Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature into adulthood without losing her audience, and during the course of her career, she notched a streak of top-10 and top-40 hits. She has had several successful albums, several Country Music Association award nominations, and hit songs such as 1973's "What's Your Mama's Name Child?" and "Blood Red and Goin' Down", 1975's "Lizzie and the Rainman", and 1988's "Strong Enough to Bend".

At the age of eight, Tanya told her father that she also wanted to be a country singer when she grew up.

Tucker made her debut with Mel Tillis, who was so impressed by her talent that he invited her onstage to perform. In 1969, the family moved to Henderson, Nevada, where she regularly performed. Eventually, she recorded a demonstration tape that gained the attention of songwriter Dolores Fuller, who sent it to producer Billy Sherrill, the head of artists and repertoire at CBS Records. Sherrill was impressed with the demo tape and signed the teenage vocalist to Columbia Records.

Sherrill initially planned to have Tucker record "The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA", but she chose "Delta Dawn" — a song she had heard Bette Midler sing on The Tonight Show — instead as her first single. Released in May 1972, the song became a hit, peaking at number six on the country charts and scraping the bottom of the pop charts. At first, Columbia Records tried to downplay Tucker's age, but soon word leaked out and she became a sensation.

Tanya Tucker won her first two Grammys on January 26, 2020 when she won best country song for “Bring My Flowers Now” and best country album for “While I’m Livin’.” This comes 47 years after her first nomination in 1973 for her breakout hit “Delta Dawn” which she recorded when she was 13 years old.