Tanya Tucker Gets Candid: Glen Campbell Heartbreak and Hopes for Her Legacy

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ETONLINE

Tanya Tucker was like the Taylor SwiftorLeAnn Rimesof her time.

A country superstar when she was just 13 years old, her career – and her love life -- suffered many ups and downs. After her first hit record "Delta Dawn" hit the airwaves in 1972, Tucker went on to record a streak of Top 10 hits, including "Love's the Answer," "What's Your Mama's Name," "Blood Red and Goin' Down" and "Would You Lay With Me (In a Field of Stone)." But in the 1980s, her career was derailed by alcoholism.

"My career, as you know, has had its ups and downs and it's just life," she tells ET in an exclusive interview. "I survived."

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Along the way, Tanya engaged in high-profile romances with the likes of Don Johnson, Andy Gibb and, from 1980-1981, fellow country icon Glen Campbell.

"He will always be the love of my life," Tucker says of Campbell. The couple never wed, though Campbell has been married four times to other women.


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Today, Campbell is in the final stages of a heart-breaking battle with Alzheimer's. We showed Tucker the trailer for his new farewell tour film, Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me.

"I'd just love to give him a big ole' kiss," she gushed of her former flame. "I've called and asked if I could possibly go in and just let me say goodbye, you know, just one more time."

At one point while watching the trailer, Tucker points to Campbell's now wife, Kim Woollen, and declares "that should be me."

Fighting tears, Tucker cries: "I don't know, what am I going to do? Steal him back or something? ... I don't like crying, but every now and then he's worth it."

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An exhibit exploring Tucker's four-decade career is now open through May at Nashville's Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The 56-year-old is also working on a new album.

"I just want to be the best I can be," she says. "I definitely would want someone saying about me when I'm gone, 'You know, she could sing pretty good but she was a great gal.'"

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