio and vinyl mastering studio with locations in Nashville, Tennessee, Los Angeles, California, and Oakland, California. He has mastered Grammy-award-winning and Grammy-no ...

– mastering *

Trina Shoemaker Kathryn "Trina" Shoemaker is an American mixer, record producer and sound engineer responsible for producing/engineering and/or mixing records for bands such as Queens of the Stone Age, Sheryl Crow, Emmylou Harris, Something for Kate, Nanci Griff ...

– mixing (1, 3–10) * Brandon Bell – mixing (2), engineering (3, 4, 6–10) * David Spreng – recording * Nate Haessly – engineering assistance

References

{{Authority control 2023 albums Tanya Tucker albums Albums produced by Brandi Carlile Albums produced by Shooter Jennings Fantasy Records albums